Going to Fall Out of Crib Soon?

I say a "big girl" bed is just the thing. If you're worried about her falling out, you can always just take the crib mattress out and put it on the floor. She will probably have no idea she can get out by herself for at least a few nights :)

We never witnessed out daughter even lifting a leg to the side of her crib. She broke her arm in two places after going over the top on Thanksgivng '04 onto carpet. The orthopedist she saw said it was definately a break from falling. She did not get her arm caught in the slats, etc. It was from bracing herself when she fell. This happened before she turned two years old December of '04. She is now almost four and thank goodness not affected in her range of motion at all. If we had any inclination, I would have a least put the side of her crib down. I know many children climb out unaffected. Get ready to have gates for stairs, doors locked, etc. to keep your little one safe when she does climb out because even if you are not ready, she is. She is at least practicing to be ready.
Best of luck!

I think the crib tents are a waste of money.

My mom raised five babies of her own and cared for numerous others, and when I was worried about my on falling ut of the crib (onto a hardwood floor!!) this is what she told me:

1. If a child attempts to climb out of the crib, then you need to assume that thye will eventually be able to.
2. This is a good time to move a child from the crib to a toddler or twin bed. Toddler beds are smaller, and lets you use your crib mattress for awhile longer. You can buy guard rails for twin beds which will elimate falls.
3. Until you decide to purchase a toddler or twin bed, lower the side rail. This seems like the opposite of what you want to accomplish (keeping your child safely in her bed), butif she falls with the railing all the way up then she is falling from a higher distance, and will hit the floor with a harder impact.
4. Put a gate in her doorway. This is a safe and responsible way to prevent your child from wandering through the house when you are not awake to supervise her. I had a gate on my son's room as soon as he started crawling -- well before he ever showed signs of climbing out of his crib - because they develop so fast, I didn't want to be surprised by him being up and roaming the house!
5. Close the door. Usually at thta age, they can't open it yet -- and once they can, the gate is there anyway. If your bedrooms are on a second floor, make sure to put a gate at the top of the stairs, too -- just in case she escapes past the door and bedroom doorway gate.

Good luck! I know it's scary to put them in a big kid bed... but I really feel it's safer than risking her falling out of the crib.

Hello!

I hate thinking of "worst case senarios" but I want to share a story with you that I think is one of those "worsts!" My husband's cousin showed up at a family even with her 1 1/2 year old in a leg cast. She said that the exact night he broke his leg (the big one in the thigh) she had been out to dinner with several other mommy friends and talked about how he was starting to climb. They all assured her that he would fall out the first time and be so scared that he wouldn't try again. Taking the more experienced moms' advice she didn't do anything to prevent or deter his behavior. That night he threw his leg over the top rail of the crib and on the way down he hooked his foot inbetween the bars. When he hit the ground his leg was still stuck so it snapped his thigh bone.

Maybe converting to the toddler bed is the answer for now. We used one of those side rails that slides under the mattress until our oldest got used to his new bed.

Good luck!
J.

I also moved my son to a big boy bed when he started to climb out of the crib. Our crib came with a little side rail that you can put on after you take off one of the regular sides. We then took the casters off and the mattress was only about 9 inches from the floor. Even with the rail and it being so close to the floor, I was afraid of him falling out and I put pillows on the floor. He never did fall out and it was easy to trasition to a regular twin bed. I did put a gate on his door at first also.

Just a word on crib tent's. Most people see them as kind of harsh-- and I was hesitant in the beginning. Both my girls used them and LOVED them. It made them feel more secure and added to their imaginative play. They are 6 and 4 now and transitioned easily to a bed when the time was right. They both speak of their "bed tent" with great fondness. One of my girls was an escape artist and I needed to use a large safety pin to secure it. We all slept better!!! One tent lasted through 3 kids

Unlike all the other responces, we did buy a crib tent when my son was about 17 months. I did not trust him enough to put him in a bed. He would climb out off his crib in the very early a.m., not tell us he was awake and wander around the house. Who knows what he was doing!! I do not think a 15 month old is old enough to have the freedom to get out of bed whenever they choose to. We found our son in the kitchen about to empty a full bottle of apple juice, it could of been a lot worse. I say invest the money in the crib tent. You will know she is safe throughout the night.

Estefania,

In my experience, the responsibility of a big girl bed (toddler bed) is enough to keep kids happily in their bed even when they're otherwise a little trouble makers. :)

If your daughter is showing signs of climbing out of her crib, then it's probably time for a transition to a bed.

With both my kids, we surprised them at bedtime with their new big kid bed (basically just the side removed from their crib, put the bumper pads back in to look nice, a nice blanket and pillow, and their animals). This little surprise really helped ease the transition and they, to my surprise, stayed in bed and fell fast asleep with no playing!

Don't forget a gate for their door and gates for the stairs, etc.

-Jen

I agree with Carolyn. 15 months is actually a good time to start the big kid bed. We started my son in his big bed around then and also did the gate in the doorway. We also made the room as boring as possible to begin with...nothing for him to get into. Best wishes to you!

be careful. at 16 months, our son did climb over/fall out of his crib. thankfully he didn't get hurt. he's been sleeping in a junior size bed from ikea ever since. we put a nice gate at his door too to keep him in his room. the transition took about 6 weeks. but now at 19 months, he's totally used to his big boy bed... and it's working out really well.

several neighbors of mine tried the tent, and their kids were still able to get out of the crib... so a big waste of money.

and our doctor really agreed that once they can climb out, it's time for a bed.
good luck!

I think she would do better than you think in a toddler bed. I too was nervous about the transition for both of my children to a big kid bed. Both did awesome. I shut the door in both of my children's rooms and at first neither child could open a door by themselves. And thank God I did shut their door. We had a fire last year. Our smoke alarms malfunctioned and they did not sound, so our entire house was filled with smoke and becuase their doors were shut there was no smoke in their rooms. We all got out safely and our children did not suffer any smoke inhalation. (Sorry, I bit off subject). My point a big kid bed is safer (not suffering a fall) and shut the door (keeps little ones from wondering the house and keeps them safe in case of fire)!

Best of Luck

what i did was first put the crib mattress on the floor. Once he gets used to that I bought a twin mattress and put that on the floor. Once he adjusted to that we put him in the regular bed. Make sure you have a good gate in the doorway and make sure there is nothing he can get to such as a humidifier or lamp that he can reach and knock over. I agree he is ready for the transition since once she gets out the first time she becomes tickled that she can do it so she won't stop. Good Luck!!