Kelly asked for tips transitioning a 20-month-old toddler from the crib to a "big-kid" bed.

Kim West, a Severna Park social worker who specializes in helping families get children to sleep, has a simple answer: Don't do it yet. She says many parents make the mistake of trying to get a child into a big bed too early, perhaps to free up the crib for a new sibling.

"I worry a lot about a 20-month-old roaming around in his room at night, pulling out drawers, unplugging lamps, exercising all that wonderful but potentially hazardous curiosity," she wrote in a recent newsletter from her practice. "Even if the child is trying to climb out of the crib, I almost always advise parent to keep him in his crib as long as possible, definitely until two and a half, and preferably until three. By then, a child has the cognitive and verbal skills to understand the 'big bed' rules."

If your toddler is climbing out of the crib, West recommends lowering the mattress and putting pillows on the ground in case he does tumble out. If he does get out, she says, put him back in the crib and say "No climbing," but don't interact with him much beyond that. A long nightshirt or T-shirt might make it harder for him to climb out.