its perfectly safe to put him in the toddler bed as long as the room is perfectly safe for baby and baby proofed really well... because he will climb out and want to explore a bit. but i think that really the only reason he wont sleep in his crib is because he expects to sleep with you every night, and when that doesn't happen he gets upset. whereas, when he's with dad, he knows he has to sleep in his own bed because he doesn't have that expectation that he can sleep with daddy. i think all that he really needs is for you to let him cry it out for a little bit in his crib. he needs to understand that it is time for him to sleep in his own room, and when he realizes that you wont bring him into your bed, he will sleep in there. i'm not saying let him cry for hours on end or anything, but let him cry about 20 min, then go in, tuck him back in, give him a kiss and leave the room again. this way he knows its not a punishment or anything, and that you mean business and he needs to go to sleep. it might be rough for the first 2 or 3 nights, but it will be best.

I put my oldest in a toddler bed when he was 15 months. He learned how to climb out of his crib and busted his lip open, so I switched him. Worked out great, he loves it. It is safe. Now as for it being worth it, well it is for now, but he will outgrow it pretty fast. The pros are that it is like a foot off the floor, he can get in and out of it easily on his own, can't realy roll out of it. The only con I find is that he wont use it very long. Some parents just buy a day bed and put todder rails on it. That will last a lot longer. It's all really up to you, if you want to spend money on a toddler bed or just get a regular bed and buy the toddler rails.

OK...

There are a few things to take into consideration.

Your son is used to sleeping in a BED with you. Have you ever tried sleeping on a crib mattress? MISERABLE things. They are built for light bodies (UNLIKE a child over 18 months) and he is not going to like the way a mattress feels. The Crib mattress and Convertible crib people want you to think that buying a toddler bed is a good thing...
Medically, it bad for their backs, they are beginning to need the support of a real mattress
Financially.. it does not make sense to buy a 100 dollar Crib Mattress and a 70 toddler bed when you can buy a nice twin mattress and put it on the floor. That way, it is not too high, he can crawl around, he is used to what it feels like to sleep on a mattress and his security is better.

Co-sleeping babies and those that are used to be alone and confined to a crib are two very different sleepers. So children who are not used to being in cribs or on crib mattresses are going to feel like Toddler Beds are foreign.

A lot people buy them though... but in the long run, it is going to be better for your child to go directly to a twin mattress.

Good Luck!

i moved my son to a toddler bed when he was 19 months old. He didnt like the confinement of the crib rails anymore. We tried a nap, he loved it...we tried overnight, he did great! He loves the freedom of the bed and you get more selection of cute sheets. it isnt worth buying expensive ones, unless they are the type that extend to bigger frame sizes. Most toddler beds can hold kids up to 4 or 5 years old. It will be safe! Most toddler bed have attachable rails and if not, you can find them at most baby stores.

my son will stay in his crib until my new baby is 3 mos. by then he'll be 25 mos or so. we have a twin bed in his room already and plan in putting it on the floor with a guard rail up (they sell them at babies r us) i talked it over with the doctor and she said it was perfectly fine and that toddler beds were a waste of money because they grow out of them so quickly. but i think you need to definetly get him out of your bed now!! p.s. when i was thinkging of getting my son a toddler bed i looked on craigslist! they have a lot of them. cuz the kids grow out of them quickly. just a thought for a single mom you can get one with the mattress used for as low as 25 bux! just wash it with some soapy disinfectant let it dry and let him slumber away