I have a 19 month old boy. 6 weeks ago he learned how to climb out of his crib, and began a nightly routine of waking up between 2-4 and coming and getting in our bed. Previously he was sleeping through the night until he learned how to climb out. I was worried about him climbing out and hurting himself so I bought him a toddler bed hoping it would help, but still everynight he appears in our room.
I "try" to get up once he is asleep and put him back in his own bed, but usually he will be back within a hour or less.
This has made things very hard for me because I don't sleep well when he is in our bed. Does anyone have any advice on how to get him to stay in his bed?
Hi K.,
My middle child was quite the escape artisit when he was little, so I know what you're going through. Try putting a gate up in his doorway. If he can climb over the gate, which mine could, then put 2 gates up. I know it sounds crazy, but I had to do this for my peace of mind. I was afraid he would wander around the house while I was asleep and possibly get hurt or even get outside.
Hope this helps,
C.
Hi K., I sure wish I had advice for you about this, but I'm looking for the same info. My 2 1/2 y/o still climbs in bed with us, and it really sucks! I'll be interested in what the other moms have to say. I know the first line of attack (hehe) should be to put him back in his bed while he is still kinda awake and explain to him that he needs to sleep in his big boy bed. But if you are anything like me, sleep for ourselves is precious. And sometimes I'm not awake, or he doesn't wake me up when he crawls in, but I always end up squished. Anyway, I wanted to wish you luck and see what the other moms had to say about this!
I had the same trouble with both of my sons but mine would go venture around the house and I was worried they may hurt themselves so I put a baby gate at the doorway of their bedroom. It may take a couple nights for them to adjust but it worked wonders. Hope this advice helps.
Thanks
H. J
Dear K.,
There are a couple of tips that you can try. For some reason kids go through this, so just know that first. Secondly we had trouble with ours and I looked on the internet and various web sites said to feed a child carbs before bed. For instance, oatmeal, bananas, figs. We do a drink that is instant calcium/magnesium. Known as cal-mag from the health food store. NO TV AT NIGHT. NONE. There are studies that state TV is stimulating to the brain. Do cal-mag one hour before bed. You can add a little juice, or honey to sweeten, you can have your son drink it with dinner. Read bed time stories. Figure out some sort of reward system if he stays in bed. It took our youngest a long time to stay in bed and it was a combination of the above things that worked. Make sure you tell him that big people stay in their own beds. Also check if something frightens him in the room. My daughter would get afraid if we left the closet door open. Make sure you have a good night light that is not too dim. At one point we had two night lights.
Good luck. D. Witter
