So, let's say your toddler...

[Shawna in Texas]

learned to flush the potty and open doors all on the same day. How long will it be before she would rather sleep than do any of the above? For two nights, my oldest has laid in bed with her looking at lolcats for half the night, just to keep her in one place. I remember when she learned to walk. I don't think we slept for a week.

[CalicoKat]

learned to flush the potty and open doors all on the same day. How long will it be before she would rather sleep than do any of the above? For two nights, my oldest has laid in bed with her looking at lolcats for half the night, just to keep her in one place. I remember when she learned to walk. I don't think we slept for a week.

Smart baby!! :D

 

:grouphug: for Mom.

 

Can she negotiate the door handle locks, the ones that cover knobs and have to be squeezed in two spots, twisted before opening the door?

 

If not, install them on the inside of her bedroom door to slow her down a bit. Usually my kids all figured out how to take them off quickly. It's worth a try.

 

Special bed-time toys also help keep my kids in bed. They get their leapsters at that time and it works well. My baby, 3 next week, loves those "books" that sing to her and let her flip pages and push buttons.

 

These days we hang a big string of jingle bells on the baby's door so we can hear if she gets up and out while we're sleeping.

[Wheres Toto]

Doorknob latches, cabinet latches and baby gates are our friends. :lol::lol:

My kids were into getting into everything and climbing everything long before they were old enough to obey. They do periodically figure out a new way to reach something or how to open a particular type of latch but I'm hoping we're heading to the end of those days anyway.

 

Good Luck. ;)

[RoughCollie]

Can she negotiate the door handle locks, the ones that cover knobs and have to be squeezed in two spots, twisted before opening the door?

 

Those type of door knob covers can be put on the outside of bathroom doors and the basement door, and on the inside knobs of the exterior doors.

 

http://www.safety1st.com/usa/eng/Products/Home-Safety/Home-Safety/Details/1890-48394-Grip-n-Twist-Door-Knob-Covers-4-Pack

 

http://hardware.hardwarestore.com/28-457-stove-guards-and-knob-covers/child-safety-door-knob-cover-204289.aspx

 

They work great. So do bifold door locks for closet doors.

 

http://www.safety1st.com/usa/eng/Products/Home-Safety/Latches-Locks/

 

We had to use every kind of child safety devise on the market because we had 3-4 toddlers running around at the same time. All of them worked well, but they are not a substitute for supervision. That's why we used the doorknob covers -- we could not stay awake 24 hours a day to protect the children.

 

To add an extra layer of protection, we also kept the infant monitor in the kids' bedrooms so we could hear them if they made any noise.

 

We used an extremely strong magnet, called a Tot Lock, on one cabinet door. When we didn't need it any more, I made the mistake of storing it on the back of the top of the fridge. When one of the boys was around 5 years old, he climbed on the counter, located it, wrestled it free, and stuck it on my computer. Good-bye, computer. Forewarned is forearmed.

Edited April 27, 2010 by RoughCollie

[2squared]

Can she negotiate the door handle locks, the ones that cover knobs and have to be squeezed in two spots, twisted before opening the door?

 

If not, install them on the inside of her bedroom door to slow her down a bit.

 

This is exactly what I use. My youngest two can't work them yet, so I can definitely contain them when I need to. With my youngest, I put her to bed in her room and shut the door (with the plastic handle locks on the inside). She might play a while or she might go right to sleep. Either way, she does go to sleep happily, without a battle, and without anyone hovering.

[Giraffe]

:lurk5:

 

DD just this week started waking up and coming to my room. Every night I've woken to an adorable face in mine. I have a monitor in her room, turned up, but DD is a sneaky silent little one.

 

Buying door covers asap. Had forgotten about them. Thank you!

[CalicoKat]

:lurk5:

 

DD just this week started waking up and coming to my room. Every night I've woken to an adorable face in mine. I have a monitor in her room, turned up, but DD is a sneaky silent little one.

 

Buying door covers asap. Had forgotten about them. Thank you!

:D I remember that feeling of someone's watching me and startling awake to find a nose mm's from mine.

[Shawna in Texas]

:D I remember that feeling of someone's watching me and startling awake to find a nose mm's from mine.

 

Except I wake up to a potty insert being pushed in my face, so we can go flush it. She sleeps in either my room or with her sister (lately it's been with her sister). If I left the potty in with them, she'd keep her sister up, so I lay on the couch and wait for the door to open (because the toddler *has* to shut it) and let her pee so we can go flush. The bright side is that it's been a month since we've woken up with a wet diaper. I could kick my husband to the couch and give us the bedroom and use a doorknob thing, but I really think she would just scream trying to get the door open. :glare::D

 

I'm tired today, but she hasn't shut any doors today, so maybe the novelty has worn off and I'll get some mama time later, the oldest will get to bed at a decent hour, and after last night (and me waking her up fairly early), she'll go to *sleep* with her sister.