Help! My 2 year old is climbing out of crib.

[kimberlyw]

My son is 21 months old and today was the first time this happened but he climbed out of his pac n play twice at nap time.  We have worked so hard with him (unlike my daughter) to get him to be independant at sleep time. He goes down for his nap and bedtime awesome and has always seemed to love his bed. I am wondering what to do.  He has a big boy bed in his room but I feel he will never stay in it and that step may be too early (I also don't know anything about transitioning from crib to bed).  Any suggestions anyone!

[Nikki~Nathanamp;Danielle]

Sounds to me like he's ready for the big bed - safer as well if he's going to be climbing out.  You can't make him stay in bed - so if it's in the pack n play or a big bed you're still going to have this issue.

It's not that a big deal once you get your head around the idea that they are independent and that yes it will disrupt the routine as you know it.    My ds went into the big bed at 20mths (he wasn't climbing out, but we needed to do the switch so my dd could have the cot).  I did it cold turkey, asked him if he wanted to sleep in the BB, took the cot down, put him in there for a nap and away we went.  He didn't climb out of the bed for 3 days and then decided that he could and started to play in his room at nap time which we just needed to work through with a variety of techniques that have morphed over time as new challenges arise.  It is a challenge, but I think they all go through it.

Good luck.

[jessica and emilys mummy]

Hi
I agree with Nikki.
He's ready for his beg bed.But when you put him in the BB bed
DON'T chop and change from crib to bed.Take the crib down
and start from scratch.
All children are different when they go into a big bed,so you can
either expect a great transition or a bit of a rocky one,which will mean
possible staying in his room for about a week or so,moving towards
the door every few nights.( hopefully you won't need to
I would make a date with ds to start in the new bed.Let him help
you take down the crib,and get him all excited about the bed.
If he uses it to play on,for at least the first few weeks,try not to
let him use it as a plaything or he may not want to sleep in.
Good luck.
Let me know how you get on.ds is 25 months and I need to get her in
the bb,but with her sleep history,I'm scared to death

[sacmommy]

I actually disagree (sorry!) I would wait to go to the big bed until your lo is a bit more mature and can understand rules and consequences. Otherwise, I think you probably will be dealing with a child who is jumping out of his bed every minute for awhile (been there with my now 4-yo!)

There are some alternatives that can help keep him safely in the crib. With my son (4) when he was trying to climb out of the crib, we used a crib tent. It just attaches to the top of the crib so that they can't climb out. Also, now with my 2-yo dd we use a sleep sack. It's actually to keep her warm since she always kicks her blanket off, but it has the added benefit that she can't raise her legs to climb (and she is a serious climber, so I think I'd be in trouble otherwise!)

That's my 2 cents. I know it's exactly the opposite of the previous replies! If you need more info on crib tent or sleep sack, let me know.

[madridmama]

Definitely agree with Sacmommy.  The sleeping bags are brilliant.  I never had one with my other two children but my 15 month old has been sleeping in one since she was 6months.  She is a fantastic sleeper unlike my other two, who were climbing out of their cots at 1yr onwards.  Gro bag have a size 18 - 36 months which should be adequate for your toddler.  Good luck

[MomofLuka]

I'm thinking about using the sleep sack or the crib tent for my 18-month-old who just started climbing out of the crib.  If she was older maybe I'd switch to the toddler bed, but I don't think she's mature enough for it.  She doesn't even safely climb out of the crib.  She just throws herself over the side and half the time she hurts herself.  It isn't safe! 
Thanks for the suggestion, and I'll go to the store tomorrow to get some of these devices and try them out.