ThelmaLou Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 He's never been in a standard crib because we just don't have the space. He's in a portable crib, which I would think would be tougher to climb out of. (In a standard he could wedge his feet up against the wooden slats.) This one is soft-sided and I have no idea how he's getting out. I'm afraid he'll get hurt when he hits the floor. Several times when he's done it I hear him wailing over the monitor. I'm also concerned about him getting out in the middle of the night and wandering the house. He hasn't done that yet, but who knows. None of my other 4 boys did this. Are there any portable cribs that are covered or have a some sort of net on top? How can I keep him contained? Also, he shares a room with two of his brothers. At nap time when he's been climbing out, I'll find him in the room with tiny toys in his hands (think choking hazard size.) That makes me nervous, too. He's normally banished from that part of the house via baby gates unless it's to sleep. But now that he's found a way out, I don't know what to do. Any help would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 We took the dc out of the crib and used a toddler bed. I had to make sure the room was then "child proofed". You might have to see about moving all your boys toys to higher shelves and putting some more "baby friendly" toys on the low shelves for a while. Better safe than sorry. As for getting out of the room...we put on of those plastic knob covers on the inside of the door so dc couldn't get out. BUT, this might cause a problem w/ your other 2 NOT being able to get out. Could you use the baby gate across the doorway? Would your older 2 be able to "climb" over it or move it if they need to use the bathroom or get out? Those crib canopies always worried me...strangulation hazard, getting caught on it, etc. HTH a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I agree with Sue. Once my could climb out of bed they were moved to a toddler or regular bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I disagree. I think 18 months is far to young to be left unsupervised in a bed (rather than confined to a crib). When my older son was that age and climbing we ended up getting tents for both his regular crib and for the portable crib. Here's a link: http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=531755 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I would baby-proof the room and put him in a bed too. Is a portable crib comfortable enough for regular sleeping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I disagree. I think 18 months is far to young to be left unsupervised in a bed (rather than confined to a crib). When my older son was that age and climbing we ended up getting tents for both his regular crib and for the portable crib. Here's a link: http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=531755 What do you think is going to happen? Our kids' rooms were childproofed and we had a baby gate in the hall so that our room was the only other room they could get to. I can understand doing it differently but implying they are being put in danger by being unsupervised in a bed is a little extreme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Remove the crib and use a toddler bed, the lowest kind if you can. My ds broke his arm the first time he climbed out of a crib at 17 months old. Dh put the mattress on the floor until we could get him a toddler bed as ours was in use by my then 3.5 yo. We just put him to bed and put a cover on the door handle so he couldn't get out of the room when we put him to bed. There was nothing dangerous in there, and if he couldn't get out, he stayed in bed and slept (but each child is different, of course.) My dd's never tried to climb out of the crib for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fourmother Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 All 4 of my children climbed out of the crib between 12 and 16 months of age. After the first escape we would always put the crib mattress on the floor and store away crib. I figured they couldn't fall off the floor! :D Climbing out of the crib was like a right of passage, and I was always a little teary on "take down the crib" day. Actually I'm a little misty just thinking about it.:sad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 When I was 18 mo. I climbed out of my playpen where I had been napping and broke my arm! A mattress on the floor quickly became my new bed until I was old enough for a twin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2legomaniacs Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Yes, the mattress on the floor worked great. Mine hated cribs anyway, so we did this early on. Kept them that way until they were much older and wanted a bed off the floor. I would baby proof that room completely and put up gates, like the others have said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 All I know is that my kid (the older one, that is) would have done everything possible to damage himself if left unsupervised in a room at that age. It didn't matter how well the room was babyproofed. As a result, he had a tent. He also had a leash at that age. My other son did not need either of these things, so I know that we were not just being overprotective parents. Anyway, I guess without knowing exactly how this particular child deals with...er...freedom, I would err on the side of caution and suggest looking at a tent if the child needs to be kept in a crib for whatever reason. Also if there is no room for a standard crib, how will there be room for a larger bed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I put mine into a bed when they were old enough to climb out of the cot. My 4 year old just asked me the other day why I use to lock him up in jail when he was a baby! MelissaL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 All I know is that my kid (the older one, that is) would have done everything possible to damage himself if left unsupervised in a room at that age. It didn't matter how well the room was babyproofed. As a result, he had a tent. He also had a leash at that age. My other son did not need either of these things, so I know that we were not just being overprotective parents. Anyway, I guess without knowing exactly how this particular child deals with...er...freedom, I would err on the side of caution and suggest looking at a tent if the child needs to be kept in a crib for whatever reason. Also if there is no room for a standard crib, how will there be room for a larger bed? Sounds like my ds. I'm leaning toward the tent/canopy option right now. At 18 months I just don't think he's ready to be on a mattress. He sleeps very comforably in his portable crib. Since he shares a room with his 7 and 9 year old brothers, it would be pretty tough to baby proof it. Both their shelves and their under-bunkbed-storage bins are filled with tiny trinkets and small toys. We also have ceiling to floor blinds that I think he'd pull down. Come to think of it, I think at naptime he'd probably try to climb the bunkbed, and that would be disastrous. Against one of the walls they have three sets of 5 tiered Rubbermaid storage shelves. I'd have to get these out of there, because I could imagine him climbing those and pulling them down on himself, as well. In order to keep him in the room on a mattress/toddler bed, I'd pretty much have to get rid of all the furniture we have and design the room completely around him. I do like the idea of putting him in a toddler bed. If we had the space to empty out and baby proof an entire room just for him, I'd be inclined to do it. I think I'll at least investigate the tent option first, though. Thank you all so much for your suggestions! My husband and I both sat down last night and read them all. Wish us luck! I'll report back on how it's going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Be aware if he can climb out of a portable crib, he can probably get over a baby gate too. My grandson does it by pulling himself up with his arms. He has developed a lot of upper body strength practicing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I just gave up, baby proofed their rooms completely, and put them in toddler beds, turned their door knobs around so I could lock them in for sleep time. I think they were around 16-20 mos when that happened. The risks of them breaking a limb falling while escaping their cribs is serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 All I know is that my kid (the older one, that is) would have done everything possible to damage himself if left unsupervised in a room at that age. It didn't matter how well the room was babyproofed. As a result, he had a tent. He also had a leash at that age. My other son did not need either of these things, so I know that we were not just being overprotective parents. They're all different! We used a "leash" for 2 of my kids. Mostly for one because she just loved to wander off as long as she knew where I was and I could not run after her when I was 8 months pregnant with my last one or after he was born, particularly since I had a 5 yo with me, too! But since we had none that would do damage to themselves, the bed worked fine. My ds actually (and I still can barely believe it) LIKED to go to bed most of the time until he was 5. Now it varies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.