When my son was about 9 months old, we were fighting to get him to sleep in his crib. We had tried everything...music, nightlights, singing, letting him cry it out...nothing was working. I had read a few opinions that mentioned trying a toddler bed because some children didn't like the confines of a crib. Well, we were ready for anything, so we set out to find a toddler bed.

Luckily, we didn't have to look far! Our local Toys 'R Us store had a good variety of toddler beds to choose from. I already knew what I was looking for....a bed with primary colors that would fit the sports theme we were going to do our son's room in. And there it was! The Little Tikes Sports Toddler Bed ! It was exactly what we were looking for, and at a good price too! I already trusted the Little Tikes name, already owning several toys made by them, so in the car the bed went.

My husband was the one we volunteered to put the bed together. It took him about a half an hour, with minimal swearing and throwing of tools. You do need a screwdriver, but that's the only additional tool. Everything else comes in the box.

The Little Tikes Sports Toddler Bed has both plastic and metal parts to it. The base part, where the mattress sits, is made of metal. It consists of four bars that form a secure place to rest the mattress. No concerns with this breaking! I've even sat on it, and there's been no threat of breakage:) The legs that the bed sits on are also made of metal. This makes the bed very sturdy and strong.

The rest of the bed is made of a sturdy plastic. The head and baseboards are blue and curved. The side-rails are red. All the plastic parts are soft enough that a bouncing toddler won't hurt themselves if they land on it.

The best part of the Little Tikes Sports Toddler Bed is the sports design! The headboard features a basketball, tennis racket and ball, hockey puck and stick, and a badminton birdie. All the sports equipment is molded into the thick plastic. The baseboard features a baseball and bat, a football, and a soccer ball. The rails feature a scoreboard (with the hometeam winning, of course!), and a timeclock. There are no sharp edges, and no slivers that might cut little hands.

The bed itself sits about a foot off of the floor. Definitely low enough for my son to crawl in and out of himself. Once you place the mattress on, it raises to about 1 1/2 to 2 feet, depending on the width of your mattress. My son can climb out of mommy and daddy's bed, so he has no trouble with his own bed. The railings on the sides go from the top to 3/4 of the way down the bed. This leaves enough room for your child to get out of bed, but covers enough so that they won't roll out in the middle of the night. The thing I like about the rails is that they lock in place, but are also easy to flip over once your child is old enough to not need them. They lock in such a way that a child pushing against them from the bed shouldn't be able to move them.

A standard crib mattress is all you need to complete the toddler bed. This makes the transition from crib to toddler bed very easy. No need to buy new bedding, as your old crib bedding will still fit. We get the same tight fit on the mattress that we got with our son's old crib.

Although my son, at 9 months, spent most of his time climbing out of his new toddler bed, I always felt safe with him in it. He never once fell out, even though I noticed him pushed against the railings on quite a few occasions. He could easily get in and out of the bed (almost too easily) without falling. He loves to look at all the sports equipment, and dream of the days when he will be a big sports star, and make mommy lots of money! (Oh wait...that's my dream! *grin*)

The Little Tikes Sports Toddler Bed is a great intermediate bed for children from about a year on. If you've noticed your toddler trying to crawl out of his crib, it is a good idea to look into a toddler bed, and this is a good one to try! It's sturdy (holds mommy and son), safe, and good looking! The price is right (we paid around $70 at Toys 'R Us), and the name is a trusted one. Help your little sports nut realize their dreams with the Little Tikes Sports Toddler Bed , but don't be surprised when you hear them yelling for the ball in the middle of the night!



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