Transitioning child from crib to toddler bed...any suggestions?

when our little boy was about that age we did the same thing. SOme things that helped: initially we put the matress on the floor, we let him jump on it and pretend to go "night night" on it. Later we took him to walmart, and let him pick out bedding for it, something he reallyliked, and he helped/watched as we put it on the bed. We told him, if you want to sleep on your own pillow, you ahve to sleep here, otherwise you can sleep in the crib, but you don't get to sleep with the special stuff we picked out for you.. he decided he wanted to sleep in the toddler bed. a word of advice, keep a matress or pillows next to the bed when they first start sleeping in it, our little guy rolled off his a couple of times at first, and if we hadn't had put those there, he problably would've gotten hurt. Good luck to you!

With my daughter, we transitioned her at about a 1 1/2, because I was about to have my second child, and we needed her crib. LOL My MIL brought her a toddler bed, which we set up in her room so she could get used to see it and even playing on it. It was in there for a while.. we made it up with blankets and everything. Finally we took the crib out, and moved the toddler bed to exactly the same spot where the crib was- that way it wouldn't seem too weird. There were a few times when I discovered her asleep under the bed, or in the closet, but within a few days, she took right to it. I think what you're describing about your son is natural. He just needs to adjust to the change. How long has he been getting out of it? days? weeks? months? With my son, we didn't really give him any time to adjust. We just took down the crib and put the toddler bed in there. He had no problem with it at all. LOL

You just have to keep putting him in bed over and over again. You may have to stay up all night, as soon as he gets up you have to tell him it's bedtime and put him back in bed. . Also if you don't already start a bedtime routine -- teethbrush, book, etc.

I always thought I was lucky at this stage because my kids were excited about their new beds and did stay in them. My niece, however, was the complete opposite. She was forever crawling in bed with my sister and brother in law to the point of everyone's exhaustion. If having the "new bed" isn't appealing, did you happen to keep the crib bedding? If it's a toddler bed and you're not using the linens from the crib, they should fit the toddler bed mattress. Maybe he needs even more things that are familiar, rather than just being in the same room? If nothing else has changed (same bedding, same placement in the room), he's probably really digging his newfound freedom. One thing that works sometimes is to keep a chair in his room and sit there until he dozes off. Not right beside him, so he becomes dependent on you to fall asleep, but within the room so he knows you're there and isn't going looking for you. It's time-consuming but, if he gets up, you're right there to put him back. He's not getting to leave the room to explore and eventually he will get tired. (I know, you will too LOL but at least it's a temporary transition). Good luck with it! It's hard to learn to be a "big kid" for some things ;)