Toddler Climbing Out of Crib - Helena,MT

Mine started climbing out at 15 mos. I just put the crib mattress on the floor so I could lie down next to him. We finally put him in a regular bed with bedrails when he was 2.

I would get the Tots in Mind Crib Tent. We have one to keep the cat out, but I love the fact that it will keep my baby in. I bought mine on Craigslist as it can be pricey - about $70 new.

Go for the bed and have fun keeping up from here on out! Our climber climbed into a 12 foot high tree house at 20 months. :) Just a warning! It'll be fun!

Lori,

I put my 18month (now 26month) in a twin. I just put a gate on his door. We let him help set up the new bed with his play tools. He is still very proud of his Big Boy Bed. We had to put him back in several times at bed time, but that was short lived. Your son will do great, just convert your bed!

Wow, this seems early, but all children do things at different speeds, right?? I have b/g twins and they are 14 months now, neither is climbing out yet.....but I have a plan in place for when that starts. My brother and his wife have b/b twins and when they were younger they did the climbing and face plants regularly, until they bought the crib tents. Those things are wonderful, you just zip them in and they can still jump up and down in bed, but cannot fall out. I think they are around $79 each and I just saw them at www.onestepahead.com so check that out.
I personally wouldn't go for the toddler bed quite yet, I would think most 17 month olds are not ready to stay in a bed unless it has rails on it to keep them in!
Good luck......D.

My oldest son was an early walker and had been climbing before he could walk. He was around 10 months old when he first done that to us. The next day we switched him to a toddlerbed. The first couple nights he snuggled himself up to the side railand he did get up a little more in the first few weeks, but he was fine after that. He is four now and to this day is still my climber. In fact he has the top bunk and my 2 1/2 is on the bottom. He'll do fine but be fore warned it will be a little challenging come bed time to have him stay in the bed...but this to will pass ^_^

That's pretty young. Has it happened more than once? You could talk to him about staying in, but that might not make a difference. It would have worked with one of my sons, and definitely not with the other.
I'd stick it out another day or two and see if it was a fluke. I know some people get their kids into toddler beds this early on purpose, but it's a big change for you.
If you find that it isn't a fluke, I'd put a baby gate on his door (ours is held on with pressure, so it doesn't damage the molding) and convert to a toddler bed. Actually, I put a door knob thingy on my first son's door, and he was fine with being stuck in his room, but the second one would hate that, so we put the gate up and leave his door open. You could try either one. Definitely don't let him roam the house freely! He's far too young.
We made a big deal out of moving to a "big boy bed" and then set rules. For example, if it is still dark, he has to stay in bed, but if the sun is up, he can come get you. We did that for several days to make sure he understood, and things went smoothly.
Good luck!

Our son did this for the first time at 18 months. It freaked us out. We bought a crib tent and it has given us such peace of mind. You can get them at Babies R Us or check Craig's list because they are a bit pricey!! Since we installed the tent, he has actually slept much better. I think he secretly likes it. Good luck!

My son started refusing to sleep in a crib at this age because he started daycare and got to nap on a mat. So just do the toddler bed and gate his room so he can't get out during the night. It's not a big deal, really, if they sleep in a bed instead of crib, as long as they're safe.

I was very reluctant to take my son out of his crib, I loved the fact that it kept him contained. Both of my kids were in cribs until they were potty trained. When my son started climbing, we bought a crib tent. He got zippered in at night and couldn't go anywhere. I didn't have to worry about him getting hurt or wandering out of a big boy bed. My daughter used it as well and it worked great. One other added bennefit, a crib tent is much cheaper than a new bed!

Definately convert his bed into a toddler bed. My first son was the same way. We went to bed one night and during the night I woke up to someone starring at me. My son had gotten out of his crib, came to our room but didn't say anything just stood there at my bedside. The next day we went and got a bed rail and converted his crib into a toddler bed.

We have a climber as well and he got his big boy bed at the same time. We put a bed rail on to keep him from falling out. Just think of his room as a giant crib and babyproof the whole thing. It is better that he's safe. Once they can crawl out of their cribs they become dangerous.

Hi Lori

My son was the same age and got out and although you are not ready for the next step you have to take it or take the chance of him getting hurt in the middle of the night. I changed his to a bed and then started a different routine of reading before bed and then I put up the baby gate so even if he does get up in the middle of the night and can climb over it I will hear him do that before he gets into anything. It sucks but you will get through it. Good luck

HI Lori,
YEP! Time for a toddler bed! You could also jut put his mattress on the floor as long as he won't be too cold. Good luck!

C. C.

I would disassemble the crib and see if you can get a twin and make it to a twin, most conversion beds you can and you can get a twin mattress for like $90.
Then get a bedrail and put it up just so he doesn't fall out of bed but he won't get hurt if he crawls over it.
Toddler beds are a waste (unless yours changes to one) as they grow out of it very fast and are expensive.

You can too just put the crib mattress on the floor and let him try that, that way no climbing can happen.

My kids were 25 mos and 20 months when I got them twin beds and they were done. It just depends on the child.

Put a baby gate on his bedroom so he is safe if he happens to get up and cannot wander the house, make sure there is nothing in his room he can climb, pull over on himself, plug covers on and most of the toys out of there (so he won't be tempted to play with them or trip over them). Be very strict on he isn't to get up when you lay him down too and what a big boy he is! This helped my kids big time doing it when they were younger so it wasn't a power struggle later and both are great about going to bed and staying put! :)

HI lori,
My lil boy just turned two. and I put his bed into a toddler bed, he tryed to climb out but never got that far. I think you should put his bed in to a toddler bed and see how he likes that. you might have trouble keeping him in bed for a while but he might like the fact that he can get in or out. I think it would be a great idea. before he does climb out of crib and ends up hurting himself. good luck .

Gotta love the climbing out stage. My daughter use to do that, and I learned the hard way that when they start climbing out its time for a new bed or the matress on the floor. My daughter climbed out once and broke her head open when she hit the floor head first. So if I was you I would put your little one in a bed. You don't have to buy a toddler bed, you can buy a twin bed and buy siderails, some kids like that better, and in the long run saves you money, but that call is yours. But if I was you, I would take him out of the crib before your rushing him to the hospital becuase that one time he fell.

Both of my kids were out of a crib before a year and a half. They had no problems, except for getting up more often before they fall asleep. I would switch. It would be safer.

After they got into a toddler bed, I'd give them a small toy. Like a match box car and let them play before they fell asleep. My youngest is nine now and he still plays with a small toy until he falls asleep. It's like a security blanket. He never had a favorite animal or blanket. He just used his toys. Good luck!!!

my oldest was (still is) a big climber too. we were able to talk him into not climbing out for a while, then switched him to a toddler bed at 19 months when he was no longer scared of falling. getting him to stay in the toddler bed was a headache, but eventually he did it.

My daughter was climbing out of her bed at 11 months. We just threw a mattress on the floor for a couple of months, I could lay down beside her, and she got used to the bed and didn't get out of it when we put it on the frame. It's not too soon at 17 months!
Your son will be fine as long as YOU make it fine for him. If you are hovering and saying in front of him how worried you are, WATCH OUT. These little critters are able to pick up on that and will do you in. Be happy for him moving up one notch on the big-boy scale.

It's time for a big boy bed! I have 3 climbers. You're lucky, all 3 of mine were in a toddler bed between 13-16 months, my son couldn't even walk yet, but could climb out of his crib (he was walking about 6 weeks later). We put a bed rail on the toddler bed, but did not put a gate at the door, although we did gate the top of the stairs so that they couldn't fall or get downstairs at night.

Good Luck!