Big Boy Bed Vs. Crib Tent

Don't give up after just one night. My son was the same -- he could open his door with the safety knob and climb over the baby gate. He was also climbing out of his crib. Just be persistent at putting him back to bed when he gets up. At 2, you might want to ditch both the safety knobs and baby gates and start teaching him where is safe for him to go and the rules for opening doors and leaving rooms (like if it's bedtime he has to stay in his room until morning).
Just remember that you have to be consistent and don't start any habits now that you don't want to continue.

It might not work for long, but we've had some luck with stickers for good naps. (My teacher friend's idea - you'd think I could have thought of that my teacher-self!) She got to buy special stickers that are just for good naps. My friend did it for night time. We both followed up with a small treat later that day at first. Good luck!

Like most everyone is suggesting, I suggest to keep going with the big boy bed. I wish I had started earlier with my son, he was two at the time I put him in his bed. My daughter was 19 months. My daughter did cry, but after about two weeks she was sleeping well in her big bed. Of course I purchased toddler beds, which took away the scare of falling. I also stayed in my daughters and my son's rooms for the first few nights until they fell asleep. When my son came out in the middle of the night, I would walk him back and tell him he has a bed now. Another thing I did which may help, is I used the same matress from his crib for his toddler bed. That seem to help for both my children.
The reason my daughter never came out of her room is she didn't know how to open her door. She stayed in her room in her bed even after she learned how to turn the door knob. She discovered that she could leave her room when she finally was potty trained.
The other reason experts suggest to transition to a big bed, is that when your child starts potty training, it makes the night potty transition easier than having them in a crib. Good Luck

When my daughter wakes up in the middle of the night we just let her cuddle with us until she falls asleep. Then take her back to her bed. This is a time where they start to have night terrors/bad dreams and just need comfort sometimes. We have a TV in our room so we will sometimes let her watch one movie and then when it is over take her to bed. In the process of this we just sleep while she is there. I know it isn't what most people would do but it works for us. The less we try to force her staying in bed the easier she goes to sleep and the less she wakes up looking for us. We always make her fall asleep originally in her own bed though. And she always wakes up in her bed. Good Luck mostly you just have to figure out what works for you.

Our 22-month-old son had a tough few nights in the big boy bed (we put him straight into a Queen size bed since that was what we had and didn't want to purchase another bed at that time). We also considered putting him back in the crib and the advice from the doctor and child development specialist was "once you have made the decision, stick with it!" We toughed it out a few more days and now he is 29 months old and it is just fine. Part of the problem might be still using the crib. How about totally changing things up and putting him in a double bed? We put the box springs directly on the floor and it seems to work well. Good luck!

My first boy was ridiculous like this. You have a super smart kid with great problem solving skills. I am going to suggest that you just ride it out. Not what you want to hear but let me tell you what happened with us. We did all that you have done and he flat got out of everything including the crib tent. He is ready to be in a big boy bed he just needs to adjust to it. I finally felt like it was unsafe for him to be crawling out of the crib, climbing over the gates, so ultimately I just took it all away. It took about two + weeks to get him back to normal but it was worth it.

I have found, with my 3 children that I have helped transition over to a big bed, that this is a typical reaction. It usually dies down after a few days as the child gets used to the new bed. I recommend keeping your nightly routine the same and things will get better. Good luck!

Make it a GREAT weekend!

S.

Our daughter started climbing out around 2.5 years. She still needed her naps and she just wouldn't do it on her own (big bed). So we caved and got the crib tent...love it - she went back to having 3 hours naps! She recently turned 3 and showed an interest in being in a big girl bed and from DAY 1 of using the big bed she never got out and has slept the whole night through. She won't nap unless she's extremely tired. I just wasn't ready to give up her naps at 2.5 and I don't think she was ready - like potty training you can't force the issue on them when they're not ready. Good luck!!

I know it takes some time, but one thing my husband and I would do is stand/sit right outside the door and when we heard him get out of the bed immediately put him back in. I would get a kitchen chair and peer through a small crack in the door and tell him to get back in bed LOL he couldn't see me so he thought there was a magic mama watching him. He would soon go to sleep. I only had to do this for 3-4 days and he was back to sleeping through the night.

Hi.
We have a spirited little 2 1/2 year-old, and use a crib tent. I works great! We know he is safe and there is no way he can get out to hurt himself or cause trouble. Hope this helps.

both of my kids were in big kid beds by the age 2. If they get out you tell them no it is time for bed and put them back in. It doesnt take much for them to learn. Just do what you want but as they get older they will have the same issue so you are kinda delaying the inevitable.

For me the crib is easier and I wish I had left my first son in it longer. As long as it still fits, it's a good thing. I don't think most two year olds have the discipline, though if you teach them that it's futile to get out of bed - by putting them back every time, that will work too. But I think my son likes the security, and if you want to make it more like a big boy bed, you could just sneak in his room after he falls asleep and put the side down and possibly a stool so he can get out in the morning.

You will probably have that problem anytime you transition them, they are testing their boundaries. My little girl did that for awhile and she was 2 too when we put her in a bed, in fact she might have been slightly younger. You just have to be consistent about putting them back to bed and making sure you don't talk to them too much or play their games, just keep putting them back, eventually they figure it out if they know you won't give in. Sometimes if they are older and understand, taking away priveleges helps too. But of course all children are different. Whatever you decide to do, be consistent.

Kids test their freedom. A couple more days and he'll be used to the new set-up and start sleeping as he was before. Stick with it...it took my DD three weeks to full 'get' the nap routine in her new bed, nighttime was fine. DS 'got it' within a couple days.

GL!!