We have a convertible crib that we can use when she needs it, but we're holding off. We'd really like to transfer her right to a big girl bed.

You will know when they are ready, when we had our daughter our son was about 22 months old and he went straight to the big bed and hasn't looked back. However i personally think that it worked so well to us because we told him he was a big boy now and sissy was going to use the cot. I guess you could only try it and if you find your childs having problems with it you could always put your child back in the cot for a little longer.

Hi There..when my girl was 2 years i put her straight in a single bed of her own and kept at it and just brought a bed side rail so child doesnt fall out of bed..it saved time in the long run..if you move your child to a todler bed then another bed he may not settle..id say get a single bed and buy a bed rail(at any baby outlet store) and go from there..my daughter had no hassles and still loves her bed..good luck  and hope all goes well for you both.

 I used a single mattress on the floor of my son's room.  This was safe, cheap and he loved it.

He cant hurt himself by jumping, climbing or falling off.

Mine were pretty young but they were both asking for it and hated their cots.  My son was just two and my daughter was only one.  Because they were so young I started with a mattress on the floor, then used a car bed which is low and has sides on it.  At about 2 1/2 - 3 I trusted them in a normal bed with a side barrier.  They loved going into a big bed but I must admit it makes it very hard to settle them as they can get in and out and play etc....  so I would hold off on it as long as you can, but once they start asking for it, I think you have to follow their lead.

We moved our daughter into a big bed with side rails on it (till she was nearly 4). We moved her out of her cot for her day sleeps on the bed i think when she was nearly 3 and then into it all the time when she was 3.

Hi,

I know that it is not as safe as a cot but my Daughter put her 9 month old into a toddler bed from about 5 months, But it has very long and tall side rail and bub doesn't move around that much. Don't know if this really helps but the normal age to go to a bed is about 2 1/2- 3 years that is if it has side rails.

Most people move their toddler out of the cot when the toddler climbs out, to stop accidental falls. I was fortunate with DD1 in that she was in a cot-bed so I just took the side off, but before that, when I realised she was starting to climb out, I put a stool in place and told her only to climb in & out there, thus delaying the move. She went from the cotbed to the big bed with no official Toddler Bed in between. She lays fairly still so she only rolled out a few times, onto the pillows I strategically placed there. Otherwise a lower toddler bed or a rail would have been necessary. With DD2 (2.5) she can climb out so the cot is pushed up against the bed she will eventually sleep in, and she always gets out that side. If she uses the bed, then the cot stops her falling out (actually twice she's managed to fall between the two, but very very slow falling as the cot moved!).