OT-21 month crawling out of crib

[ninahbear]

My 21 month old won't stay in his crib. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep him in the room once we convert his crib into a daybed then full size? My DH put the lock on the outside of the door. But my DS likes to sleep with me and I think I am going to have a hard time breaking it. HELP!!!

 

[jennifer293]

With both of our girls once they started getting out of the crib we converted them to a toddler bed, and once we did this we put a baby safety gate up in the door way. They have never tried to climb over it. You can also raise it a little higher in the doorway where it is too tall to climb over, but not too high to where he can crawl under it. Hope this helps!!

 

[juligrl]

We did the safety gate in the doorway as well.

 

[Skyw]

At 18 months my DS started climbing over his crib. We made it a toddler bed and it was a disaster. He was too young to get "stay in your bed". I tried the "no response return", stickers and just about everything. I put his crib back up and bought a crib tent. He LOVED it. I put stars and planets that glow in the dark on the top. He stayed in there until we started potty training. (age 2.5). Once the toddler bed showed up again........we are getting out. However, the reward of a sticker works to keep him in most of the time. He is old enough to understand. He still makes it to our room and climbs in our bed a couple of times a week. I don't mind a few times a week.

Just remember, that in our culture (USA) is one of the few that keep kids in seperate rooms. If you and your mate are getting sleep ( and some time together hubba hubba) and really don't mind that you kid is in bed with you.......that is OK too.

 

[daisy_77]

We had the same problem with our DD when she was about 20 months old. We got her a toddler bed and put a baby gate right at the door way.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Remember to completly childproof your child's room once her can climb out of the crib. Make sure window treatments are completly out of reach,outlets covered, no warm humitifier with in possible reach, no small toys or breakable toys. Be sure you have a baby moniter still in the room in case you little one decides to try a jail break!!!

 

[Twingle]

We had this happen with our twin daughters - BOTH of them! We tried the tents, and it totally did not work for us. One of our girls freaked out, the other managed to tear it to shreds. We moved them into toddler beds and put up a baby gate by the door.

Please be VERY careful about having a lock outside of your childs door - it is a fire hazard.

As far as sleeping in your bed goes, all three of my kids know that they have to start off the night in their own beds, but if they happen to wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep, they are welcome in ours. It works very well for our family. At first we had three little visitors every night about 3 a.m. (because my son would go get his sisters LOL!), but now it's very rare to have even one of them join us.

Good luck -

 

[dana1003]

my twin girls went from crib to toddler bed at 22 months old. we took all hazardous stuff out, a nite lite will probably work for you also, and put a baby gate at the door. they've never tried to get out. of course they got out of their bed once in a while but eventually learned to stay put. didnt try a tent w/them becuz those tents fit twin beds and were to large for a crib mattress. it would be work at first but it was the best thing we did. it gave them some freedom and me less of a headache!

 

[rt2dz]

I'd say baby gate in the doorway OR, if you want to shut the door, the childproofing door locks. Not really a lock, but a preventative from little hands opening doors. DS5 can open them, but he always complains because they are hard. Oh well, he has two little brothers.

A regular lock is just dangerous; something your fire department would arrest you for if they could. We have lots of fire fighter & EMS friends, and every few months they tirade on the stupidity of parents who lock their children in their rooms.

Make sure you baby proof the room really well. Check all cords & outlets, anything plugged in and all the other "normal" stuff. But don't forget to bolt heavy objects (changing tables, chest-of-drawers, etc) to the wall too.

A crib tent doesn't fit our crib, so I don't know how well that would work. I have friends who love them and friends who say they were totally pointless.

 

[LaraK]

DS got out of his crib for the first time at 15 mos. old. Our pediatrician had told us that the first time a child gets out is the day you take them out of the crib (he said he's seen too many injuries from falls from cribs). So after cursing for a while, we went out and bought a toddler bed. Luckily, we believe that good baby gates make good babies, so we already had one up when he made his great escape. It's still up at both his door and DD's door. (we have lots of steps so we have gates everywhere.)

 

[jennifer293]

DS got out of his crib for the first time at 15 mos. old. Our pediatrician had told us that the first time a child gets out is the day you take them out of the crib (he said he's seen too many injuries from falls from cribs). So after cursing for a while, we went out and bought a toddler bed. Luckily, we believe that good baby gates make good babies, so we already had one up when he made his great escape. It's still up at both his door and DD's door. (we have lots of steps so we have gates everywhere.)

We have stairs everywhere..so I hear ya on the gates everywhere. Had we not gotten such a great deal on this house we sooooo would not be here due to all the steps. They just aren't child friendly!!!

 

[Plantlady]

My oldest was crawling out of his crib at 11 months.

We locked the door from the outside.

 

[Skyw]

My son also got thru the baby gates. The only one he wasn't able to get over was the one on the stairs and that one is permantly attached. Good luck.

 

[labdogs42]

We cut DS's door in half to make it a dutch door. We actually did this before he was born, because I wanted a way to keep our dogs out of the baby's room, but still allow air to circulate and also make it easier to hear the baby. It is SO much better than a baby gate. No stepping over the thing, it is taller than a gate, closes securely, and if we ever get tired of it, we can just replace the door! My DH and stepdad are very handy, so they cut the door and finished the edges so it looks nice. They cut the top off right above the doorknob, basically. There is a latch on the back of the door to hold the top and bottom together when we want a "whole" door there. Now that DS is in his toddler bed, it is nice to be able to close the bottom half of the door. So far, he can't turn the knob, so he can't come to our room, but he's safe in his room. If he wakes up he just yells until I come get him anyway!! Good luck to you!