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Social Story for Moving From a Crib to a Big Kid Bed
Moving from a crib to a big kid bed is exciting and a little strange at the same time. The bars are gone, the bed is lower, and for the first time nothing is stopping a small person from getting up and wandering out in the night. A social story helps by telling them, before the night itself, exactly what will change and what will stay the same.
The story below goes through the move in order: the crib going away, choosing the new sheets, the same bedtime story and song as always, climbing in, and the one new rule, which is that once you are in, you stay in until morning. Read it a few nights before the big bed arrives.
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What will happen, in order
- The crib is going away
- Pick the new sheets
- Same story, same song
- Climb into the big bed
- Stay in bed until morning
Read the steps together in the daytime, more than once. The free printable below has these steps at the top and the bedtime story underneath.
Theo and the Big Bed
A free story to read aloud tonight
Theo’s crib had been his bed for as long as he could remember. It had white bars and a soft blue blanket, and every night Mama said goodnight to him through the bars. But Theo was getting big, and one morning Mama said, “On Saturday, you’re getting a big kid bed.”
On Saturday, Papa took the crib apart with a screwdriver, and Theo helped hold the screws in a cup. Then the big bed came out of a box. It was low to the floor, with no bars at all, just a little rail on one side so he would not roll off.
Theo chose the sheets himself. They had rockets on them, red and silver, zooming in every direction. He put Dog on the pillow so Dog could see the room.
At bedtime, everything else was the same as always. Bath, pajamas, teeth. The same story about the bear and the moon. The same song, the one Mama always sang, with the part where she tapped his nose. Then Theo climbed into the big bed all by himself.
“There’s one new thing about a big bed,” said Papa, sitting on the edge. “Once you’re in, you stay in until morning. If you need us, you call, and we come to you.” Theo thought about it. He could see the door from here. He could see the nightlight. He could see Dog.
Theo pulled the rocket blanket up to his chin. The bed was big and flat and cozy, and it felt like a spaceship parked for the night. He held Dog, and he stayed right where he was, and before the song had even finished in his head, Theo was asleep in his big kid bed.
Read it a few nights running rather than on the morning of. Familiarity is the part that works. The aim is that by the day itself, none of it is new.
When should a child move from a crib to a bed?
Families commonly make the move somewhere between about 18 months and 3 years, often when a child starts climbing out of the crib. There is no single right age, and if your child sleeps well and safely in the crib there is usually no rush. Your pediatrician can help if you are unsure.
My toddler keeps getting out of the new bed. What helps?
Walk them back calmly and quietly every time, with as little talk as possible, so getting up is boring. Keeping the rest of the routine exactly the same helps, and so does a simple light clock that shows when morning is. Make sure the room is safe for a child who is up and about at night.
Should we move to a big bed before a new baby arrives?
If the crib is needed for the baby, many families make the move a couple of months before the birth, so the big bed is just part of life by the time the baby comes and does not feel like something the baby took.