teachermom2834 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 My 20 month old is climbing out of her crib by herself. I've never had a dc do that before. Is there some trick to keeping her there ? I guess take the side off of the crib and make it into a toddler bed. I can't imagine how I will keep her in there. I guess it's safer than jumping out of a crib... Arghhh... my 3 previous dc were about 4 yo old before they even realized they could get out of their beds without being retrieved by a parent :) How will I ever get another shower???? Marie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Is she climbing out when she wakes up, or just for fun when you put her for a nap or night sleep? If it is just when she wakes up i suggest you get in there sooner. Put the baby monitor back on and go in as soon as she is awake. If she is doing it for entertainment before going to sleep then i am afraid you will have to take the sides off or put her in a big bed. My kiddos all went into big beds between 18 & 24m just be consistent about putting her back when you are putting her to bed and she will get the hang of it. Also child proof the room if it isn't already and i would encourage you to shut the door if you don't already. She might get out of bed and fall asleep on the floor but she will soon stop that. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 My kids never climbed out either, but I have several friends whose kids did. What many of them had to do was make the bed a toddler bed, make the room safe, and put up a baby gate across their door (door open) at night. Usually if they are climbing out, they will also open the door and you don't want a toddler loose at 3am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Have you thought about the mesh tents that go over the crib? I think they are called Cozy Crib Tent. I had a friend who used one and was able to keep their daughter in the crib for almost another year.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 My kids all figured out how to climb out around 18m. We either transition them to a twin bed or a toddler bed. I put a child safety doorknob thing on the inside of their bedroom door. That way they can't get out of their room unless I open the door for them. They quickly realized that when I put them in their beds, it is sleeping time. My youngest falls asleep on the floor sometimes (the first one to do that), but she is quickly learning that the bed is more comfortable spot to sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova147 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 My oldest did that. We moved him to a toddler bed right away and had no trouble keeping him in it - but he's a rule follower. We moved my daughter to a toddler bed in the past month or so (she's 22 months) because of the new baby's impending arrival. For about a week, I had to put her back in bed about a dozen times before she would go to sleep, but now, most nights (and most naps), she only gets up once and then stays there. If she gets up in the middle of the night, I take her back and she usually stays put. And in the mornings, she climbs in bed with us (but that's what we've always done with our kids). I guess if you need your toddler to stay in the bedroom in the morning, you'll have to close the door or put up a gate. But my feeling is once they can climb out of the crib, it's time to move them -- it's just too easy for them to fall and get hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairie rose Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 (edited) We just moved my oldest 3 kids to a regular bed when they learned to climb out of the crib. It took about a week of camping out near their room at bed time to keep them there but after that they were fine. They were 13 months, 15 months and 18 months respectively when they figured it out. My 4th child learned to climb to climb out when she was 22 months. My husband was 2 months into a year long tour in Iraq when she learned and I had just had a baby. The first morning I discovered she knew how to climb out, she had climb out of the crib before everyone woke up, went down stairs, pulled most of the content of the refrigerator on to the kitchen floor and I found sitting on top of a 6 foot bookcase. :eek: I could not sleep after that and with 5 kids, one of them a newborn, I couldn't have her free to roam at night and I didn't have the time or energy to put into keeping her in her bed and I was uncomfortable with bringing her in my bed with the newborn. So we went for the crib tent. Best $70 I ever spent. I could sleep knowing she was safe and not a threat to herself and she actually appreciated the physical boundary too. She slept better and longer without the temptation to climb out which made her an easy child to deal with when she was awake. It kept her in the crib until she was almost 3 and I had more energy to devote to making her stay in her bed. My 5th child learned at 18 months and we put the crib tent on for him. But it wasn't long before he found a stress point in the fabric, worked a hole and ripped it. I was just going to buy a new tent but after a few months with a tent on the bed, he's learned to stay in the crib until someone comes to get him even without the tent. I'm considering putting him in a regular bed in January. He'll be 21 months then. ;) Edited December 20, 2009 by prairie rose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I put mine in a toddler bed or just took the mattress off the crib and on the floor when they were climbing over or trying to. It was number two who was the problem child with wandering at night and we had to put bells on her door and on the outside doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I've had two who've climbed out and what I did was put them right back in with a very firm, no-nonsense, "NO!". I then waited outside the door for a few minutes then went in to get them. For me it worked (thank goodness!) as it showed them that mama would come get them and they were not to climb out (they were both just under 2yo). One of them I had to do this three times with but the other one just once. My more stubborn child I actually caught in mid-climb so it was even more effective as the action was taking place when I intervened. I could have used a tent or taken the front of the crib down but I wanted to establish the boundary that they would be allowed out of their crib when mama wanted them to. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done had that not worked... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 my dd climbed out at 8 months, yes 8, she used her toes to climb out, she now has a twin mattress on the floor, although she sleeps with dh and I right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacnchs Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I've had two who've climbed out and what I did was put them right back in with a very firm, no-nonsense, "NO!". I then waited outside the door for a few minutes then went in to get them. For me it worked (thank goodness!) as it showed them that mama would come get them and they were not to climb out (they were both just under 2yo). One of them I had to do this three times with but the other one just once. My more stubborn child I actually caught in mid-climb so it was even more effective as the action was taking place when I intervened. I could have used a tent or taken the front of the crib down but I wanted to establish the boundary that they would be allowed out of their crib when mama wanted them to. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done had that not worked... yup you gotta teach them that this is UNACCEPTABLE. period. My dd1 fell out of her crib at 18 mo so we moved her to a pack-in-play just in case she climbed and fell again but we started training her then to not climb out and when we felt like she had enough self control (a number of months later), we moved her to a low bed and put a rail up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 I think we'll end up taking the side off and making it a toddler bed and teaching her to stay in it. She's active and daring but generally pretty cooperative. We might try that first. I just really didn't want to deal with it just yet. The whole marching them back to bed until they stay- I didn't really want to fool with that on Christmas Eve :) It is just quite unsettling to think your baby is tucked away in her crib and then see her standing there! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 A friend of mine dropped the mattress all the way to the floor, but still inside of the crib. The extra inches it gave her were enough to keep her toddler trapped. I thought that was a great idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I would put her in my bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 We put them in a regular bed at that time and then put a baby gate across the door. One of the benefits of the baby gate we found out is that they got used to playing in their room when they woke up and leaving their room when we said they could. They still do that, even though the gate is gone and it's great to have a little time to finish getting dressed or eating my breakfast without having to mess with them. They're content... they get to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) I would put her in my bed. My son never left our bed until he moved to his bed. When we tried to put him in the beautiful crib someone graciously bought for us, he screamed until he vomited. Multiple times. That was it for us. I just took him into the bathroom with me when I had to shower. I put him in his car seat or set him on the floor with toys. He turned 16 this week and is no worse for the wear. a p.s. I don't think I could have taught my baby that crib behavior was unacceptable anymore than I could have taught him that crying himself to sleep was acceptable or that being forced to stay alone in his room while I went about my business was acceptable. But that's just how our relationship is. Edited December 21, 2009 by asta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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