Two-year old is escaping from crib in the night. Help?
June 25, 2020 9:31 AM Subscribe
My youngest turned two. Only three weeks ago. Twice now she has escaped from her crib at night. We found her asleep in the rocking chair in her room this morning. I don't know how she's getting out. It doesn't seem to be with the help of other objects in the room. I'm sure this will lead to all kinds of shenannigans. It seems like we will now have to transition her to a bed. Advice?
Crib tents - do they actually work? I saw them mentioned in a question from 2012 but looking at images she's the kind of kid who will spend hours trying to get it off, pull it down, yank on the arms, etc.
I feel overwhelmed with everyone, just like almost everyone else right now, and I certainly wasn't expecting this behavior so young. Can you please walk me through how to handle this? I'm thinking I'll have to transition her to a bed, put a child proof handle on her door so she can't escape her room at night, secure all furniture to the wall in case she climbs on it and remove anything remotely capable of injuring her from her room. She's such a mischevious, fearless, determined little monkey...and she's too young to control her impulses and listen well to 'no'. Is it ok to just let her roam in her room and do her own thing at night? My eldest never did this so I'm lost. Thanks!
Crib tents - do they actually work? I saw them mentioned in a question from 2012 but looking at images she's the kind of kid who will spend hours trying to get it off, pull it down, yank on the arms, etc.
I feel overwhelmed with everyone, just like almost everyone else right now, and I certainly wasn't expecting this behavior so young. Can you please walk me through how to handle this? I'm thinking I'll have to transition her to a bed, put a child proof handle on her door so she can't escape her room at night, secure all furniture to the wall in case she climbs on it and remove anything remotely capable of injuring her from her room. She's such a mischevious, fearless, determined little monkey...and she's too young to control her impulses and listen well to 'no'. Is it ok to just let her roam in her room and do her own thing at night? My eldest never did this so I'm lost. Thanks!
How do you feel about transitioning her into a bed? My kids started escaping from their cribs as soon as they could walk (1 yr old) and we just took that as a sign that they were ready for us to convert the crib into a daybed. They still "escaped" all the time, but we treated it like any other bad habit: discourage it by not reacting to it emotionally at all, reinforce expectations by taking them back into their bed every time, etc. And definitely put in childproofing - gates on stairs etc.
At two years old your kids might be old enough to bribe or otherwise manipulate into staying in bed. When my kids were two we sometimes used to make pancakes in the morning contingent upon ____ [insert desired behavior].
posted by MiraK at 9:47 AM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
At two years old your kids might be old enough to bribe or otherwise manipulate into staying in bed. When my kids were two we sometimes used to make pancakes in the morning contingent upon ____ [insert desired behavior].
posted by MiraK at 9:47 AM on June 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
At this stage, we switched to a Montessori bed. Which is a fancy way of saying we put his crib mattress on the floor. And we did take everything possible out of his room and secure the rest because he messed with EVERYTHING. It was not a good time in our home and you have my sympathies.
posted by cessair at 9:48 AM on June 25, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by cessair at 9:48 AM on June 25, 2020 [9 favorites]
Yes, when this starts happening it's time to switch to a bed. I'm afraid the crib tent is going to buy only a little bit of time at best, and likely to pose a safety hazard with a determined little monkey.
We took the route of making the child's room safe and putting a child proof handle on the inside. We removed climbable furniture (mostly the dresser) and stuck it in our bedroom for awhile. It was mildly inconvenient but in the grand scheme of things a temporary phase, and eventually we were able to move it back. For a baby monitor we used a home security camera with infrared option so we could see in there in the dark without opening the door - that let us check in periodically and make sure nothing TOO terrible was happening.
So, in answer to your last question - yes. Take some reasonable precautions, and let her roam in her room and do her own thing at night. She might not always sleep in the bed but that's ok.
posted by telepanda at 9:49 AM on June 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
We took the route of making the child's room safe and putting a child proof handle on the inside. We removed climbable furniture (mostly the dresser) and stuck it in our bedroom for awhile. It was mildly inconvenient but in the grand scheme of things a temporary phase, and eventually we were able to move it back. For a baby monitor we used a home security camera with infrared option so we could see in there in the dark without opening the door - that let us check in periodically and make sure nothing TOO terrible was happening.
So, in answer to your last question - yes. Take some reasonable precautions, and let her roam in her room and do her own thing at night. She might not always sleep in the bed but that's ok.
posted by telepanda at 9:49 AM on June 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
Our oldest climbed out at 16 months, and we had her in a bed the next day. I would just bite the bullet and do everything you said - make her room a safe place, as well as the "gate the stairs" approach. Also, you can put some type of noise making device on the door so you'll get woken up if she opens it - something low tech that will make noise would do it. Bonus unsolicited advice: take her to a rock climbing gym as soon as she's old enough to be allowed in; ours started just before 5 and is still doing it 8 years later. It gives them an outlet for that type of thing and also helps with a reasonable sense of controlled risk - falls, safety, etc.
posted by true at 9:53 AM on June 25, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by true at 9:53 AM on June 25, 2020 [10 favorites]
All I'll add is that you should secure any furniture in there that could be climbed on or pulled over (chest of drawers, for example).
posted by jquinby at 9:55 AM on June 25, 2020 [12 favorites]
posted by jquinby at 9:55 AM on June 25, 2020 [12 favorites]
Is it ok to just let her roam in her room and do her own thing at night?
Absolutely yes! Staying in her room and eventually putting herself to sleep IS your entire goal. Don't get into a battle right now about making sure she stays ~in her bed through the night~. Who even cares! :) As long as she's safe, she doesn't have too many ways to get all energized and excited, and most importantly, she doesn't get into the habit of waking you up? You're golden.
I'm assuming her room is safe already. Just remove any "fun" toys from it so that she can't get herself all worked up and excited (a couple of stuffed animals and one or two comforting/well known books are perfect). Even better if you can keep just one moderately dim lamp in there rather than big bright lamps. Put in soft rugs, floor pillows, etc. as alternative places for her to crash. If she comes padding into your room, gently take her back and ask her to stay in there. If she starts making noise, let her know that's not allowed, and it's a super firm, big rule, so maybe she can toss her pillows around instead?
You want the environment to encourage boredom, silence, and sleep.
posted by MiraK at 9:57 AM on June 25, 2020 [15 favorites]
Absolutely yes! Staying in her room and eventually putting herself to sleep IS your entire goal. Don't get into a battle right now about making sure she stays ~in her bed through the night~. Who even cares! :) As long as she's safe, she doesn't have too many ways to get all energized and excited, and most importantly, she doesn't get into the habit of waking you up? You're golden.
I'm assuming her room is safe already. Just remove any "fun" toys from it so that she can't get herself all worked up and excited (a couple of stuffed animals and one or two comforting/well known books are perfect). Even better if you can keep just one moderately dim lamp in there rather than big bright lamps. Put in soft rugs, floor pillows, etc. as alternative places for her to crash. If she comes padding into your room, gently take her back and ask her to stay in there. If she starts making noise, let her know that's not allowed, and it's a super firm, big rule, so maybe she can toss her pillows around instead?
You want the environment to encourage boredom, silence, and sleep.
posted by MiraK at 9:57 AM on June 25, 2020 [15 favorites]
Transition to bed, and buy one of these door lock thingies. It's MUCH better than the usual style of "childproof door handle" widgets.
They're great devices.
posted by aramaic at 9:57 AM on June 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
They're great devices.
posted by aramaic at 9:57 AM on June 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
My oldest was transitioned to a bed at 22 months bc we only had two cribs and the third was too big for his bassinet. My youngest climbed out. We heard a thud, then giggling. He was rooming with his brother who is 13 months older than him at the time. We hesitated to go in the room thinking they would settle down and go to sleep. Big mistake. Came in and there was diaper cream all over them and all over the room. Once we got rid of the crib and explained the rule of staying on the bed until we came in, they listened.
My daughter would actually stay on the bed until we came in around 6:30am. She would sit on the edge of the bed waiting. My two sons, ha. There were stuffed animal fights and wrestling and all sorts of shenanigans. Regardless, the bed was better than them climbing out of the crib and hitting the floor with a thud. We called it the jail break. Climb to the top of the crib wal and hurl yourself over.
Get a bed. We got a real twin sized bed, but I see merits to a smaller toddler sized bed. Either way, it was safer. For them. Not so much for us.
Yup, secure any furniture. We put a baby gate up outside the door. They could eventually open it, but for a while they respected the gate. (At about 30 months, the two boys would ram full speed into the gate and most of the time take it out.
posted by AugustWest at 10:19 AM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
My daughter would actually stay on the bed until we came in around 6:30am. She would sit on the edge of the bed waiting. My two sons, ha. There were stuffed animal fights and wrestling and all sorts of shenanigans. Regardless, the bed was better than them climbing out of the crib and hitting the floor with a thud. We called it the jail break. Climb to the top of the crib wal and hurl yourself over.
Get a bed. We got a real twin sized bed, but I see merits to a smaller toddler sized bed. Either way, it was safer. For them. Not so much for us.
Yup, secure any furniture. We put a baby gate up outside the door. They could eventually open it, but for a while they respected the gate. (At about 30 months, the two boys would ram full speed into the gate and most of the time take it out.
posted by AugustWest at 10:19 AM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
You have the right idea. We did this exact thing when our kid was two. Mattress on the floor, child-proof handle on the inside, attach all furniture to the walls and child-proof the room. You don’t have to stay in bed, kid - but you gotta stay in your room.
posted by gnutron at 10:19 AM on June 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by gnutron at 10:19 AM on June 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
We put a twin bed on the floor and put a swim noodle under the sheet at the edge so he wouldn’t roll out. He was around 2, I think. Good luck!
posted by bluedaisy at 10:29 AM on June 25, 2020
posted by bluedaisy at 10:29 AM on June 25, 2020
My youngest just turned 2 also and just this week we transitioned her to a toddler bed. She hadn't climbed out of her crib yet but she did climb out of her high chair and we felt like it was time. If we didn't have a toddler bed ready to go, I would have felt fine putting her crib mattress on the floor for awhile.
Her brother spent half a night on the floor at that age when he wandered out of bed and was too sleepy to climb in again. I remember talking to my mother-in-law about it, who laughed and said her son spent weeks sleeping on the floor by his big-kid bed.
posted by beandip at 10:35 AM on June 25, 2020
Her brother spent half a night on the floor at that age when he wandered out of bed and was too sleepy to climb in again. I remember talking to my mother-in-law about it, who laughed and said her son spent weeks sleeping on the floor by his big-kid bed.
posted by beandip at 10:35 AM on June 25, 2020
Response by poster: Any recommendations for a gate at the top of the stars? I should try to post a pic, but a normal gate won't work because of the crappy bannister. And I'm afraid if she can scale the crib, she could scale that just as easily which is MORE dangerous than just leaving it open. I've always given her free access to the stairs because once she gets what she wants (to go up and down the stairs) she stops doing it so much and moves on to the next challenge.
posted by kitcat at 10:57 AM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by kitcat at 10:57 AM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Safety consideration: Starting the first time your child climbs on or over the rails of the crib it's time to put the mattress base down to the lowest setting and leave the rails down or to get the crib out of the room entirely. You'll need baby gates in the house and full childproofing in all possible locations, but the first hazard you have to protect her from is doing a head-first tumble over the crib rails long before she gets as far as the stairs.
This goes with new gross motor skills and competencies so it's not a bad thing. She's now old enough to enjoy climbing frames and ready to do things like haul a tricycle up a couple of stairs, and the feeling of competence will be be a joy to her. You'll still have to stand directly behind her while she works on getting safely confident, but you are starting the transition to the day when she will be able to help you carry things upstairs rather than having to be carried up herself.
Worth checking if she will stay out of completely dark rooms when wandering on her own. If so having night lights to encourage her to stick to certain areas may help lessen the potential for her to damage items that she can climb up to reach. This is now the time that all your higher cupboards need child proof locks as some day very soon she's likely to end up climbing up to the kitchen counters.
I had no luck with toddler beds. The kids would grab their mattresses and throw them around the room which wasn't too bad since mattresses may be heavy, but they are soft. However they took to climbing onto the dresser and leaping off onto their beds, and the beds bent or broke in the middle where they landed. Mattresses on the floor were a lot harder for them to break. I also furnished the nursery with a bunch of sofa cushions, as they could drag them around happily and make their own nests either in front of the nursery book case, or under the window, stack them together to make a tall seat, or lay them out in a row to make a bed.
Every night at my own bed time I would do a once over and figure out exactly where each child had fallen asleep but leave them there as long as it was safe and comfortable. I liked to know exactly where to start looking if there was ever a fire or a child's scream of distress woke me up in the middle of the night.
I once found my youngest wedged upright in a laundry basket, fast asleep. She liked tight spaces and went to sleep more easily in them. Later she claimed the cupboard under the stairs which was our linen cupboard as her special private nest, so I kept all the older comforters on the floor there, and she would spread them out and sleep with all her dolls.
One advantage to children who go to sleep on the floor is that it's not a bad thing later if they are night time bed wetters and have a rocky transition out of night time diapers as it is much easier to clean up in the morning if they were sleeping on the linoleum wrapped up in a comforter than it is if they fell asleep and peed themself on the living room couch, or a twin mattress.
It will soon be time to allow your young one to get up and go pee by herself between when she has been put to bed and when you check on her in the morning. Her getting out of bed now may be because needing to pee woke her up. This means that the bathroom is one area that you really want to have as child proof as possible but not by locking the door. She's very likely to head in there once she has any mastery in toilet training so you must not leave a bathtub full of water with something soaking after her bedtime, baby gates or no.
This is looking good for you. You had a kid that didn't go running into your room and wake you up, so she is showing a very decent level of independence and ability to self soothe for her age.
posted by Jane the Brown at 11:18 AM on June 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
This goes with new gross motor skills and competencies so it's not a bad thing. She's now old enough to enjoy climbing frames and ready to do things like haul a tricycle up a couple of stairs, and the feeling of competence will be be a joy to her. You'll still have to stand directly behind her while she works on getting safely confident, but you are starting the transition to the day when she will be able to help you carry things upstairs rather than having to be carried up herself.
Worth checking if she will stay out of completely dark rooms when wandering on her own. If so having night lights to encourage her to stick to certain areas may help lessen the potential for her to damage items that she can climb up to reach. This is now the time that all your higher cupboards need child proof locks as some day very soon she's likely to end up climbing up to the kitchen counters.
I had no luck with toddler beds. The kids would grab their mattresses and throw them around the room which wasn't too bad since mattresses may be heavy, but they are soft. However they took to climbing onto the dresser and leaping off onto their beds, and the beds bent or broke in the middle where they landed. Mattresses on the floor were a lot harder for them to break. I also furnished the nursery with a bunch of sofa cushions, as they could drag them around happily and make their own nests either in front of the nursery book case, or under the window, stack them together to make a tall seat, or lay them out in a row to make a bed.
Every night at my own bed time I would do a once over and figure out exactly where each child had fallen asleep but leave them there as long as it was safe and comfortable. I liked to know exactly where to start looking if there was ever a fire or a child's scream of distress woke me up in the middle of the night.
I once found my youngest wedged upright in a laundry basket, fast asleep. She liked tight spaces and went to sleep more easily in them. Later she claimed the cupboard under the stairs which was our linen cupboard as her special private nest, so I kept all the older comforters on the floor there, and she would spread them out and sleep with all her dolls.
One advantage to children who go to sleep on the floor is that it's not a bad thing later if they are night time bed wetters and have a rocky transition out of night time diapers as it is much easier to clean up in the morning if they were sleeping on the linoleum wrapped up in a comforter than it is if they fell asleep and peed themself on the living room couch, or a twin mattress.
It will soon be time to allow your young one to get up and go pee by herself between when she has been put to bed and when you check on her in the morning. Her getting out of bed now may be because needing to pee woke her up. This means that the bathroom is one area that you really want to have as child proof as possible but not by locking the door. She's very likely to head in there once she has any mastery in toilet training so you must not leave a bathtub full of water with something soaking after her bedtime, baby gates or no.
This is looking good for you. You had a kid that didn't go running into your room and wake you up, so she is showing a very decent level of independence and ability to self soothe for her age.
posted by Jane the Brown at 11:18 AM on June 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
We had a child that would climb out of the crib. We child proofed the room and reversed the door knob so it locked from the outside. The kid would climb out of the crib in the morning play safely in the bedroom until we woke up.
posted by tman99 at 11:47 AM on June 25, 2020
posted by tman99 at 11:47 AM on June 25, 2020
We have a crib tent and it's great, but we installed it wayyyy earlier than she started wanting to climb out of her crib. We have friends who installed one after their kid started climbing and was quite unhappy. I think once the proverbial horse has left the barn, it's time to put the mattress on the floor and say goodbye to the crib.
posted by juniperesque at 11:55 AM on June 25, 2020
posted by juniperesque at 11:55 AM on June 25, 2020
My baby brother did it, yanking the catheter out of his abdomen in the process. After getting back from the hospital, they re-arranged his external tubing and slept very lightly for a few more weeks until getting a bed.
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:58 AM on June 25, 2020
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:58 AM on June 25, 2020
My youngest climbed out at 11 months and we ended up co-sleeping for the next year...
posted by biggreenplant at 12:01 PM on June 25, 2020
posted by biggreenplant at 12:01 PM on June 25, 2020
Put a gate at their door rather than the stairs? (Although, if they can pull themselves out of the crib
I guess there’s a chance they can pull themselves over the gate??)
posted by like_neon at 12:07 PM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
I guess there’s a chance they can pull themselves over the gate??)
posted by like_neon at 12:07 PM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Just to go back to your original question: my son did this too. He was about the same age if I recall correctly.
I stayed up all night once to catch him in the act. He was sticking his foot between the slats in the crib, rotating it to lock the foot in place, then hoisting himself up.
You will not think this is possible, but it is. Making cribs more hazard-proof (like putting the slats closer together) has led to this interesting side effect in my case.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:11 PM on June 25, 2020
I stayed up all night once to catch him in the act. He was sticking his foot between the slats in the crib, rotating it to lock the foot in place, then hoisting himself up.
You will not think this is possible, but it is. Making cribs more hazard-proof (like putting the slats closer together) has led to this interesting side effect in my case.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:11 PM on June 25, 2020
When ours did this we took the side off of the crib. Most cribs will let you do this. That way at least I knew she wasn’t climbing at night. That worked until she was about four. No need to waste money on. a toddler bed.
She shared a room with her older brother. And when she was ready for a bigger bed she went straight to the top bunk. She was a climber all right and loooved it.
posted by SLC Mom at 12:12 PM on June 25, 2020
She shared a room with her older brother. And when she was ready for a bigger bed she went straight to the top bunk. She was a climber all right and loooved it.
posted by SLC Mom at 12:12 PM on June 25, 2020
Any recommendations for a gate at the top of the stars?
We have three of these Toddleroo by North States 47.85" Wide Easy Swing & Lock Baby Gate. I've ended up moving them around every 6 months or so, and we currently have one on our 3-year-old's bedroom door and two at the top of trickier stairs.
Upsides: cheap, sturdy, wide adjustment range, works outdoors if you want to move it around later.
Downsides: takes some time and messing around with a drill to install, and tends to need readjustment of the latch bolt thing over time to keep closing correctly.
Not sure what's up with your banister, but for a couple of places I put the gates, I first screwed boards to the wall to make a secure place to attach. I figure it's not a big deal to have to fill some screw holes later, but my house came with lots of holes to start with so ymmv.
posted by john hadron collider at 12:14 PM on June 25, 2020
We have three of these Toddleroo by North States 47.85" Wide Easy Swing & Lock Baby Gate. I've ended up moving them around every 6 months or so, and we currently have one on our 3-year-old's bedroom door and two at the top of trickier stairs.
Upsides: cheap, sturdy, wide adjustment range, works outdoors if you want to move it around later.
Downsides: takes some time and messing around with a drill to install, and tends to need readjustment of the latch bolt thing over time to keep closing correctly.
Not sure what's up with your banister, but for a couple of places I put the gates, I first screwed boards to the wall to make a secure place to attach. I figure it's not a big deal to have to fill some screw holes later, but my house came with lots of holes to start with so ymmv.
posted by john hadron collider at 12:14 PM on June 25, 2020
We just sent through this at 2.5. It was a miserable two weeks getting him adjusted but now he's doing pretty well. We took the front of his crib to convert it to a toddler bed.
We had really good luck with a Hatch Baby Rest clock. He had no idea how to know when it was ok to get up without it and would come into our room at really random times. Now he knows to wait for his light to turn green. This light is nice because you can control it from your phone, thus allowing you to let the kid out early without undermining the rules We don't lock his door.
I will add blind cords to the list of things to be sure to baby proof. We have a cordless blind in that room. Definitely anchor the dresser too.
We like this Cardinal baby gate, recommended by the Wirecutter. It's lighter than most and easy to open one handed once you know how, but tricky to figure out. My kid has never tried to climb it.
posted by carolr at 1:29 PM on June 25, 2020
We had really good luck with a Hatch Baby Rest clock. He had no idea how to know when it was ok to get up without it and would come into our room at really random times. Now he knows to wait for his light to turn green. This light is nice because you can control it from your phone, thus allowing you to let the kid out early without undermining the rules We don't lock his door.
I will add blind cords to the list of things to be sure to baby proof. We have a cordless blind in that room. Definitely anchor the dresser too.
We like this Cardinal baby gate, recommended by the Wirecutter. It's lighter than most and easy to open one handed once you know how, but tricky to figure out. My kid has never tried to climb it.
posted by carolr at 1:29 PM on June 25, 2020
My nightmare scenario, even before I HAD a kid, was the possibility of the kid wandering out in the middle of the night. Anyway, to calm this fear, I got this, on the advice of another mefite. If there's any possibility your son can open the door and get out, I highly recommend it or something like it.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:46 PM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:46 PM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
We have a baby dan gate at the top of the stairs. It’s retractable and awesome. Worth every penny.
posted by pairofshades at 1:49 PM on June 25, 2020
posted by pairofshades at 1:49 PM on June 25, 2020
Oh yeah, my kiddo escaped her crib around 18 months and then there was no keeping her in. We had bought one of those convertible cribs so we did the conversion the next day so she could get out of the bed without injury. Another possibility would have been to just put the crib mattress on the ground. There was a good deal of roaming due to the newfound freedom and we found her sleeping in some funny places in her room (in the rocking chair, on the floor blocking the door, etc.). This went on for a few weeks but eventually she took to the bed and stayed here.
Warning: this was also around the age where we had to put chain locks on the front and back doors, due to an incident where we found her on the front porch at 5AM.
Toddlers = the reason most of my hair is gray.
posted by medeine at 1:54 PM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Warning: this was also around the age where we had to put chain locks on the front and back doors, due to an incident where we found her on the front porch at 5AM.
Toddlers = the reason most of my hair is gray.
posted by medeine at 1:54 PM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Much good advice here. The only real answer is to give up. Son #1 started escaping his crib at about 18 months. Once they start, they will not stop. We got him a bed frame that fit the crib mattress the next day. He was always pretty well-behaved otherwise, we didn't really need to do any special kid-proofing. As long as he didn't have the temptation to climb, he was pretty good about going to bed and staying there.
A year or two later we started pouring him a bowl of cereal and leaving a glass of milk in the fridge so he could get his own breakfast. Worked like a charm.
posted by lhauser at 5:48 PM on June 25, 2020
A year or two later we started pouring him a bowl of cereal and leaving a glass of milk in the fridge so he could get his own breakfast. Worked like a charm.
posted by lhauser at 5:48 PM on June 25, 2020
My granddaughter is just now 19 months. TWO ENTIRE MONTHS AGO, she discovered she has enough upper body strength to pull herself up and out of a pack-n-play in about 2 seconds flats. I was dumbfounded, her dad gave up and just went straight to a toddler bed, and after lots of measuring, I bought one of those 28" play yards to keep her from climbing our shelves until she's old enough to understand why she shouldn't. I'd thought her dad was a climber, but this little girl is him times ten and smarter, just to keep things interesting.
So my guess? Upper body strength.
Make sure there are either backup locks or alarms on exterior doors or anyplace that's absolutely unsafe for child to be alone... and have lots of distracting toys easily accessible. Food and a spill-proof cup is good, too. (I really like the no-spill snack cups, and simple cereal or goldfish crackers.) Things that encourage a toddler to stay put in their room instead of roaming the house, y'know. And god... I definitely got more useful use out of baby monitors when mine were toddlers than I ever did when they were infants.
posted by stormyteal at 10:40 PM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
So my guess? Upper body strength.
Make sure there are either backup locks or alarms on exterior doors or anyplace that's absolutely unsafe for child to be alone... and have lots of distracting toys easily accessible. Food and a spill-proof cup is good, too. (I really like the no-spill snack cups, and simple cereal or goldfish crackers.) Things that encourage a toddler to stay put in their room instead of roaming the house, y'know. And god... I definitely got more useful use out of baby monitors when mine were toddlers than I ever did when they were infants.
posted by stormyteal at 10:40 PM on June 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Our guy is not a good climber, but good enough to get in some situations. He's been sleeping in a tent. We just set up our normal tent in his room and got the cheapest giant camping mattress from Canadian Tire that basically fills the entire bottom. One door has the zippers tied together, the other gets the strings all pulled to the outside, and he is contained. He has some real overtired toddler energy some nights, and I'm quite convinced he can't break anything. It's been working for about a year. Very soon, I think he'll want access to the potty, so we plan to do a mattress on the floor. The other part of that plan is to balance bells on top of the baby gate at the top of the stairs so we know just when to panic.
posted by Acari at 7:33 AM on June 26, 2020
posted by Acari at 7:33 AM on June 26, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by leslies at 9:46 AM on June 25, 2020 [13 favorites]