17 1/2 Month Old - Crib Escaper! - Tent/Convert Crib Pros and Cons?

My 20 month old escaped his crib a couple of months ago. We have a crib that converts as well, but he's a climber! I didn't trust him in his room with a dresser and changing table (and the fact that we use his room for storage when we need to). We decided to go for the tent. After spending an entire weekend searching all the store I could think of, we ordered 1 from amazon (it's the same 1 One Step Ahead sells, but cheaper). It's been great. He's had no problem with it. He even tries to close it himself. The only problem is that the velcro tabs are not long enough for the sides of our crib. I had to go to the craft store and get heavy duty velcro to extend the tabs. It took my husband about 45 mins to put them on.

Here's the link to Amazon. BTW, it came in w/in 4 days.

http://www.amazon.com/Tots-Mind-Cozy-Crib-White/dp/B00014...

Good luck!
T.

My daughter escaped a few months before she turned two and I looked into the tent too. and we considered getting her a bed... and guess what? she hasn't done it since. knock on wood! i have no idea why, but she hasn't. i'd wait and see what happens.

i switched my daughter to a toddler bed at 17 months. I thought she was going to be getting up during the night and wanting to play with her toys, but we never had a problem. at the time, we used to keep her bedroom door shut so the cats wouldn't wake her up, so i didn't have to worry about a gate, but if you want her to stay in her room, that's what I would do. Kids never cease to amaze me at how well they adapt to change!!!

otherwise, you can get a crib tent on ebay for half the regular price. or craigslist... just an idea!

one more thing... when my daughter first escaped the playard, the night before we left for vacation... what i did was have her sleep in pants that weren't stretchy enough to get her leg up. depending on how your daughter made her escape, this could help!

Hi D.,

I would try the following (in this order):

1. Ignoring it and address if it becomes a pattern. She may never do it again.

2. IF the climbing continues, get the crib tent.

3. Wait until she's 3 before switching her to a big bed if you can!

Moving her to a bed will present a whole new set of issues. Need for a gate, less napping, etc. Try to delay the big bed as long as you can. You can always use a gate at her door at any of these stages if you don't like the idea of her wandering around the house. She'll call for you.
Good luck with your little Houdini!

I'm a little late on this one, but I say she's too young for a bed. My daughter escaped a few times before her second birthday, and then never tried again. I took the bumpers out and was investigating the tent and she stopped on her own. She is still very content in her crib and sleeps so well.
We put my oldest son in a bed when he was 2 1/2 and he became a horrible sleeper. He had been content in the crib so I should have left well enough alone.
My youngest son is near your daughter's age and I wouldn't dream of having him in a bed yet in the next couple of months, shudder...

We bought a tent for my daughter's crib when she started climbing. It waws a lifesaver for us. She was about the same age as your daughter. It took her a couple nights to get used to it, but then she accepted it. We liked that fact that we could use the crib as a "safe place" if ever we needed that as an option (so I could get showered, to give us time to care for our sick son, etc). The tent gave us peace of mind at night when we were trying to get some sleep. When we did transition her to a bed at her 3rd birthday she was really good about following directions and we didn't have any issues with her getting out of bed at night. IMO that was a huge bonus. Good luck with your decision.

I would just put her in a toddler bed.. you'll have to anyway so you might as well save yourself the money. I put my daughter in one at 19 months when she started climbing out. I never even needed to gate her room. One time she got out of bed and I walked her right back in and explained that she still needed to yell for me when she needed me and have had no problems since. I know all kids are different but I would go straight to the bed. If you have a convertible crib you could always try it and if it doesn't work you could always turn it back into the crib and buy the tent than. The only con is sometime kids won't nap anymore...Good luck!

I'd say convert her crib. I think she's plenty old enough to have a "big girl" bed!

My daughter never really had the chance to try to escape her crib. She ended up getting a toddler bed for her first Christmas from her grandmother (2 months before she turned 1 year old). I waited a month or 2 before setting it up, and then set it up in our living room for her to play & nap on. After about a month of that, I moved it to her bedroom for her to sleep on. So she was just over a year old when she was fully switched.