Locking my child in his bedroom at night?!?! Are you out of your mind????

Jaime - posted on 11/09/2011

what stands out?? Hmm FIRE HAZARD! that is what I think of first. What if I am exhausted and sleep a little too hard one night and my child has a bad dream or whatever the reason. I have been blessed that I have not had this problem with my nine or eleven year old girls when they were that age. But my one year old HOPS out of her crib! I put her right back over and over no matter how tired, I admit I saw this on Nanny 911, lol, and IT WORKED. We are the boss, and if they find a weakness in the fence like a dinosaur on Jurassic Park, they will jump right in there and overpower the situation. Good luck, stay strong and I hope everything works out for ya!

Jaime - posted on 11/09/2011

what stands out?? Hmm FIRE HAZARD! that is what I think of first. What if I am exhausted and sleep a little too hard one night and my child has a bad dream or whatever the reason. I have been blessed that I have not had this problem with my nine or eleven year old girls when they were that age. But my one year old HOPS out of her crib! I put her right back over and over no matter how tired, I admit I saw this on Nanny 911, lol, and IT WORKED. We are the boss, and if they find a weakness in the fence like a dinosaur on Jurassic Park, they will jump right in there and overpower the situation. Good luck, stay strong and I hope everything works out for ya!

Jessica - posted on 11/07/2011

Going off the idea Melissa had, You can find the little door alarms at the Dollar Tree for $1. It is loud and will definitely wake you up. Your son will probably be scared of how loud and high pitched it is, which will make him not want to open the door and make that loud noise.

Jennifer - posted on 11/07/2011

Oh wow! The bunny just comes to my room and jumps into our bed. Clearly I don't get any sleep from then on, but I'd rather have her in bed with her mommy and daddy than running around my house with markers! We are very lucky in that we have a locked gate between the upper and lower floors, so she can't get to the rest of the house if she wakes up before us. Have you thought of putting a trelly (expandable security gate) up to close off the living and sleeping area's?

Michelle - posted on 11/06/2011

When my 2 eldest were toddlers their bedroom door was always closed when they were sleeping, but not locked, though this was mainly because I wouldn't allow the cats to sleep in their bedroom. The safety gate was at the top of the stairs. When they first discovered how to use the door handle and opened the bedroom door I turned the handle upside down.

It sounds like your son is a clever little fella and also that you are doing your best to ensure his safety. What more can you do really. Make sure when you go to bed that the tv is switched to an appropriate channel so if he does get up and switch it on there are only programs suitable for his age to watch. As for the markers, well we all make mistakes and, yes it's a pain to clean off marker - you may well have to redecorate - but he didn't hurt himself. Obviously you need to let him know that drawing on walls is wrong and hide the markers somewhere better next time LOL.

My eldest daughter did worse with pens when she was about 3. I had to go to a family funeral that was quite some distance away so I went the night before, stayed with a relative and came back home after the funeral the next day. My daughter woke her dad up in the morning saying "daddy look, i've got new skin". What he was faced with when he opened his eyes was a totally naked child who had coloured herself in with marker pens from head to toe. All he had time to do before taking her to school was to get it off her face, arms and legs. The rest he sorted out after school. The worst part was, when he came downstairs he discovered the mostly white cat had been tied to the chair and was now blue as my daughter had coloured her in with a blue marker! I've got to admit, it was a long time before i had a night away again LOL

Pam - posted on 11/06/2011

I would recommend getting a half door. One of the doors thats split in the middle and you can latch it shut at the bottom and leave the top part open so you can still hear him. Also get a baby monitor and place it high enough he cant tamper with it and you can still hear him.

Nicole - posted on 11/01/2011

I use door knob covers that are toddler proof - I guess it could be considered locking him in but I had to start that with my now almost 7 yr. old who sleep walked - by the recommendation of the ped. an unsupervised toddler is much worse and more dangerous than a locked door.

Angie - posted on 11/01/2011

He is 3? Then why don't you ask him to call you when he gets up. He will forget for a while but the more you ask him to wake you up the more likely he will remember. I did this with both of my children when they were around 2 and it works fine. At 3 they should also know by now that they shouldn't draw on things with marker. If he does it again get some of the Mr. Clean sponges and make him clean it up. You might also set up a bowl of cereal and milk in a cup in the fridge. My daughter now 3 can go get the bowl out and pour the milk on her cereal (as well as an apple if she wants one or some yogurt). There was a little bit of a mess but leaving out paper towels helps. He's old enough to turn on the TV then he is old enough to follow simple directions.

Rox - posted on 11/01/2011

my son starting doing this when he was 2.we had to buy those door knob things that go on the door knobs and i put one on the inside of his door.he would wake up and try to open the door but realize he couldn't and just play in his room till i got up.if he peed through his diaper or hurt himself in his room playing he would knock on the door and if i herd that i knew he needed my attention right away and i would get up.i dont know where he picked all that stuff up its not something you can really train a young 2 year old to do but it was something we tried and worked.so just keep trying out different suggestions and something will work out.

Cindy - posted on 11/01/2011

This is a ridiculous question. The whole point of the baby gate was to lock him in his room. If he's climbing over the gate, then use the latch. Why do you even have a gate if he just climbs over it anyway? A taller gate or a second gate just does what a latch would do.....locks him in the room!

Michele - posted on 10/30/2011

I use think the lock was a bad idea until I had a child. I live in a 2 story house and the master bdrm is upstairs and all the other bedrooms are downstairs. We also have a dog with a doggy door in the laundry room which my son can crawl out and tries to every time I'm doing laundry. He's 3 years old and I don't like the idea of him roaming around the house. We have a baby monitor in his room and when he wakes up, he calls me and I'm down there within in seconds. The alarm thing wouldn't work for us because he gets up somewhere around 4:50 - 5:15. He has unfortunately been this way since birth. If the market was better, my husband and I would sell our house because I hate that he's on a different floor. I don't exactly love the situation, but it's better than him going through the doggy door in the middle of the night.

Christine - posted on 10/30/2011

Our son's room is adjacent to our room and we share a hallway. We position the baby gate so that he can't travel past the hall and if he needs us, we can still be reached. If we didn't have that option, I would totally put a gate over the door and keep an ear out with a monitor if necessary. Kids need to be safe and I'd hate to have my child, at this age, wondering around the house, making bad choices without my knowledge of it.

Nyar Mur - posted on 10/27/2011

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Belinda - posted on 10/27/2011

I'm with you on this. I don't like the idea of locking my child in a room. But we've never actually had that issue. My 23 month old is still in his crib and my 3 year old would get up and leave the room in the mornings. So my husband told my 3 year old not to leave the room in the morning. We've reminded him at night before bed but have never had to do anything beyond that. He knows he's allowed to go to the bathroom and then return to the bedroom. He gets toys and gives them to his brother and the two of them hang out until I get up. If you can't get your son to stay in his room, you need to start getting up before him. It bites, but it's for his safety. Either set an alarm for earlier than he typically gets up or use a baby monitor and get up as soon as you hear him. Either way, I still think you need to discipline him and make sure he understands he is not allowed to come out of the room until you come get him.

Christina - posted on 10/25/2011

Wow...stealth indeed lol!!! At first glance of the ? I was going to say no way to locking him in....but there has been plenty of comments to suggests otherwise. I use a video monitor...best 150 bucks ever spent. I can not only see..but hear him breathing....but I'm a light sleeper too. My son gets up and screams for me to get him and he's in his toddler bed...soo wow, I'm lucky compared to some of these adventures lol. I'd have to say in retrospect with his spiderman capabilities and adventurous personality...it would be better to lock him in. Sounds like you have alot more dangerous stuff out there than in his room. But I wouldn't be comfortable with this choice without a monitor to see of any danger, cause as its also been said...anything could happen.



I love Yesmine idea and will eventually put a tv w/ dvd in his room cause my son just wants to snuggle up, eat dry cereal or muffins and watch Mick Mouse ;) I put him in bed with me while he actually sits quietly while I rest (some what)...but...I might be lucky there too....Good Luck!!!

Donna - posted on 10/03/2011

i feel your pain honey. my twin daughters werent as bad as your son but pretty close. I always made sure i put my daughters to bed later so they wouldnt be up at the ass crack of dawn. But when whey were 3 they managed to write with perminant marker all over almost every wall in our last appartment, give each other hair cuts, atleast 2 times a yr, dump out a whole bottle of strawberry syrup on the rug. (thats when we started putting that stuff up in the cabinets) scribbled through a whole packet of printer paper, broke a bottle of nail polish all on the same rug as the strawberry mix, and painted our vaccuum cleaner with sparkly nail polish only to name a few things that they have done lol

Angie - posted on 10/02/2011

I'm a little confused because the purpose of the gate is the same concept of locking the kid in the room. If you're OK with the baby gate, how is locking him in the room any different? Personally, I'm OK w/ locking my son into his room when the time comes because I'd rather have the peace of mind that he is safe inside the confines of his room rather than wandering around my house alone where he could get into anything. I've actually researched the topic and ran into a tidbit that fire fighters actually prefer the child stay in their room b/c they would know where to locate the kid during a fire then.

Rosie - posted on 10/01/2011

baha courtney, my 9 year old did that too! just one little part right up the middle. i had to shave his head it was so bad. he never did that again, lol.

Courtney - posted on 10/01/2011

I have to take my husband to work at 6:30am. When my daughter and I get back home, I put her back in her bed and I lay down on the couch. I will have the tv set to cartoons, something for her to munch on, and some water waiting for her. I will usually hear her wake up and turn the tv on. When she is done she will lay down beside me until she is bored and literally jump on me. If she tries to get into anything I can hear her so she usually doesn't get too far into anything. She has however shaved her head with my bikini shavers while I was making dinner... That was an experience... Good luck!!!

Brittany - posted on 09/27/2011

My tactic is a safety knob...they can open their door if they actually try but if they just don't care...they won't. My son is 3 and that is how we keep him in his room until I get up. I DON'T ever just put my son in his room and shut it bc I am fed up...I only shut his door when he has to go to bed. Whenever he wakes up in the morning, he grabs his chair and turns on his light so he can see to play. It would be different and I would say "neglect" if parents were to just lock their children in their rooms because they are fed up but it is only for the night and until you get up in the morning. I cannot keep my son out of anything anymore. He's always getting into something he knows he isn't supposed to and I would rather his tear up his room and the rest of the house. So I would just get a safety knob because they will eventually figure out how to use it so it isn't like you are actually putting them on lock down.

Cindy - posted on 09/23/2011

I do agree with a baby monitor though and a door chime so you can hear him get out. does he usually get up at 7am. well whatever time he wakes up you should get up atleast 30 min before. you get time to wake up and get breakfast going and whatever else you need to do.

Cindy - posted on 09/23/2011

have you tried the door knob thingies....sorry i can't remember what they are called. put it on his side of the door so he can't get out until you get him. That is really the only thing i can think of. I do not agree with locking the door but you could get a higher gate.

EMILY - posted on 09/19/2011

My daughter is 21 months and she had gotten into the bad habit of going out of her room and playing in the house when we were asleep, she is not big enuff to open the door, so when we put her to bed we pull her door shut, she goes to sleep just fine and every morning if she is up before me, she sits on her bed playing with her toys or books, it all depends on how ur children adjust to new things. Also something that helps my daughter is that she has a radio playing in her room at all times, she sings along with it and it keeps her occupied(personally i think thats better than a tv)

Ashley - posted on 09/18/2011

If he is roaming around all over the house EVERY day before you wake up, keeping the door locked is a safer option. The chances of him sneaking out the front door are much greater than a freak accident or fire. You don't need to wake up at 6am. lol. The baby monitor idea was great.

Terra - posted on 09/15/2011

I agree with everything here. It's only going to get harder. Just have to take it day by day and hopefully he'll say no to chemicals ;)
I haven't fully gotten into the whole potty training phase yet (just barely started). So, that will be a new experience for me. Good luck to everyone here!

Lexi - posted on 09/15/2011

I don't see any difference between locking him in with the baby gate, locking him in when he was young enough to be trapped in his crib and locking him in at three years old by putting a latch on the door. It's just a way of keeping him safe. What if he figures out how to open the baby locks on the "no no" cupboards and gets into something toxic? I think locking the bedroom door only becomes an issue because you're trying to potty train. He would need access to the bathroom if he is going to learn how to go at night. My son just turned two. Yes our house is "child proofed" but there are still so many things he could get hurt doing no matter how child proofed a place is. I also do not approve of him being unsupervised in the house with the animals. There is a plastic knob cover type lock on the inside of his bedroom door. He goes to bed at night, sleeps through the night and knocks on his door or calls to me when he is ready to get up. I never lock him in there when he's awake just to keep him there. I get up and get him as soon as he tells me he's awake, no differently than when he was in his crib. I hear him if I'm up and I wake up immediately even if I'm still asleep. Our rooms are right next to each other. I sleep peacefully knowing that if for some reason he decided to get up quietly, he is safe. I've heard too many stories of 2 and 3 year olds who get up and wander out of the house, or get hurt or poisoned in the house.

Terra - posted on 09/15/2011

True that (to other above posters). Age obviously has a role. My son is just almost turning 2. He hardly ever listens to me. So for me to keep him safe is why i use several door knob covers. One for the bathroom next to his and the room next to that. Not on our bedroom door though. Once he does fully understand, then will i take the cover off. (Going to need them for his sister next lol) And to the above poster from my post: It's not crazy. It's protecting our children. They'll need to go through therapy if he gets addicted to chugging household cleaners, or falls and gets brain damage, or breaks their neck to where they are wheelchair bound for life. This is using thought process imagination. Now i'm finding myself arguing and i apologize for this. But everyone is entitled to their own views. So please don't call people crazy.

Mary - posted on 09/15/2011

I personaly think people are crazey for even thinking about locking a todler in his bed room . I am glad I was not your child these children are in for a lot of therapy if they live through being locked in their bed rooms . Use your thought process imigination is all it takes . It is true the me generation has arived .

Mary Renee - posted on 09/15/2011

Just in response to previous comments... I really highly doubt CPS is going to have a problem with you closing your toddler's bedroom door for their OWN safety! It's not like you're locking a ten-year-old in their room as punishment! You're preventing a very young child who doesn't have a strong grasp of cause/effect/danger/consequences from hurting himself if he wakes up and gets out before Mom and Dad. I'm really shocked people think it's so weird to close/lock the bedroom door of a toddler... and I really hope none of the people who think it's cruel to close the door practiced crying-it-out in their crib because that would be uber hypocritical

Nicole - posted on 09/15/2011

Actually in the event of a fire you would rather he was locked into his room at his age unless he fully understands AND you practice regularly (once a month) a fire plan. Otherwise he is apt to hide and not be found in time.
We are have a gate that cannot be climbed over safely (our son has tried) at the top of our stairs so we don't have the same issue as you. But until recently our son had a safety first door handle on the inside door knob of his bedroom door. It was there because he would just get up every hour since he was 18 months old (he went into a toddler bed at 15 months after scaling the rails of his crib- which had nothing but a small blanket in it at the time and face planted on the floor) and come tell us it was morning and to WAKE UP! So in the end the only way we stopped this was by putting the safety knob on the his door.
We took it off a few weeks ago with the explanation that he is going pee like a big boy and that way if he needed to go pee at night he could (there is also a potty in his room). We told him if he tried to climb the gate or started playing in the computer room we would put the lock back on his door.
He played around in the computer room once, the lock went back on the knob for one night and we haven't had a problem since.
Our son is 3 on Tuesday.
So perhaps trying something like that might be an idea?

Terra - posted on 09/13/2011

I always close my sons bedroom door. I put the door knob cover over it so that he can't get out (just on his side). I also use a video monitor so that i can watch him. A house fire can be prevented; we have fire alarms installed and i don't nap hardly ever. Alarm clocks, proven helpful, but i get up at 7am everyday without one.

A TV in their room is a fire hazard in my opinion. They can knock it over or kick it, pull the plug out and stick something in the socket... so i took his TV out of his room.



If you have a staircase, or anyone that has one (i do) i have a baby gate on that. If you child wakes up in the middle of the night, saying that he can climb over the gate you put in their doorway, incase if there is a housefire, and then they climb over the staircase gate.. Then what? Your child falls down a flight of stairs. They can break their neck! Not everyone has a staircase, but you need to better accommodate their abilities so accidents don't happen. (This is just from my perspective.)

Mary - posted on 09/13/2011

You can't keep children in their room you have to get up with them . If you want them to sleep later you put them to bed later . You need a monitor so you can hear him or partilly close the door and hang a bell so it rings when opened . When children start to walk the best thing to do is to get up with them . You can't lock your child in his room that is rediclous CPS.will take your child .

Beth - posted on 09/10/2011

to keep my child safe yes I would lock him in his room if he continued to do this. I'd rather he be locked in than getting into something dangerous.

Rachel - posted on 09/09/2011

I so totally don't understand parents. Some say put everything away the real prob. isn't coloring the walls or getting into junk food. The real prob. is turning on the stove, leaving the house, getting into poison. My mother walked into my brother in the top of his closet at 2 1/2. She still has no idea how he got there there was no way up. So kids are amazing. You can never say "They can't do that or they won't do that" I wouldn't put gates in the door frame what happens if they fall down while they are climbing them. You put a swing lock on for a week or so until they stop getting up. They stop you take it off if you like. All the things like monitors are good but are not totally fool proof, the one time you miss could be the one they kill themselves getting out the front door when they figure out the bolt lock. Letting them get up and get in your bed sounds great until you realize ONE day that child will realize they are getting you up and if they don't can do things you don't allow. Not saying they all do that but IF they are one of those kids you don't know until they do it.

Yesmine - posted on 09/02/2011

maybe you should turn on nick jr the night before so when he wakes up and turns the tv on hes occupied and put a bowl of dry cereal or something easy for him to snack on and something to drink... i mean hes at that age where he can be left in a room alone as long as you keep anything dangerous out of the way. i couldnt imagian locking my 3 yr old in a room... he would have a fit and panic and probably cry bc hed be scared.

Rachel - posted on 09/02/2011

Nope I don't see it as insane. ONE if an adult pulls them open it will let loose so he's not really locked in there. Next, you son could get into things that could kill him. He could get in the bath and drown, he could get on counters and fall off or get into dangerous chemicals He could get into the hot water heater or worse yet he could get out the front door or windows all over the house. I know these things sound crazy but My mother found my brother down the road once, hell she found him at my grandmothers once a mile away. Children learn every day and you don't even know it. Just because you don't think they can do something doesn't mean they can't. I would rather lock my child in the room than find them dead somewhere in the house or outside. What do you think?

Just because you see them do certain things or believe they do this or that wouldn't you rather believe they are alive than find out they do things yo don't know by finding them dead. I have advised people more than once to lock them in. I had a child I baby set get into a hot water heater closet, paint a wall and hall floor. She locked her door but found he daughter outside next to the river because her daughter figured out how to push a chair to the door and unlock it. My mother found my brother in the top of his closet once 30yrs later doesn't know how he got there. So children are amazing creatures and will do things while your sleeping you would never know. Just because she wakes you up now doesn't mean she will soon realize SHE'S WAKING you and can do more when your not awake and will stop waking you.

Aleks - posted on 08/31/2011

1. I encourage them to come to me for cuddles in the morning.
2. Sleep in my room (that is what the youngest
3. GET UP when they are UP. Once you have kids sleeping in IS NOT AN OPTION.

Rachele - posted on 08/30/2011

I agree. Locking a child in their room is really unsafe...

Jessica - posted on 08/30/2011

hmmm... that reminds me. I used to, while pregnant, take rowan into my room and shut the door, and I would set him up with a pile of toys, and fall asleep, and he would follow soon after. then again... the boys are also ten months apart. music is always on in my room... and the wort he was going to get into was my cloths(or my husbands). plus I was supposed to not even be doing that... so I think I was doing pretty good their, however, I would do my best to stay awake till he conked out, as I knew he would.

Cyndel - posted on 08/30/2011

While I was pregnant I would wake up feed him take him into my bed and turn a movie on our computer so I could sleep some more, I was exhausted through my pregnancy....and I got plenty of rest!
I've started going to bed early and getting up with him.

Rosie - posted on 08/30/2011

it does cause me some pause at first, but when you really think about it, you are locking them in the house as well, so there really is not so much of a difference. in fact, you are protecting him more, he could get into all sorts of dangerous things while you sleep. you aren't doing it to punish him, you are doing it to protect him.
if you are still completely deadset against it, get an alarm for the door. he's obviously not understanding the danger, and punishing him for being curious isn't the wisest thing to do. redirection, and preventing things from happening in the first place are great tools for children that age. :)

Jessica - posted on 08/29/2011

The window doesn't open in our place( they won"t fix it or install fire detectors except the one in the living room< which in our state< is regulation to do-installing them in every room), but our rooms are close so we DO have a plan in case of fire(which I am paranoid about, especially with the wiring being old enough to rot, as a tech told me when they fixed the air conditioning-the only thing they will fix), and the sliding glass door in my room does work so.... no worries for us. I am very careful and even if I need to walk through fir, it won't be a lot, and I know how to do that well enough(water and cloth-which is readily available-worst come to worst cloths are cloth).

their was a fir like three months ago. took them fifteen minutes to "respond" and then it took them ten more to get out the hose. I ain't waiting that long if a fire comes. where is that debate anyway?

anywho, we ARE moving in the next couple months(for those about to jump on my ass and order me to move now), and my child spend so much time sitting in his window, and has so many toys in his window.... I doubt they need a sticker(would melt anyway... the sun is hot).

back on subject. I stand by my last post.

Sarah - posted on 08/29/2011

When my 3 yr old started going downstairs to play trains in the morning we just moved his trains to his room so he would stay there to play and that has worked. Make sure he can get to books or toys he likes in his room.
For everyone worried about fires - remember if you can't get to your child in a fire it is most likely for someone else to get them from the outside and that, separate from locked or unlock debate, the child is safest from smoke inhalation if the door is closed. Best to keep a sticker in the window to identify a child's bedroom, firefighters will look for those.
I also think the alarm clock is a great idea.

Jessica - posted on 08/29/2011

Your not opposed to locking them in the house, then whats so different to locking them in their room?



anyway, at one point we figured out that we were not allowed out of our room until mom got up, and just stayed in our room. try to keep an open mind for "temp" solutions. nothing is permanent with kids.



If I didn't keep their door closed, my kids would find a way to make a mess so big I would be cleaning for days. my oldest already did that in MY room. He is 18 months old. so... guess it depends on the mom and the kid, but.... I lock my front door, and if explaining won't help, when it comes to it, I will lock his bedroom door too. Thats only a temp though. lock a week, try a trial morning. when they do it again, lock it again... and so on and so forth.



it teaches that our actions have consequences.



If they don't come get me instead of making an epic mess, then they get into trouble. then, when they get old enough, I will tailor it even more.



guess it depends...

Medic - posted on 08/28/2011

I have always taught my son, 5, to either stay in his room and play or come wake me up. He was in a toddler bed at 16 months and has always just come in and laid with us or played in his room. When he turned 3 we got him the day time/ night time alarm clock and that worked really well. Now that he is a little older he just takes his sister and they go into the playroom, and he will tell us they are up.

Jamie - posted on 08/27/2011

I close my daughters door, she cant open it and I wouldnt want her wandering around the house while I was still sleeping anyway. I have a moniter in her room so I hear when she is up and I go and get her. I have never had any problems with it that has always been our routine. She it 2 and will walk around her room and usually read some books for a few minutes until I get her. I've never thought of it as "locking her in her room," and I've never had to worry about her getting into things she shouldnt have. idk it's just always worked for us.

Christine - posted on 08/26/2011

we have a child like that , but now 5 and he goes on the street on a busy hwy here so im scared to death we use a chain lock and jam a screw driver in there so he cant open it now he is useing a broom to get out . he can go anywheres in the house not outside with out me . now im looking for another locking device

Konni - posted on 08/25/2011

I see nothing wrong with locking their door at night. I sometimes lock my 4 year olds door at night. In the morning when she wakes up she bangs on it, which wakes me up and then we are up together. In the event of a fire, what is the difference between unlocking their door and un locking a gate?

Kylie - posted on 08/25/2011

there is a little kids alarm clock you can buy tatyou set to a time you want, and it's a moon all night, and then turns into a sun when it's get up tme. i've never seen one but i've heard alot about it. my son has lots of books and things in his room. if he wakes up early it tell him it's still sleepy time, and he can go back to sleep or read quietly. that works most of the time. he is 34mths.

April-Mae - posted on 08/25/2011

I'm not an advocate of locking a child in their room for bed, or for tantrums, etc. My biggest concern is during an emergency - seconds count; and if you have to take seconds to unlock the door (or the fire people don't know it's locked) it could be very scary.

That being said, what I'm not seeing in any of the posts is what you do when you tell your son to stay IN his bedroom when he wakes up and he disobeys you? Are you instilling any punishment when you find him in the living room after you wake up?

I really like the alarm clock idea - if the alarm goes off before you wake up; then he should turn it off and play quietly in his room. Have you taught him to just wake you up when he gets up? And, what time is he getting up versus when you're getting up? Might be time to change up the schedules a bit so you're awake before he is.