Toddlers sneaking out help!!!?

Question

plz no rude answers this is serious. My 3&4 yr old thing its fun to sneak outside and play in middle of the night. We have put screws in Bedroom windows(left enough room for opening for fresh air but no heads) we wven put an alarm on the front door and a chain lock. They keep finding ways outside i cant screw all the windows shut and cant afford alarms for every window and door in the house. Any advise

ok as i said i have bought some alarms and locks. Cant afford to buy more. My children already know how to find ways to quitely climb to unlatch hook and eye locks so these are obsolite. My children do have displine. The reason i know they get out is because shortly afterwards they run to my neighbors house and she calls me immediately. These kids are very smart for there age and when we put new ways into effect to keep them safe they find away around it in no time. Also in regards to takeing stuff away they are 3 and 4 they dont have anything or priveleges to take away. I am consistant with them i do do timeouts. I do spank if needed. Im hoping to get new ideas not what ive already tried. PLZ help. Like the one said about sickos i know and thats why i want this solved like yesterday. Im afraid of the consiquences of what could happen to them. If u have any new ideas plz answer this

Answer 1

I totally know how you feel. My son is 3 and I opened his window 1/2 way... He pushed out the screen and was half in half out of the window when I walked in. My son can also undo deadbolts and open doors... Unfortunately he has the receptive (understanding) speech of a 12 month old so there isn't a lot I can do to punish him... he wouldn't understand.

I have one of them doorknob that is like a lever (not a round knob) and I bought a lock from safety 1st for that... So far he's not figured it out... actually he doesn't try. I've not bothered with the magnetic locks... I would never hear it in the middle of the night. The only thing I can think of to keep him inside is to put guards over the windows... unfortunately they are pricey...

I hope you figure out something that will work for you and your kids. If you do let me know... Because I need some help too... And don't think you are a bad mom or anything because your kids are getting out. Kids are super smart and sometimes it takes a lot of creativity to keep a step ahead of them.

Answer 2

Its very simple - you need to get deadbolts on all your doors that lead to the outside - the kind that require a key to unlock. Then hide the keys, and make sure the doors are locked at night. Its not expensive to do this. That takes care of the doors. Are they really going out windows? If so, the least expensive way I can think of to curb this is to look at OneStepAhead.com or Babies R Us - they have child proof bars that are installed on the outside of the window - they're made so kids can't fall out of windows. Put them on as many windows as possible. It may not look that attractive, but personally I can't think of anything scarier than my kids sneaking out at night, and I'd do whatever it takes to keep them in.

I just thought of one other idea - since the windows in their bedrooms are already screwed shut, can you just get alarms for their bedroom door? So if they open it, an alarm goes off? That may be easier. Or put baby monitors (if you don't haev them already) in their rooms so you can hear if any monkey business is going on.

Good luck!!

Answer 3

Cut their door/s to their room/s in half, and lock the bottom half of the door at the lowest part near the floor with a dead bolt! (or simply use a baby gate in front of their door!
How do you know their up if your sleeping????

Here's a idea that I thought of that I didn't before.
1. you can add a key lock to their bedroom door. As sad as it is, lock them in their rooms.
2. Get some cans and tie string to them and hang it over their door so you can hear them when they leave their rooms.
3. You can sleep on the floor in their rooms at night and/or set your alarm clock to go off in the middle of the night. And wake up before they leave the house.

I use to do this when I was 3 and my mother had to lock me in my room because I would play with the water in the bathroom. (she was afraid that I would burn myself.)

One question I have is how are they reaching locks if the locks are at the highest point of the door?
One more thing you can try doing, which I know you said you didn't want to spend anymore money, but you can go to Home Depot, and buy a number coded lock. They won't be able to figure out the numbers.
Have Brinks install a house alarm.
Something needs to be done. I'd be floored if my kids kept doing this too.
I hope I helped.

Answer 4

This is not a matter of how much and where to put alarms. This is a point of discipline with your kids, you must set limits, you clould spank them(there is a fine line you must stay n while doing this), have them sleep on the floor(or buy a small bed) in your room and keep the doors locked from there, they will definitely not be able to escape. Continue this until you trust them enough no to do it again. If you give them their freedom then they blow it just go back to the system. Who cares if their 12, they will just have to learn from getting embarassed.

Answer 5

my sister had the same problem with my 3yr old nephew. she had to get a lock and put it at the very top of the door so he couldnt get up there even with a chair to open it to get out. as for windows i would probably just go but the cheap alarms they have at walmart. if thats not in your price range being probably only $20 for about 8 alarms then i would tell them if they have to sneak out you will board up the windows take the toys away and being so young they may stop doing it. my other sister had to do that to her kids for not picking up their rooms. they didnt want to lose those toys so they picked them up. good luck! hope i helped some!

Answer 6

you need to set some serious limits with them and let them know that it is not ok for them to go outside and play in the middle of the night. do put alarms on all windows and doors, please because there are sickos out at all hours of the day, you don't want them to become a victim

Answer 7

Instead of dead bolts and screws you may want to buy hook and eye locks. Install them high enough so they can't reach but not so high that the bottom part of the door opens. You can use these on windows as well. They are very inexpensive. Make sure you install them with enough space so they aren't easy to open. I used these for my children and it kept them inside.

Answer 8

Put alarms on their bedroom doors and windows. You can get alarms pretty cheap.

You can get simple magnetic alarms to attach to indoor doors for like $1, I have seen some at dollar stores. Or just move the ones you have.

As long as they are on the outside of the door, I don't see how they can disable them without first opening the door.

Answer 9

You need to continue placing locks and deadbolts on all the windows and doors. This is a safety issue, you do not know who may come around in the middle of the night.

Answer 10

You can get door alarms at Walmart really cheap. They're about $10 for 4, so I'd go do that. Once you know your kids can escape and you don't prevent it, you could be liable for child endangerment.