It is important to recognize the appropriate time to move a baby out of a cot to avoid your baby from falling out of the cot and sustaining injuries. For safety reasons, if you observe your little trooper attempting to climb out of a cot and looking like they might succeed, it is time to move them out of the cot. This usually occurs when your toddler is between 2 and 3 years of age but could be as early as 18 months. To prepare for the transition:
• Remember that when your baby starts sleeping on a bed, they have greater access to the rest of the house. It is therefore important to ensure that you remove possible hazards around your environment to ensure the safety of your child.
• Decide where your baby is going to sleep. This is a good time to move your baby from your room to a different room where they will sleep for a time.
• Start preparing your toddler slowly, you can make an effort to make the move exciting, for example, paint the room a fresh colour, put stickers on the wall, let your toddler know that she is a big girl and she is about to get her own bed…just like mommy.
• In case you are expecting another baby, ensure that you do the big move much earlier than your due date to avoid your baby feeling like you are neglecting him in favour of the newborn.
• Avoid doing the move when there are other major events happening in the family.
• Let your child be part of the process. Let her have choices of new bedding for the bed and, if possible, the actual bed.
• Since your baby might not know how to ‘cover’ themselves, purchase warm sleep clothes to ensure that your baby stays warm at night.
