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There's no set time when you have to replace your child's crib with a regular or toddler bed, although most children make the switch sometime between ages 1 1/2 and 3 1/2. It's often best to wait until your child is closer to 3, since many little ones just aren't ready to make the transition. Of course, you'll need to move your toddler to a bed when he's simply too big or too active to sleep in a crib anymore. Many parents make the switch because they're worried that their active toddler might climb or jump out of his crib — and this is a real safety concern. But it's best not to react to climbing out of the crib or any other sudden sleep problem with a sense of alarm. Don't rush right out and buy a new bed the day your toddler first climbs out of the crib. He may not be ready to move to a bed, and it may not be safe for him to be up and about during the night when everyone else is asleep. Buy yourself some time by lowering the crib mattress as far as possible, so the side rails are relatively higher and more difficult to climb over.
My friends usually transit their babies from crib to bed at around 1 year old. The earliest was a 17-month old baby, and there are still a couple who have past 2 but still sleeping in their cribs. My friends usually look out for signs to indicate that they babies are ready for the change. One common sign is that the child kept trying to climb out of the crib. This made my mummy friends nervous since a lot are very active and it’s dangerous if their children managed to climb out. Another one decided to change after her baby mastered going to the toilet by himself.
My babies slept with us on our bed. I am a firm believer of co-sleeping. Also it made it easier for me to check on my son in the middle of the night, without having to walk to the crib, and I was also about SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). To play, yes we used the playpen till 6 months. We preferred him out of it, and used it more for when we needed to take a quick trip to the loo!
We only used the crib for play time purposes and not really for overnight sleeping. I allowed my baby to sleep during syesta in the crib if I need to do something within the house but with close supervision. When my son learned to climb to get out of the crib, I immediately let him stop using it. I used play yard instead because it has higher railings.
I guess, I used her baby movable cot till 18 or 19 months. It was such a convenient thing. I could put the baby in and carry her everywhere. But she outgrew it, I had to let go of it, and had to carry her in my arms. :)
I stopped placing my baby in the crib after 3 months. But this is mainly because we spend most of our time in the living room. Hence I bought a bumper mat so we could spend time together out in the living area.
Until 1 and 1/2 years. Baby gets cranky when placed on the crib to play. He would rather be free to move around the house and play.
We used to use until he is 18 months because he started to climb out of it.