Climbing out of crib

Laura - posted on 04/21/2010

Wow twins you must have your hands full. I got lucky with my almost 2 year old that she still can't reach the door handles because she is too short. My boys however learned how to open doors much earlier and we had to put a gate in front of their door so that we would hear them when they woke up but they couldn't get into other stuff. With the bed thing I agree with putting kids in a toddler bed (or even a mattress on the floor if you can't purchase on right away) before they can even climb out of their beds because I worried about them hurting themselves on their way out of bed. I have never tried a crib tent but they sound fun for some kids but I think my daughter at 2 would HATE being free and then all locked up in it.

Amanda - posted on 04/21/2010

my daughter has been in a toddler bed sense she was 12 months old she refused to sleep in her crib theres nothing wrong with you putting ur babies in a toddler bed infact we just put her in a twin bed and she loves it so much

Jenn - posted on 04/21/2010

I'd say for safety purposes you should switch them into toddler beds. I have a friend whose daughter broke one of her wrists when she was around 2 climbing out of her crib. Both of my kids were early climbers and were in big beds around 18 months.
I know this is going to sound a little cruel to some people but we put a backwards bathroom door lock on their rooms to keep them in... for me it was for their own safety because there were a couple of occasions that I found my daughter in the bathroom sink and I would never forgive myself if she turned on the hot water and was burned because I didn't hear her.
Plus I found that once they knew they couldn't get out they went back to sleeping good and going straight to bed. I took the lock off my sons door when he was potty trained and old enough to explain that he needs to come get mommy when he wakes up. I still have the lock on my daughters door but it's rarely locked because she always just follows around her brother and he gets her in the morning and then they both come get me (best alarm clock in the world... although sometimes I wish it was a little later. lol)
Good luck with whatever you decide... transitions can be challenging but they can also be lots of fun!!

Jenna - posted on 04/21/2010

My husband talked me into getting toddler beds for my twin girls around 17months. I was opposed to the idea, but I was soo surprised that they stayed in their beds all night!! Since then there has been maybe two incidents of one getting in bed with the other and bothering her but I really like it. I do have a door knob cover on their side, and during nap times (which I thought would be really hard too) I just make sure its REALLY dark in their room. I had to put a thick blanket over their window for nap time. But no problems and its been about 6 months now. But every kid is different. So good luck!

Jenni - posted on 04/20/2010

Be brave and just go for it! My daughter did it and i was NOT ready for a big girl bed. But we decided to just go for it. The first night I put her in her bed AFTER she fell asleep. She woke up super early. the first few nights she would get out and id walk her back in. We are going on like week 3 now and she doesnt get out anymore. If she gets out of bed, she brings toys to her bed and falls asleep with them. Nap times took longer but she figured them out and doesnt get out at all with nap times. Its safer to move them to a toddler bed than to have them climb out, accidentally catch there foot in the rail and break a leg.

Jacqueline - posted on 04/20/2010

ive put a stair gate on the bedroom door so if my daughter does get out of bed she will sit in her room and play with her toys till i get to her

Michelle - posted on 04/17/2010

I've always heard that you should put a child in the toddler bed as soon as they can climb out of the crib. We transitioned all three of our older children out of the crib before they tried climbing. I just sat with them for a couple of naptimes and read a book. If they tried to get up, I reminded them. It was time to sleep. They stayed in the bed until after nap. For the mom whose children are getting up as soon as it is daylight-room darkening shades. They keep the room dark so that your children sleep later. I highly recommend them.

Jamie - posted on 04/17/2010

I purchased a crib tent for my daughter. She started climbing out of her crib at 14 months and she was no where near ready to get a toddler bed. This has been a life saver. Onestepahead.com has them and I also found them on Ebay. I was against it at first as it looks like a prision, but my daughter has no problem with me zipping her up. She'll be 2 May 15th.

Kristi - posted on 04/17/2010

I got the crib tent on at 12mos when my son climbed out. He loves it and I know that he's safe. I'm 38 wks pg and not getting a big bed anytime soon.
I know when I converted my 5 yr old at about 2 1/2 he stopped taking naps. I might be selfish but I will not waste my time chasing a 2yo around for a nap. Crib tent! yay.

Danielle - posted on 04/15/2010

UGH! That by far is the worst situation I've had to deal with as well. Twins make double the trouble, sorry!!! :(. Both of my toddlers went into big beds at 18 months for that very reason. I actually had to resort to a pack and play at 12 months for both of them. Do you have door knob covers? They worked with my son but not my daughter. What we do is tie two door knobs together with p.r. string. There is no other way that they would stay in (my son is autistic, it's not really as simple as keep saying "no"). After a couple weeks they stopped trying to open the door. We're just starting to leave the door untied some nights to see if they leave the door shut. We've been at this since December. Now at the crack of dawn (I tell them that I'm up when the sun is up) they call out "Mom! Up? GOOD MORNING!!" The crack of dawn is getting very early btw ;)

Karen - posted on 04/12/2010

i had the same issue just after my second son was born, my eldest at the time was 18 mnths, an i was far from ready for him to wander around the house or let alone go down the stairs, so all i did was put the lower part of the crib to the wall, so that the higher part is on the outside, an 4 months down the road he is still in his crib hasn't figured out yet, how to get out. its a bit uncomfortable putting him in or taking him out of the crib, but its the price i need to pay for my sanity ... hope this was helpful in some way .... good luck

Joyce - posted on 04/10/2010

Thanks Ladies...now that they got the hang of it, sure enough, within seconds of putting down for nap, their door opened and out walked my daughter. Put her back in crib and bout 10 minutes later heard a thud when my son fell out of HER crib (yup first he climbed into hers) Thank Goodness we have a carpet in room and he did not get hurt. I had heard of crib tents but was not sure if OK for a toddler...might look into that. I just don't feel comfortable putting them in beds...so afraid they will "sneak" out and get hurt when we are sleeping...esp with double the trouble..they react off one another..lol

Renee - posted on 04/10/2010

If you want to keep them in their cribs longer I strongly suggest a crib tent! I had to get one for my son when he was like 18mos old because he learned to climb out. Since I put this up he can't get a foot hold to climb out even if I don't zip it shut. I really don't trust my son in a tot bed yet as he likes to play in his crib when he should be sleeping.

Jerresha - posted on 04/10/2010

My son has been in a todder bed since he was 15 months old because he was climbing out already. So i took him to target and let him pick out the bed and the sheets he wanted. I think this helps because its a decision that he got to make and not me just telling him this is what your getting and thats that. For the first couple of naps and bedtime he would get up and start playing but i would just go in there and put him back into bed and tell him its to for bed, no its no problem he just gets into bed and stays there. Hope this was helpful for you.

Amber - posted on 04/09/2010

Ugh! I'm so sorry! We just changed my sons crib into a toddler bed this week. He's doing great in it at night, but he won't nap in it during the day. Just gets up and plays when I close the door! I have no real advice for you, other than to just try and encourage them to not leave their rooms until you come in. I feel for you!

Tanya - posted on 04/09/2010

Do you have a gate you can put in the doorway? I think you'll probably have to resign yourself to the fact that they've pretty much outgrown their cribs, but I think the challenge is convincing the kids to stay in their room until everyone's awake in the morning. We haven't made the transition yet, but I've got a pressure gate on standby when we do. (My son's been able to open and close doors for ages already.)



If you're worried about your kids hurting themselves when they climb out, you can just put their crib mattresses on the floor and get rid of the cribs. That will get them used to the added freedom without risking a fall and you don't have to buy bigger beds just yet.