Crib to bed transition

The first few years of our little ones sleep journey is a constant stream of change.  One of the bigger transitions is the one from the crib to the big kid bed.  If you had a little one that was sleeping well prior, sleep has now become a distant dream and/or they are popping up all night like a jack in the box.  

My first recommendation on making this transition, if you have not done it yet, is to wait at least until your child is close to three years old before moving to a bed.  If we do it too early, they are not old enough to understand how to stay in their bed throughout the night.  If your child is close to three and you are ready to move to a bed or have already moved to a bed, the first thing I would do is have a family meeting.  At this meeting, have your child make a Sleep Rules Chart and purchase an Ok to Wake Clock.

You will want to make sure you purchase a clock that has a color system to it where one color represents sleep time and the other wake time.  We want to make sleep rules that go on this chart for your child.  Keep it simple, age appropriate and something that they can follow.  An example of this is we read books before bed, we close our eyes, if we wake at night we don’t wake other people in the house and we wake when the Ok to Wake Clock turns yellow (or whatever color is the wake color).

After your bedtime and/or nap routine, you will go over this sleep chart and check off what they have done already (such as read books) and what they need to complete through the night.  In the morning, you will go over each step as well.  If they didn’t complete all steps, review the one or more that they need to complete and the ones they need to work on.  When they complete all steps on the Sleep Rules Poster they can pick a reward for completing all of it.  It can be something as simple as going to a favorite park, swimming pool or getting ice cream.  You all pick it together but make sure it is something that motivates him or her.  

The night before you start, I would have a practice session of going through the Sleep Rules, getting in bed and having the clock turn yellow so that he or she know what to do that evening as well as for naps. If possible, have them involved on picking out their new bed, sheets, and comforter and so on so they feel like they are part of the process and have ownership of the transition.  Keep consistent on response, reviewing the Sleep Rules Chart at bedtime /naptime and your little one will be having sweet dreams soon enough.  

Cheers to sleep!