Meghan King Edmonds regularly posts photos of her three adorable kids on Instagram, but she recently shared one of her 3-year-old daughter Aspen that’s raising eyebrows.
In the picture, Aspen — who is her oldest child — can be seen lying on a DockATot and wearing a sleep sack while lounging inside a crib.
“She asked me to tell a story about a baby and then Christmas lights. The magic of being 3,” the Real Housewives of Orange County alum originally wrote in the caption. Meghan King Edmonds Defends Letting Daughter Aspen Sleep In Crib At Age 3.
Her comments section was flooded with messages from people concerned about Aspen’s choice of a bed.
“Think that cutie is outgrowing her crib,” one person wrote.
“How come she sleeps in the DockATot?” another added.
But others defended Edmonds, explaining that their toddlers, including some older than Aspen, were also still sleeping in cribs.
Edmonds later shared an “update” to her post by editing the caption.
“Yep she’s in her crib,” she wrote. “She climbs out when she wants and occasionally sleeps in her toddler bed but tonight Baby Alive had already claimed the (not-so-coveted) bed so AK opted for her too-small sleep sack, dock-a-tot, and way too small round crib.”
“This girl is a firecracker individual and I challenge any of you to challenge her," Edmonds added.
When should your toddler make the switch from crib to bed?
There's no one correct age to make the switch from crib to bed — it depends on when your tot is ready. Most toddlers make the move between 18 months and 3 1/2 years old. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it’s perfectly safe for your child to keep sleeping in a crib until he’s 35 inches tall. At that point, it’s time to move him into a bed.
That being said, make sure your toddler isn't frequently trying to climb out of the crib.
“If a toddler can climb out of a crib, they are ripe for accidents,” says Danelle Fisher, M.D., F.A.A.P., a pediatrician and vice-chair of pediatrics at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. “Safe sleep is so important and it just doesn’t happen in that first year of life — it happens to toddlers, too.”
Dr. Fisher says that neck and spine injuries, which can happen if a child falls out of their crib, are the “scariest and worst kind of injuries.” As for the DockATot, it doesn’t meet the American Academy of Pediatrics’ safe sleep guidelines.
In general, it’s a good idea to move your child to a bed when they’re more mobile. “When the child can get out of the crib, they should be in a bed,” says Charles Shubin, M.D., a board-certified pediatrician with Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
When you make the crib-to-bed switch, be sure to choose a toddler bed that is low to the ground and has safety rails.
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