climbing out

[ele]

my DD started climbing out of bed at 25 mos. She is very determined at that and has been climbing out hundreds of times for the past 2 days. We put our bed next to hers so at least she doesn't hurt herself....and we put her back in her crib every time she climbs out (we are not making it a game but wait a little)

I wonder if we should transition her to the toddler bed (convert her crib to a toddler one) or wait it out a little and her climbing out will fade? I have been reading up a lot against transitioning too early, but I may not be seeing what is the point of delay if she already can get out, just more dangerous way.

One caveat, our bedroom is upstairs, so hopefully the gate will hold.

What are the pros and cos from the real experience? Thank you!

[Lolly]

If she is climbing out you have no choice really, leaving her in the cot is dangerous now.

I moved both of my kids to toddler beds around the time they turned 2 even though they weren't climbing out and both coped fine. Neither fell out, but you can put a rolled towel or a pool noodle under the sheet at the edge of the bed to help that - it provides and edge which helps them to roll back.

DS started getting out of bed but we did the silent return to bed routine and that worked in a couple of nights. DD never really got out once the lights were out - now at 7yo she is still more likely to call for us in the night that get up herself

Good luck!

Laura

[lolsyb1982]

My DD1 went into a toddler bed at 19mo as she was a climber and could get onto the window ledge from where her cot was.
I don't remember having more than maybe a day or two of her getting out of bed and we had a gate at her door so she couldn't get very far!

[Lindsay27]

Yup I agree with others, if they can get out, time to transition.  What we did for a while is turn DS's crib around, because the back was taller than the front, so we turned it so the front was against the wall and the back faced outward, and that held him off for a while longer.  But once he got out of that we transitioned immediately.

[*Ali*]

I'd take the sides off. You don't want her falling and hurting herself.

[ele]

Thank you for all the advice. We removed the side and she is now in a toddler bed. I feel much safer, but she is having a party upstairs instead of napping:  opening closets, drawers, boxes etc etc. She only goes to sleep when I hold her in bed. Hopefully this will get better.

[*Ali*]

When my oldest moved to a bed at 2yr3mo we had to do gradual withdrawal to get him to stay in bed.  We started out sitting next to the bed and moved away over a course of several weeks until we were outside the door again.  We just sat silently in the dark and put him back each time he attempted to get out. He was back to sleeping independently at night very soon. He never took a nap in the cot again but I only persisted for a week as I had a 6mo to look after and couldn't do it alone. I used to take him on car naps.