My kid keeps getting out of his crib, how do I stop it?

Question

He got out of his crib and can do it now without any effort. I have lowered the crib to the lowest it can go. The crib tents dont fit the sleigh style crib we have. We tried the "Big Boy" bed conversion and have not gotten a wink of sleep. He is not goign to sleep with us anymore and Im tired of getting up 6 times a night to put him in his bed and stay with him. He is obviously not ready for a big boy bed. He just turned 16 months old.

Anything I can do?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, you can't (or at least I couldn't with my 2nd son). We put a gate on the door & a sleeping bag & blanket on the floor. After a few nites of us not coming to his rescue, he began sleeping on the sleeping bag. Then we put the mattress on the floor & the sleeping bag on top, which took another few nites & finally after about 2 or 3 months, he slept in the bed. We did not remove his crib until after he slept in the bed for a week (his room at the time was 10 ft 2 inches by 10 feet 5 inches so it was a very tight fit). Everything he is doing is normal. It's very exasperating but you have to be firm with him & ignore him unless you know he is in danger. Him standing at the gate, throwing a tantrum, is harder on the you than it is on him.

Answer 2

get rid of all those bumpers (those oh-so-cute fabric pads that used to protect your baby from banging his head against the inside of the crib). Bumpers make great stepping stones for climbers. Also, take all those big stuffed animals, pillows, and heavy comforters out of the crib. These items were dangerous as suffocation hazards when your baby was small. Now that he’s bigger, they’re tickets to freedom. Start by explaining to your child that this is his very own, safe, special bed, and that he can sleep there all night, just like Mommy and Daddy do in their bed. Then, if you haven’t done it already, adjust the crib’s mattress so it’s at the setting closest to the floor. You might consider buying one of the commercially available safety nets that fit over the top of the crib like a large dome. These nets always seem a little like you’re imprisoning your child, but they’re a temporary solution (they’re also excellent for keeping roaming pets out of the crib). If safety nets aren’t your style, consider installing a gate across his doorway or using a doorknob safety cover that your child won’t be able to open. If you go this route, though, be absolutely sure that your child’s room is completely childproofed.

As your child approaches two, he’ll begin associating climbing and jumping with the possibility of falling, and may become more cautious on her own. You can help the process along by reminding.

If all else fails, you can always go ahead and start the transition to a big bed.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Sounds like you were using his crib as a control tool. When they are big enough to get out alone, you have to renegotiate your sleeping arrangements. I didn't act so strongly at putting my kids back in a bed by themselves, they would crawl up and sleep with us some of the time, but eventually they went back to their own bed. I still don't understand why some parents want to keep their kids at such a distance all the time and I am not being sarcastic, just don't understand it.

Answer 4

Once they can start getting out of their crib, it is time to put them in the big boy bed. You have shut their door and continually put them back in their bed for a few days until they get the idea of going to sleep on their own. However, we did end up having to switch his lock around so we could lock it from the outside and after 3 times of him getting out of his room at bedtime we would lock it until he fell asleep. I know it sounds mean, but that was the only thing we could do to keep him in there. After a week or so he stopped coming out of his room.

Answer 5

You might just have to close his bedroom door and turn the monitor back on. We do not let our son sleep anywhere besides in his room. He is 15 months old and just slept in his own big boy bed last night for the first time. He is freakishly tall (35 inches at 15 months old) and can climb out of his crib so we moved him to a todder bed. It is not safe for a little guy to be climbing out of the crib, he could fall down or get stuck. Is his big boy bed low enough that he can climb into it himself? My little guy climbed out of bed a few times when we first layed him down, and came and "knocked" at his door, but I peeked in and told him it was time to sleep, and he climbed back into his bed by himself. We did this a few times, but once he realized I was not coming in the room and he was not coming out, he stayed in bed.

Just a note, I did put a few extra blankets and an extra pillow on the floor for him in case he climbed out or fell out in the middle of the night and couldn't figure out how to climb back into bed without my help. He is only 15 months old. His bed is like 1 foot off the ground (no problem for my giant), but I was afraid if it was dark he might not be able to see where the opening from his railing was by the foot of his bed. I had the monitor on all night in case there was a real problem, but wanted him to learn from the get go that he is a big boy now. Last night was good, but who knows what it will be like tonight.

If your son cannot climb in and out of his bed alone, he will be dependant on you to come in and help him everytime he gets out. Make sure his room is 100% child-proof because he might get up and play. I think you just need to tell him it is time to sleep and let him figure it out himself. Keep a monitor nearby so you can tell if there is a real problem without having to go in.

Answer 6

They have these tents you put over cribs to prevent this. They are mesh and see through.

Answer 7

maybe hes ready for something just a little older but with the safety rail

Answer 8

turn his crib around