Crib Tents - Des Plaines,IL

I had this same question almost a year ago when my son climbed out of his crib. He was also OK, just really freaked about it. One mom wrote back and said that her child scared himself so much that he didn't try it again for a long time so maybe be patient. I took that advice and almost a whole year later and my son still has not tried to climb out. He is a climber everywhere else but won't try and climb out of his crib. He is two and a half and I have to say that it's really great knowing when I put him to bed that he will stay there. Good luck.

It might help if she just fell accidentally and isn't that interested in getting out. But a crib tent won't stop a talented escape artist.

Hi! I love our crib tent!! I started using a crib tent on my son's crib when he was 20 months old and he threw himself over the rail 3 times in one night. (The mattress was at the lowest setting and the rails were up.) We went out and bought the tent the very next morning. It's been worth every single penny, as I'm sure it has saved him from an injury.

There no way a child could tear down, get hurt on, or get out of the crib tent we purchased -- the crib tents today wrap around the outside of the crib. No safety issues at all.

I knew that if I tried to transition him to a bed, there is no way he would stay in it. My son needs his healthy sleep -- not nightly bedtime battles. Since then, I have forgotten to zip the tent shut…and he never climbs out. It's as if this tent helped him transition back into the crib, and he loves being in his crib again. More importantly, it was wonderful to sleep again soundly, knowing my son was 100% safe in bed.

Good luck!!

Just be mindful that if you have a strong willed little one they can rip thru it and there is the potential to get tangled up in it. Google crib tent danger just to do your own research before making a decision. A friend's daughter destroyed her crib tent in less than a week.

*Just to clarify-the crib tent that my girlfriend's daughter ripped thru and destroyed was purchased less than 3 months ago! Not an older model. And she was just under 2 years old. So yes, it can and does happen and I'm not willing to take that kind of chance. I'd put the mattress on the floor before I'd use one.

After I posted I googled and found a case from 2008 where a little boy was strangled after he made it his mission to get out of his crib tent.

I second the response of Mom S. from Fort Sheridan and others like hers. Here is what she wrote, "Crib tent = BEST THING EVER! Get one. Best money I ever spent!"

We got ours at Buy Buy Baby last year when our son was about 17 months old and climbed/fell out of his crib like your daughter. Also like your daughter, he wasn't hurt, just scared. We raced out and got the crib tent that same day, and he adapted to it with no problem. He is still in a crib at 2 years old (he's 27.5 months old now). The zipper on the tent broke about a month ago, probably from so much use (he learned how to zip and unzip it himself and enjoyed playing with it, lol), but the tent itself is still on, just open/unzipped. He apparently became so well-conditioned when the zipper worked to not climbing out of his crib that he doesn't even try now, even though he could easily escape if he wanted to!

love our crib tent!!!!!!!!! our 3 year old is still in the crib :) He climbed out at 15 months, we went through a week of no naps, midnight bedtime and 6 am wake ups..........we spent $70 on ours at babies r us, it has been a sanity saver !!!!

We loved our crib tent for my daughter that was a climber. However, the first time we used it, our little monkey was able to unzip it from the inside. I then had to get a long ribbon, thread it through the zipper tab, and tie it down low on the crib leg so that she couldn't unzip it. After a few days of that, she gave up trying and it worked beautiully for us.

you need to stress to her that if she tries to climb out, she'll fall again. A tent will not stop her, I'm sure it will just get her more upset. Everytime you put her in the crib, you can remind her not to climb out, otherwise she'll fall and get hurt. Repeat this every day. We did it with both our kids and they were almost 2 before they figured out that they could try to get out without falling. If she climbs out again, I would suggest it's time for a toddler bed (for her sake).

Good luck.

i tried the tent when my son started climbing out, but it did not fit on my crib

We have a convertible crib where the back is higher than the front, when I called the company they told me there was nothing that they could do, the tent was made for non-convertible cribs.

i think there is only one company that makes them too!!
I hope it fits yours!! i was so not ready to make the transition to the bed!!

You can do either but you may find that if you transition the child now to a toddler bed (or full out twin bed with rails) that you will have LESS sleep issues when they are 2 and older. I have found that kids that transition earlier sleep better.

That said I had a crib tent on the crib from birth till about 18 mos with both my kids because we had cats. My one daughter was in a twin bed by 17 mos, the other by 21 mos (she was only in longer because MIL didn't give me the twin bed sooner.)

Hi J.,

I can imagine how freightened you were when that happened. We have two daughters and used the crib tent for each of them. It worked better for our first daughter who needed it when she was 18 months old. She slept with the crib tent from 18 months until the night of her third birthday when we transferred her to a "big girl bed". At this point I think your daughter may be too young for a toddler bed as she may not stay in it all night. Our concern was that our daughters would wander around the house during the night after getting out of the crib and get into something dangerous or fall down the stairs. I do recommend the crib tent as a safety measure. We were able to sleep better knowing that they were safe. Although, our second daughter actually figured out how to unzip it from the inside when she was a little older! Best of luck.

Just another suggestion....we used those zipper sleeper blankets for my son (he's 2 1/2, in a big boy bed, and we still use them). But because his legs couldn't split wide enough, he was not able to climb out of the crib. We've been using the zipper sleeper blankets since he was a baby so he is comfortable in them. But this obviously wouldn't be a good idea if your daughter knew how to unzip herself. My son still hasn't figured out how to unzip himself but he also never cared to much to try and do it. If you have a hard time finding a crib tent, the zipper sleeper blankets are easy fo find.

They are awesome! Your child can still stand in the crib, but you do not have to worry about them falling out!

As a mother of two, one which is a 2 1/2 yo, who has a crib tent, I would recommend keeping your daughter in her crib until she is 3. Pediatricians recommend keeping them in their crib until 3 also. It helps with naps. You can purchase crib tents on-line. My daughter tried to climb out of her crib once. We got the crib tent. It is in her crib, we do not zipper it up because she has not tried to crib out again. She likes the tent. Best wishes.

Had one for my daughter and I loved it! We kept her in it until she was 27 months when we needed to transition her into a toddler bed so that we could use the crib for my son. My daughter loved the crib tent. It was like a tent to her. She even got to the point where she would zip it up herself. There was no way that she or I would have gotten any sleep if we put her in a toddler bed that early. She would have never stayed. I say go for it if you feel like your child isn't ready for a toddler bed.

Love the crib tent. I got mine at Burlington coat factory in Tinley Park. It was one of the best baby investments I ever made. I put my first son in a bed at 2 and regretted it for an entire year because he would not stay in it. Now with my second I bought the crib tent and he sleeps all night without any problems. It is a life saver! He is 2 years old now and is used to it, it's just part of his crib now. Good luck!

Crib tent = BEST THING EVER! Get one. Best money I ever spent!

Is the crib matres at the lowest setting?