Transitioning Out of Crib - Auburn,WA

This is what my daughter-in-law did. She put a child proof gate in the doorway so if he got up and you didn't know about it he was safe from going outside accidentally or getting into things you aren't aware of. She just made sure his room was childproof. Works like a charm.

He is now 2 1/2 almost three and we have stairs in our house so when he stays over we put up two gates - one on top the other - so he can't climb over and keeps him safe and he doesn't mind it at all. We are very diligent so we usually know when he is awake but it really helps us know he can't fall down the stairs or get into something he shouldn't be in.

N.

3 methods, depending on your child and how you prefer to deal with it.
1. The no-nonsense method. Sit outside your child's door where he cannot see you. Everytime he gets out of bed, snap "get back in bed". Not knowing wether you are there or not, he'll try it a few times, but make sure you don't turn it into a fun game. Startling him works best. Eventually, he'll stay in bed because he never knows if you are there or not.
2. Confinement menthod. Put up a baby gate and ignore him. Be sure there isn't a ton of light in his room, and if he gets up to play for more than a couple minutes or too loudly, just shut off the remaining lights. Eventually, he will get back in bed and fall asleep.
3. The nanny 911 method. The first time he gets up, carry him back to bed and say something loving about it being bedtime and he needs to stay in bed. The second time he gets up, carry him back to bed with nothing but a short matter-of-fact "bedtime". Every time after that, carry him back to bed with no words and no eye contact no matter what.

Good luck!

Consistency! It is so difficult to walk them back to their rooms a million times but I really think if you stick to it from the beginning they will get the hint and the "escaping" will be short lived. When my 2 yr old son started creeping into our room in the middle of the night, we told him when it was dark outside he had to stay in his bed and when it was light outside he could come into our room. For whatever reason, this worked. He would walk in at 7 am and happily say "it's light outside!"
Until they get it, it can be frustrating so good luck!!

We bought a video monitor and told him we would watch him from the other room to make sure he was ok. It seemed to make him feel better knowing that we right there. I also got our son a lamp thing at Ikea that makes stars & moons on the ceiling and plugged it into a dimmer switch. Gives him something to look at while he is laying there. Sometimes we put classical music on low on a timer that will go off in about 30 min. Again, helps to distract him and give him something to focus on while he is laying in bed waiting to fall asleep. Hope that helps, best of luck!