My almost 2 year old has figured out how to get out of his crib. Unfortunately, he hasn't learned how to climb down, so he ends up straddling the rail and falling to the floor! Yesterday was the first time he did this and he ended up with a bloody lip. This morning, as soon as I heard him, I went in and he had one leg over the rail and was crying. What do I do? It seems too early for a regular bed, but I don't know how to keep him safely in his crib. I've even thought about showing him a safe way to climb out, but I don't want to condone his behavior.
My 6 year old daughter never even attempted this, so I'm at a loss. Ah, boys...
Seems like he's ready for a regular bed, and get some of the bed rails that you can remove when he's ready. Maybe put some books at the end of the bed, and he can read quietly if he wakes up early, rather than jumping out of bed at the crack of dawn. Good luck!
Put him in a toddler or regular bed ASAP. My son also tried to climb out of his crib, probably even younger and with far less sense in his head! While he caught on to sleeping in a big-boy bed immediately, I took comfort in the fact that he would not have far to fall if he ever did fall out of bed. Enjoy. S. F.
What to do really depends on the child. My first i left in a crib till she was three. My second got put in a big bed when she was 18 months. Both were ready.
My third... She got a crib tent put on top of her crib. More to keep the older two OUT than her in.... but i have seen it being used to keep a child in their crib. You can get them at a consignment shop for about fifteen bucks. A new one will be about eighty bucks
he is so ready for a toddler bed my dear, he is not too young for one at that age
HI We used crib tents for our girls when they started climbing and they love them. we tell them they are caves and they close their 'cave' at night and no-one can come in until morning. I would def recommend it especially if you don't want to buy a toddler bed or a reg bed just yet. My girls are big enough now (they are both 3)to climb in and out of cribs safely and open their tents by themselves or even be in big beds but still like their 'caves' so we've left them in their cribs and they stay in there even though they can easily get out. They aren't too expensive from ToysRUs either.
I put the crib rail at half mast at this stage, and showed him how to get in and out. Once he knew, he wasn't as interested in climbing out. I also reminded him that he can get hurt. We moved the mattress to the floor shortly after, but kept the crib for the occasional running around after bed time. Strangely, after being put in the crib for that offense, he would stay in for the night, and we used the mattress again the next day. It all depends on his comprehension and cooperation :) Choose the safest for your situation.
You could try a crib tent we never did we just went straight to a twin bed. W/ my first we did a toddler bed but that was out grown very quickly.
Why on earth can't you use a regular bed? Our 16 mo. old has been able to safely climb in and out of our bed and his own toddler bed for months. I wouldn't put anything under a mattress and box spring at this age, but I think yours would be way safer in a regular bed than falling out of his crib.
Hi there,
We had a similar problem but our son flipped out of the crib headfirst. We couldn't let that keep happening so we did move him to a regular bed. It took a while for him to adjust but he finally did. The other options are a toddler bed or to get a net to put over the crib. (Not sure how effective those are.)
Good luck!
A. W.
I have just taken off the outerside to her crib and put on a safety arm to prevent falls. I can't believe @ 21 months she is so independent!
She has figured out how to get out of the bed already. So I figured that if she was safe during the night and early morning she can win the "out of bed battle".
Good luck,
G.
My thoughts are actually that if your toddler can climb, he IS ready for a regular bed. And, to learn some bed etiquette about when is appropriate for him to get up and wander around and stuff... I did it differently than you with my first child for a number of reasons but that said, the final outcome was that he never had a crib and moved straight from sleeping with us to his own big (single) bed. It was still in our room for a time but he has been in his own room since 1 month before his 3rd birthday. The climbing to me is a signal that your son is taking initiative to solve his own problems (= find you once he wakes up) rather than sit and cry and wait for you to come find him. It takes patience, we are working on such bed ettiquette now with our 18 month old, but I much prefer that to worrying that they are climbing in precarious positions where they might fall without my knowledge. Good luck!!
At 2 years old, I think it's a fine time for the child to be sleeping in a bed, albeit one that is suitable for him. Ideally, have a single bed that isn't too high and has handrails. That way, he cannot roll off when he's sleeping, and if he does climb out, it isn't so far down like a crib. What he's doing by climbing out of the crib is natural evolution and nothing strange. He's ready for the next stage, in my opinion. You don't want to always be fearful of him falling out of the crib, which is dangerous. Also, you might want to try to use a baby monitor so that you can hear him when he's squirming around, until you get a bed for him. I have three children, and each one is different, although with many similarities too. And remember, he is a boy!
Our two year old had just started doing this when he had hernia surgery and we decided to put the side down so that he would not be hanging on his incisions to get out. We lowered the mattress as far as it could go in the crib and there was still enough of the side above the mattress so that he would not fall out of the crib while sleeping. We ended up leaving the side down and he would climb in and out when he was tired or had woken up. We did get him a regular bed a few months later. Have fun!
Hi A.,
None of my kids were able to climb out of their cribs, because we always slept/napped them in the "back-to-sleep" sleeping bags. They make them in larger sizes now (up to 3T I think). In the summer we did put the air conditioning on, and put the sleeping bag on over a light t-shirt. They were not able to put a leg up over the railings with the bag on! My 22 month old son wears one now and has never tried to climb out. You might want to try it during a nap first, just in case your Houdini does manage to get a leg up! Good luck!
E.
Ah the little adventurers! My daughter did this at about 23 months. She spent about two weeks "practicing" - balancing over the rail of the crib and then one day I heard a thud in the morning and the crying. She was fine but definitely scared. We did a couple things.
First, we bought a video monitor. Got it used on Cragislist so it was 90$ and it's AWESOME!! SO now I can see exactly what she's doing, and go in there if she's in danger.
Second, we actually spent some time talking with her. We told her many times how she could get hurt climbing out of the crib, and that if she really needed out, she should call for Mommy or Grandma or whoever is watching her. Now you wouldn't think a 2 year old would "get" this concept - but she did. Now she calls for me in the morning or after her nap when she's ready to come out, plus we have the video monitor to keep tabs on her. She's almost 26 months so we've managed an extra 3 months this way, which is great for us as her room is not baby proof and will be impossible to do so.
THird, we bought the toddler rail for her crib so when she's ready to transition we are. I hope it's a long ways away yet!
We did buy one for the crib tents but it don't fit on her crib.
Good luck!
A crib tent may work, I bought one off of craigslist.com, I never ended up using it though b/c I never got a chance to put it on before my son gracefully climbed out of his bed and is not in a toddler bed at 2.5 yrs old. I hope you find what works for you.
well it seems you have no choice but to get him a bed they have special small size toddler beds which would be more appropriate
The Cozy Crib II crib tent has been a lifesaver for us! We used it with both of my sons. It kept them safely in the crib, they slept better once they could no longer climb out, and gave us peace of mind until they were old enough to be in a bed. I highly recommend it!
Hi A.,
My guy did that too so we put him on a futon bed, which is low to the floor. Made sure his room was safe for him to be in without supervision - nothing would fall on him, etc. And then we put a tall door gate in the doorway. He attempted climbing that. If your guy attempts climbing the gate, I'm thinking a sheet tied around it might preent him from being able to climb it. I hadn't tried that.
Good luck,
: ) Maureen
We took my daughter out of her crib at 20 months because she was climbing out (my son was not like that). Just put the mattress on the floor in the room, or you can get a toddler bed to use the crib mattress on craigs list pretty cheap. We did the big girl bed, and she only wanted to sleep on the floor for the first 6 weeks. So we let her. She was sleeping and safely so that's all that mattered to us. Now she's 2-1/2 and she sleeps fine in her big girl bed. Good Luck!
Both my kids were giving "big kid" beds for their second birthdays. We got toddler beds that look like race cars off craigslist for $50. They loved them from day one and slept in them just fine. Toddler beds are low to the ground which helps with them being able to get in them themselves (I'm sure you MUST be hearing "I want to do it MYSELF!") by now! LOL Its also nice as it is not as far of a fall as a real bed (and definitely less than falling out of a crib). I say go get a toddler bed now and then make a big deal out of how big they are and how cool it is. I'm sure you could get even cheaper ones on craigslist than we did - the plain ones are cheaper - if that is an issue.
Good luck!
- X.
They make crib tents. That will keep him in. But we moved my daughter to a big bed when she was 2 someone gave us a toddler bed but she just cried in it so we got her a bed instead. But she did fine in a big girl bed. We also had a step stool at the foot of it so she can climb in and out bt her self ad had a gate at the door so she could not get out. she is 3 and loves it. we also let her pick the bedding for the big girl bed. So we have Thomas the Tank Engine in it. Good luck.
Is their a way to adjust the level of the crib. Usually they have a way to adjust the bed, so that it can be lowered when they get older, so they aren't able to crawl out so easily.. Other then that, I turned my crib around as well so the higher side wasn't against the wall. This kept my son from being able to crawl out of it. If this doesn't work,and your crib can be converted into a toddler bed, i would do that, to keep him safe so no more injuries can occur.
Ahh, the joys of dare devil children. We have a 19 month old little girl who we just transitioned from crib to toddler bed. She was a "leg over the top" but never all the way out, the main reason we moved her was she developed a sudden (unknown) aversion to her crib and since the toddler bed was already set up we decided to try it. We were extremely lucky and only had a handful of nights where she wanted us to stay in there with her. We now put her down and she stays for naps and through the night. We did put a safety bed rail up on the side and she can get out of a small opening at the bottom of she wants. It's worth a try, better than climbing out of the crib and getting hurt. I didn't think we would transition her this early, however, she had her own plans and everything is working out. Good Luck!
My son was climbing out at 16 months. Crazy scary for me. So I bought the crib tent, and that worked. But I have to say that I switched both my kids, even my oldest girl who didn't climb out at all, at 2 to toddler beds. They transitioned very well. Both needed gates on the doors to keep them in their rooms at night, but I haven't heard of a child who didn't try to roam at first, until they leared that no one else was up to play with.
Climbing out of the crib is the indication that your child is ready for a big bed, for 2 reasons. First, its a safety issue; its unsafe to climb out of a crib and have a long fall. Secondly, if they can manipulate their body well enough to climb the side of the crib, even if they cant get down correctly, they can manipulate their body to get in and out of a big bed. If you are concerned about your child rolling out of a big bed, try a toddler bed (which are low to the ground) or get a big bed with a rail.
Hi, My daughter started doing this at 21 months, and we really felt that she was too young for a toddler bed, too. But we had baby #2 on the way and also needed the crib, so we went ahead and made the switch. I was so worried that it would disrupt her sleep, bedtime routine, etc., but everything was fine! I was amazed. We also really talked it up and she was so excited about being a Big Girl! The only problem we've encountered is naptime, when she'd rather play and "read" her books than nap. In my experience, once they figure out this new skill, they will keep on trying! I'd recommend trying out a toddler bed and see how it goes.
Definitely not too young for a toddler bed. I had my son in one at 17 months and he has done great. We do make sure his room is safe and we do put a gate at the door to keep him safe from roaming the house. We always hear when je gets up anyways and meet him at the door. Than we walk him back to him bed.
