my first 3 were all in a normal single bed by their first birthdays....easy..no problems at all. They co slept with us so that may have made life easier.
Mateauz though ....he has only just gone in the last month (he's 19 months) cause he thought it would be fun to pile his blanket in the corner and stand on the rail of the cot and jump . HE would scream in the normal bed...hated it so we had to dismantle it and we ended up buying him a toddler bed. Its taken a little bit but he now loves it.

Outside play.......I still dont leave Vy alone outside..I just cant im to scared she'll hurt herself...she's almost 3