Toddler escaping from his cot - what to do?

Question

Our 20 month old son made his first bid for freedom last night by climbing out of his cot. We must have put him back in about 30 times before he finally fell asleep exhausted at 11pm.

We lowered the side with the thinking if he's going to get out he will so we may as well make it a bit safer for him.

Is it time to go for a proper bed?

He will just climb out of it all the time - I'm dreading it!

Answer 1

We had the exact same problem with our 20 month old girl.
We put her into a big bed on Friday night and she's now sleeping like a baby (s'cuse the pun!) I think she was just feeling trapped in her cot and now she knows she can get out she doesn't seem to want to. We've put a gate on her bedroom door so she can't go walkies on the night. We also get a longer sleep because when she wakes in the morning, she plays in her bedroon for a while rather than calling for us straight away. It's the best thing all round I think. Try it, if it doesn't work you can always put him back in his cot.
Good luck! xx

Answer 2

We dropped the side of my daughter's cot after she climbed over the top and fell quite badly.
Reckoned it was safer that way because she had a shorter distance to fall, but she didn't go into a proper bed till she was three.
It's a nice new game at the moment - like throwing things out of pram and getting someone put them back for you, only this is an extension of "let's throw me out and somebody put me back".
With a lowered side or proper bed, he will be able to get back in himself - IKEA do some nifty little plastic stools in the children's area which are useful aids for getting back in and can be used to give them a boost for the sink and loo. Used them for the grandchildren.

Answer 3

if uve lowered it further, it should be fine (just keep checkin him if u can that he cant get leg ova). if he can/cant be lowered, get him into big bed!! Far too dangerous for him to fall out of!
My 16month old climbs outta his, so were just waitin for the big bed to be delivered this wk.
At the moment, hes got all the cushions/blankets/anything soft possible under n around his cot so he shouldnt hurt himself.
weve also stopped his nap, n mak sure hes totally worn out b4 bed (even if it means keepin him up a bit longer) so he sleeps almost instantly when he goes in his cot.

Answer 4

yes it is time for a bed, my children aged 2 & 8 still get out of bed i think thats just what children do if their not tired, well i did when i was a child . Try putting him in bed and reading him a story , if that fails you have just got to keep putting him back whatever you do dont let him stay up when he has got out of bed or he will do it all the time. Good luck

Answer 5

It is EXTREMELY dangerous to keep a child in a crib/cot when they start climbing out. They can fall and get a severe head injury. It is not worth the risk because of the inconvenience of having to put them back in their bed.

Answer 6

My son is three and a half and he has a toddlers bed but sleeps in my queen size bed with out bed rails and it's been like that for about 10 months now...he has not yet fallen out of the bed

Answer 7

I have five younger brothers. When they were babies, they climbed out every night over and over also!

We bought a crib tent.. It was maybe a 2 foot high mesh "tent" that went over the top, and it tied around the top bars of the crib. Theres a zipper that starts at one edge of the crib, zips up and around the curve, and all the way to the other side. It would probably be level with the top of your head. Easily enough room to get baby in and out. =)

You could try finding something like this to keep him in... I would NOT advise just putting a gate by his door. He might try to climb over that also, and those are not always sturdy enough to hold his weight should he decide to climb over.

Also, if he is unsuccessful, he might get hurt playing around in his room, tripping on things in the dark.

good luck! =)

Answer 8

My daughter done the same thing at that age and all i done was drilled more holes and lowered the base..........this solved the problem. She is now 2 and a half and she's still in her cot..........this is much safer and you can also relax and sleep better at night knowing that they are safe..........leave the moving to a bed for as long as possible. If you move him to a bed just now then you will have another set of problems because he will get out of the bed when he wakens rather than trying to put himself back to sleep............ when he gets out or falls out of the bed then he is going to want to come into your bedroom and you will have alot of sleepless nights.
If you wait till he's a bit older then the transition will be less traumatic for you and him.

Answer 9

Yeah... your days of just putting him in his crib are over.

It's a safety hazard if you keep him in there and he keeps crawling out.

Lowering the side doesn't really eliminate the safety problem. He's still up relatively high with nothing to stop him from trying to climb down, plus, his chances of falling out are higher.

Make the switch.

Answer 10

Tim to put him into a toddler bed!! My daughter kept trying to climb out of her crib and we kept her in it because we thought she wouldn't have aproblem and not be able to get out, well one day I woke up to her screaming. She fell hard off of the crib and fell flat on her face. At that moment we decided to move her to a toddler bed. I just wish we would've done it before she hurt herself.