How to Keep Toddler in Bed.

I used the crib tent for about a year and it worked great. Its easy to use and keeps little ones in. They cannot get out with that on the crib.

I have a friend who had a similar situation with her son and she bought a tent. She LOVED having the tent for her son and he enjoyed it too. One of the thngs she loved is the fact that all the pacis that he slept with could no longer be thrown out of the crib. She told me that it was the best money she ever spent. Hope this is helpful!

Hi A....I run a home daycare and one of my families is going through the same thing, only their little fellow DID fall and get hurt...concussion and broken arm. They took the crib down immediately and are now trying to get him to sleep in toddler bed, but trasition is not going well...My advice would be to do whatever is safest. These moms had some wonderful advice, so I'm sure you can find a way to make things work for your family and keep your daughter safe. Best of luck in this stage of your little monkeys life!!!

My son didn't climb out but could and that was enough for me to move him to a big boy bed.

We toddler-proofed the room (lamp corders behind dressers, furniture bolted into the walls, lower closet shelves cleared out of anything I didn't want him getting into, stuff organized up top so it wasn't a "hey lets climb up there and see what that is" kind of temptation, blind cords wrapped up, etc.)

e also took out the glider chair and put in a kid-sized bean bag chair (it was an insert in a cover so it wasn't super squishy where he would have suffocated in it. We removed the chair because I found him standing on it one day reaching over to his bookcase.)

We used a twin sized bed with a 4 food guard rail and revamped the room from baby stars and moons nursery to big boy transportation trucks, trains, etc. This way we could play up the "big boy room means you stay in your new big boy bed when it's night time." It worked pretty well for us although in the beginning, naptime seemed to be the challenge where we'd hear him playing in his room. Eventually he'd fall asleep behind the door, on the floor by the bean bag, wherever, but he was napping so it really didn't matter to us.

When we put him to bed at night, we close the door. Before we go to bed, we put up a gate in the doorway and open his door. This way he's confined to his room, but we can still hear him if he's up at night.

We never used the toddler bed for the reason that we didn't want to transition him too many times. We figured once was enough and he's been doing very well. Occasionally during the day, we'll find him playing in his room - it's a kid-friendly space that's his with some of his toys and books so it's nice to see that he enjoys being in there. It made the transition easier and more fun for all of us.

I too looked into the tent but decided to spend the money on the new room. If I remember correctly, they were pretty pricey.

Either way, good luck!!

Hi A.,

My daughter too was able to escape the crib very early (15-18 months). For her safety, we reluctantly transitioned her to a toddler bed, and used a higher baby gate in the doorway; which surprisingly she never tried climbing over. For about the first week or so she would sometimes get out of her bed, giggle and laugh, happy with the new freedom. We remained consistent with our bedtime routine and rules, and that stopped.

I don't believe an early transition is right for every child, but it worked for us/her. I think it depends on the child (and parents) and is case by case. My daughter is extremely independent, and anything that has to do with "being a big girl" (which sometimes has its faults) she's all for it.

Good luck! I hope it all works out for your family.

There are tents, A.. Try www.onestepahead.com to see if they carry any. If that doesn't work, I would put her in a toddler bed just for her own safety. You never know, maybe she's trying to tell you that she's a big girl now! LOL

Good luck,
A.

I love crib tents! My son (2 1/2 is still using one). He also climbed out of his crib early. He loves the tent. I think he feels very safe, and it's his space. I think he may have cried the first couple times going into it, so you may have to give it a few times!
I'm going to keep him in it until it is clear that he is mature enough to handle the responsibility of the big boy bed. I know that with my first child, she started not sleeping as well as soon as she went to the big bed. I'm not ready for that yet!
Good luck!

I also moved my children to "big beds" once they were able to climb out of the crib (15 and 16 months). My son NEVER got out of the big bed without permission. My daughter does get out sometimes, but her room is toddler proofed, so she just plays until we let her out of her room. Both kids have guards just in case they roll during sleep. I've never known anyone to have success with the tents, but maybe someone else on site has.

I use a crib tent for my son. He'd never tried to climb out of the crib, so really, it was just for my own peace of mind. He likes it, though. He'll remind me to zip it closed. He thinks of it, really, like a tent! He doesn't try to mess with the zipper, but if you think yours will, look for the type with a prevention measure. Good luck!

drop the mattress as low as it can go...that could desuade her for a little longer

If you are worried about the crib but not wanting to switch to a toddler bed, the other option is what I did. I took the crib mattress out of the crib and placed it on the floor. My 18 mo has been sleeping like this for several months, although now that he is a little older I have been thinking about switching him to a toddler bed. He likes it because he can get up when he wakes up, and I don't have to worry about him falling because he's trying to climb out of a crib. Also, if he rolls out of bed, he does not fall. You can put a baby gate across the doorway of her room so she will not leave, and it may take some adjustment for her to learn to stay in bed, but your probably going to have that sooner or later anyway.

The crib tents work great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!For many reasons we were not ready when our 2 year old DS started climbing out of his crib...there was no way he would stay in his room, not destroy the room/closet/curtains etc and with the way our second floor is designed without major and expensive safety devices installed there was a huge safety concern while we slept...for 42.00 from Walmart.com/shipped in two days- it works great....and he can't hurt himself/the design is very smart..he loves to zip the zipper partway...we zip the rest (he can't unzip it himself due to the design...he'd have to have 4 foot long arms)..we kiss through the mesh and off to sleep he goes....our DD never even tried to get of her crib ever..we ended up moving converting her crib to toddler bed at age 3 1/2 so I'm at the other end of the spectrum when it comes to moving kids out of cribs...it's all to each families own lifestyle etc. I guess.

B.

my youngest started climbing out at 18 mos. I bought a crib tent. I love it & so does she!

I am finally ready to make the switch to a big girl bed.....just need it delivered.

But it made for another very secure, 18 mos!

SAHM to g/b twins (5.5 y/o) & my little girl will be 3 in 1 1/2 weeks

Fact is she is ready for a toddler bed when she can climb out of her crib. She could get very hurt crawling out of her crib.
My idea is that you have a long talk with her about having to stay in her room if she get up earlier than mom and dad. If she will not stay in her room put up and gate. She can then play in her room if she gets up early.
15 month old toddlers can understand but just have to be reminded. You could even have a reward system for every time she stays in her room she gets a sticker on a chart and after so many sticks she gets a special treat. There are some really fun stickers at any of the card stores you could use.

Good Luck,
S.

My daughter did the same thing when she was about that age and I was not ready for the bed transition, so we did the crib tent and it was awesome!! She loved it, actually, when I put it on there. I think she thought it was cool, and it made her feel safe.
She then transitioned to a bed when she was 2 1/2 w/ no problems. She stays in her room all night. Good luck!

I moved my son to a toddler bed when he was just under a year because of the same problem. As for the tents, I have used them to keep cats OUT of the crib, but not to keep kids in. I just felt like my little escape artist would somehow hurt himself on it. Why don't you think your daughter is ready for a toddler bed ( i totally respect your opinion, i'm just curious)? If you are worried about her falling out of a toddler bed, you can always let her sleep on the mattress on the floor until she gets used to sleeping out of the crib. but really, the toddler beds are pretty close to the floor and a few pillows and blankets on the floor should do fine. When I switched my little guy over, it took a little while (a week or so of standing outside his door making sure he stayed in bed and we also gated the hallway off so he couldn't go too far in the middle of the night). I really think that if she can climb out, she's ready for a new arrangement. If you truely don't want the toddler bed, the only suggestion i can offer is that while we were shopping for a toddler bed, we let my son sleep in his pack and play because he he got out, it wansn't as far of a fall as from the crib. It isn't really a long term solution, though. Sorry if I wasn't much help, but good luck!

I think our pediatrician always said that whenever the child is able to get out of a crib, that is when a toddler bed should be used to avoid injury. We have 4 children and each was able to get out of a crib at different ages so we switched to toddler beds for each based on when they got out of the crib on their own and not based on their age. Hope that helps. PS I never used the tent thing on a crib because I always worried about the possibility of the tent falling onto the child and possible suffocation. Good luck!

My son was doing the same thing so we transitioned to a toddler bed- he is 3 now and we never had problems with him escaping his toddler bed. I hear of that fear a lot but amazingly, it really was not a problem!

We used a tent for our daughter starting after she turned two. She loved it. I just took it off in fact as she is turning 3 next month and we want to start the transition to a twin bed. (She hasn't tried to climb out again; I think she's conditioned to stay in the crib now.) Anyway, I bought ours at Babies R Us. I would highly recommend it; IMHO 15 months is WAAAAY too young for a toddler bed. I have a 15 month old son (April 1, 2007) and I cannot conceive of training him to stay in a bed. Good luck!

Hi--We use the tent for the crib and have been using it since our son was born. It started out as a way to keep the cat from jumping on the baby. But, now it's also used to keep our growing toddler in his crib. The tent we use is Tots in Mind. Good Luck!

We used a tent for our son when he was a toddler. It worked well and he loved it. We told him he was camping.

Good luck.

J. R.

A., I had a crib tent for my now 4 year old girl and it worked great. Even after she moved to a toddler bed and then a big girl bed, she seemed to be used to being "locked in" and didn't ever try to leave her bed or room at night...she just knew it was time to sleep. I also am using one now for my 21 month old and he's fine with it (not that he has a choice!) Anyway, at first it seems cruel because they can't get out, but when I put them up both times, I just made like it was an adventure and both the kids laughed about it and enjoyed pretending they had their own tents! It's all in the presentation.

Good luck.