OKW: How do I keep my 3 year old safe in a 1 bdr at night?

[Denine]

This will be the 1st time staying in a 1 bedroom with our dd without her being in a pack-n-play. How do I make sure she is safe while we are asleep in the bedroom? She is 3-1/2.

Do I snug her up in the sofa bed or should I get an aero bed and put her in our room, which is the last resort?

What kind of safety locks do I need for the cabinets? Will any work?

How about the doors to the outside?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

 

[JimMIA]

We went in December with Grandma, Great Aunt, and DDthen3goingon23, and stayed in a two bedroom. We had visions of DD sleeping with GM (so did GM!) because she always sleeps with her when GM stays at our house. Nope...she spent all five nights in the enormous King bed in the master bedroom. She was an angel, but she was in Mommy and Daddy's bed (where she never sleeps at home) and she wasn't moving for anything.

With locks, outside doors, etc., we have it good I guess. DDnow4goingon24 has always been good about leaving things alone. We have all the stuff at home, but she really doesn't seem interested. (she can defeat the locks anyway, and easily unlocks the doors leading to our pool!). So we didn't worry much about that.

The knives were up high enough that they were out of reach, as was the laundry stuff.

Basically, Girlie was too tired to get into much mischief, plus we had GM chasing her around looking for love...so we really didn't have any problem.

The only problem we had was the darn unit was so large (and most of that is in the one-bedroom part) that we occasionally lost her for a few seconds!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Couple of suggestions - 1) you could put her on the sleeper sofa, it's queen sized (2) you could make her a bed on the love seat (use the sheets, blankets from the sleeper sofa) or (3) make her a bed on the floor using the cushions from the love seat or sleeper sofa. You could even put them in the master bedroom if you want her to sleep in there.

There is a deadbolt lock on the patio doors and the front door.

You might be able to get by with good sized rubber bands holding the cabinet doors closed on the lower levels. I think they have knobs on them and are close together.

 

[kathy320]

We just stayed at OKW this past March in a 1 br. Both my ds 3 1/2 and my dd (7) shareed the sleeper in the LR. Not that he really needed it but the arms of the couch actually acted like bed rails so I new he wouldn't fall out of a strange bed. My kids were so tired by the end of the day that when we opened that sleeper sofa and got them ready for be they just new it was bed time and that was it....off to dreamland..................

 

[mikesmom]

As Deb said, there are good locks on the doors. There really isn't anything in those lower cupboards to get hurt on. No chemicals, soaps, etc. Mousekeeping will leave you a small dishwashing detergent and Dishwasher soap under the sink. They are small, so it wouldn't be much effort to put them in a higher cupboard. The stove is electric so there is no chance of her turning on gas. You might bring electric outlet covers if she is prone to poking things into outlets.

 

[Denine]

Awesome, thanks!

DD is not prone to opening the door and going outside. She rarely ever looks in my kitchen cupboards either.

It sounds like putting her in the sleeper sofa will work and a last resort will be in our room if she gets afraid of being in the living room by herself.

Now, I don't have to worry.

 

[Stitch1404]

My only issue was that my daughter got scared! She's 6. My husband and I were in the master and she was on the sleep sofa for about 5 minutes before she would crawl into bed with us because she "saw something." Anyway, we ended up leaving the door to the bedroom open and while she was on the sleep sofa we could talk to her as she fell asleep. We just had to talk loudly and she could hear us from her bed. So much for getting the one bedroom for more alone time...

 

[mamatojon]

My only issue was that my daughter got scared! She's 6. My husband and I were in the master and she was on the sleep sofa for about 5 minutes before she would crawl into bed with us because she "saw something." Anyway, we ended up leaving the door to the bedroom open and while she was on the sleep sofa we could talk to her as she fell asleep. We just had to talk loudly and she could hear us from her bed. So much for getting the one bedroom for more alone time...

This was us too. My son (5) slept in the living room one night and then declared it "creepy" and from then on slept on the air bed in the master. I still liked having the 1BR though, it was really nice in the morning to get up and have so much space to myself. I actually kind of enjoyed *not* having him in the living room for that reason. Made me consider getting 2BRs when the kids are a bit bigger and have no desire to sleep with mom and dad.

 

[MinnieFan]

When DD8 was younger we bought a child-size aerobed (I think I ordered it from QVC). It was a combination inflatable bed-sleeping bag type arragement with attached pillow and zip-up blanket, and it had a "princess" theme. This was perfect for a smaller child and if your DD is nervous you could put her on the floor in the master bedroom with you and your DH.

 

[chris1gill]

You're going to be dealing with this for a number of years to come I'm afraid to say.... DS has only willingly slept on the pullout since he was about 8... DD still pulls the cushions off the couch & puts them in the master Well, at least she did last trip when we had the 1 bedroom, she was six then.... At 3 & a half I think she just slept in the Master bedroom with us.... I'm looking forward to our next trip in October in a 1 bedroom, it will be the first time we'll have the Master all to ourselves I'd even go so far as to say we could get a 2 bedroom and actually expect the kids to stay in it by themselves!!!

 

[jiggerj]

I would always pack some of the electrical outlet childproof plugs.

It seems like I always worried that ds would lock himself in the bathroom or pinch fingers too. I read a tip off these boards years ago to throw a towel over the top of the door. DS couldnt close the door all the way. Worked out great.

Learned the hard way about the corners on the bedframes. Ds took a header into one at BC and ended up with quite a bad gash- Now that I am thinking about it he had a black eye from a previous visit too when he tripped.- No more monkeys jumping on the beds!

AND always packed his best sleepy time buddy to help with bedtime!

 

[DisneyDad]

We were just at OKW in Mar with DS2... we brought night lights and plugged one in- in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. I wish we had brought a lock for the TV cabinet as DS loved to open and close (or slam) it over and over again. The oven knobs slide right off, so that wasn't a problem and we did move the knives to a higher cabinet. The sleeping arrangements ended up being him in the middle of mommy and daddy, which at first I didn't care for, but that bed is huge so it didn't bother me, it's was actually kindof cute watching him sleep and rollover. Hope this helps, Enjoy OKW!! We did!!!

 

[Scotch]

We splurge for a 2BR when the party is just only DH, DS(almost 2) and me to avoid these issues. DS sleeps better, we have privacy (and an entire 1BR to ourselves after DS goes to sleep), so we're all happy.

 

[laughinplace199]

Even though our kids are 6 & 4 now, I still pack the baby monitor so we will hear them if they are wandering around during the night. This might work for you if your DD is sleeping in the LR and you are in the BR.

 

[lizziepooh]

In November, DH and I took our 8 year old grandson and stayed at OKW in a l bedroom. Grandson slept on the sofa bed in the living room. During the night, I woke up and heard him in the master bedroom. I thought he had gotten up to go to the bathroom. The next thing I heard was the balcony door lock being undone and the door opening. He was sleepwalking and had managed to get the balcony door open before I got to him. We were on the second floor and it really scared me to think what could have happened, had I not woke up. He didn't remember a thing about it in the morning. The next nights I put chairs in front of the balcony doors. He doesn't usually sleepwalk at home, but maybe being overly tired caused it. Just something to think about with older kids too.

 

[Disney Doll]

I seem to recall seeing in a catalog somewhere a telescoping stick that can be used for securing sliding doors. You put it in the track of the door so the door cannot be opened.

The DVC patio doors are sliders, right? Why am I all of a sudden having a "brain cramp", and not able to remember????

 

[lizziepooh]

At OKW, the patio doors aren't sliders. They have a knob and open just like a regular door. I'm not sure about the other resorts.

 

[ccaptain29]

My Wife and I take our 3 year old son every year to WDW, and he has know issue with the pull out. It is a queen size bed. By the time we get back to the room after being in the parks all day.....he crashes

And as far as the doors and the kitchen goes....he doesn't really bother with that stuff. When he wakes up, he normally is hungry and will wake us up to get him some food.

 

[wanna-b-Tink]

We leave the microwave light on for the night light. (Its underneath the microwave and is just enough light. We also take the sofa cushions and put them on the sides of the pull out bed to continue the "bed rails" mentioned earlier. Our kids love their den bedroom. We really talk it up and make it so exciting to camp out in the den! Their own TV too! Our kids are 8 and 3, and they have stayed in the den or the second bedroom when we splurge every time. They've never wanted to stay in our boring room!

 

[mommyceratops]

I have not stayed home yet but I do always take outlet plug covers when we stay in a hotel room. They make those slide locks you could get to carry for the cupboards. A pack of 2 isn't very expensive you are very worried.

As for sleeping I would not trust my boys and let them sleep in the king with us.