Between 18 months and 2 years old, some children start to want to climb over the bars of their bed to try new adventures! It is then time to change to a junior bed. There is no specific age to move to a big bed, some children are ready as early as 18 months, while others will wait until they are 3 years old. It is only necessary that the child is ready, it is a stage towards autonomy because the child lies down alone and gets up alone... There is therefore a risk that he will get up if he doesn’t want to sleep... You can take advantage of this stage to negotiate with him by telling him that you can only sleep in a big bed if you behave like a big person, i.e. that you respect the bedtime rules and that you don’t get up during the night (except to pee of course!)

Changing bed is an important step for a child, so it is preferable not to associate this change with another important event: moving house, change of room, birth of a little brother. However, this is often what we tend to do: when the new baby arrives, we put him to bed in the cot and we think we are giving the older child the chance to sleep in a big bed, but this is a mistake! He will inevitably have the impression that the baby is stealing his bed and the transition to the junior bed may be difficult for him and for you... !

Don’t change his bed without telling him after a week’s holiday with his grandparents, saying "Surprise, you’re big, you have a new bed! ». The change must be made gently.

If a little brother or sister is expected, think about changing the older child’s bed before the baby arrives, so that he or she doesn’t have the impression that the baby is taking his or her bed, but rather that the baby is being given the cot because he or she hasn’t used it for a long time!

If you are planning to move, try to getyour child used to the junior bed before the move or wait 2-3 months so that he/she has time to get used to the new house and room.

Don’t forget, of course, to choose a nice bedding that matches your child’s taste and to praise him every time he spends a full night in his new bed. This encouragement will help him in this new stage towards growing up!