20 month old climbs out of crib!

amother

Honeydew

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 9:57 am

My daughter did that at about 18 months. Crib tent worked for a few months until she figured out how to unzip it from the INSIDE with her fingernail LOL

At that point we teansferred her to a crib mattress on the floor. We figured if she was smart enough to figure that out she could *get* that she has to stay in bed and go to sleep at night. It took a few days but she got it.
Didn't have this with any of my other kids. We ended up moving THEM from the crib because we knew we'd be needing it. She of course was the youngest and out of it the earliest lol. She's also the one who got out of her stroller and pushed it for 20 minutes uphill at under 2 years old (last time we tried putting her in it). She's now an extremely bright an active 9 year old but was an exhausting toddler and preschooler to parent. We ended up needing one of those stuffed animal "leashes" for her whenever we went anywhere to keep her safe.

Anon because of numerous identifying details.

ETA: she figured out how to wiggle out of the sleepsacks. I have no idea how. Little escape artist that she was. Can't Believe It

rebal

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 10:57 am

amother wrote:

My daughter did that at about 18 months. Crib tent worked for a few months until she figured out how to unzip it from the INSIDE with her fingernail LOL

My son does the same thing- unzippers it from the inside with fingernails. But I figured out a way to keep him from doing it. I tie the outside of the zipper with the extra material on top with a rubber band and there’s no way he can undo it from inside

FranticFrummie

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 12:25 pm

It looks like we have a bunch of Houdinis on our hands! DD was an escape artist, too.

You absolutely must make sure that there is no other furniture near the crib. No dressers, changing tables, or anything else. Not only does it make it easier for them to climb out, but it's extremely dangerous.

DD could never figure out how to get out of a Pack n'Play, because she couldn't get a foot hold on the sides, and it was too unstable to launch over the top. It's worth trying.

My brother was so good at getting out of his crib, that we had to put bells on the front door, and a latch way up high. He figured out how to very quietly drag a chair across the floor, climb up to undo the latch, and sloooooowly open the door so the bell wouldn't ring. Then he'd slip out and go play. My parents lived on 5 acres of heavily wooded land, with cougars and bears occasionally spotted! Surprised

dee's mommy

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 2:31 pm

My son started climbing out around that time too.

We did the camping out by his crib routine, and finally around the time he was two, or even a bit before, we changed his crib into a bed. Falling off a few inches is not dangerous, but falling off the full height (head first) climbing out from the top of the gate, is a much different perspective.

He got used to the bed pretty quickly, and falling out every now and then is just upsetting. It doesn't hurt. We just close the door when he is sleeping. (He is three now.)

amother

Red

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 2:45 pm

This entire thread makes me sad.
Your child outgrew the crib, in either size, climbing ability or desired level of independence. So instead you find a way to trap them in it?
No baby is too young for a bed on the floor. Stick a mattress on the floor. Baby proof the entire room. Let them sleep there.
My child has been in an unenclosed bed (diff variations depending on age) since we outgrew the bassinet. Going strong 2years later. No it didn't ruin nap time. No it doesn't ruin bed time. Yes it makes for a very happy kid who can in and out of bed by themselves, no waiting for them to cry to be let out.

boat

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 3:48 pm

amother wrote:

It's not only about emotions. When you have an active toddler climbing out himself in the morning before there are adults awake, it becomes a safety issue.

amother

Red

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 9:15 pm

boat wrote:

It's not only about emotions. When you have an active toddler climbing out himself in the morning before there are adults awake, it becomes a safety issue.

Not if the room is baby proofed. The door can stay closed (and child taught to play quietly in morning) or as mentioned below have a gate.

I personally live in such a small apt that I keep the whole thing child safe and don't mind if DC comes out in the morning and goes into kitchen or living room.

amother

Navy

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 10:21 pm

amother wrote:

One of my boys was a real climber with no fear at all.
It was extremely dangerous for him to be out of bed when he woke up at the crack of dawn.
Another who is very sad apparently never had a kid whose physical abilities were way ahead of their natural fears or emotional abilities.

Toddlers that are out of bed on their own even in a baby proof room can be very dangerous things. My friend's son managed to get stuck in a drawer and somehow suffocated and they didn't know for hours as they didn't know he climbed out of bed as he hadn't done it before.

A 20 month old has no capacity of danger.

So. strange that you'd write that it makes you sad that Parents do all they can to protect rambunctious children! Sad would be Parents that don't.
Safety regarding toddlers is not helicoptering, it's called Parenting.

I assume none of your kids figured out how to open extra childproof locks installed to keep them from running into the street? Or climbed on counters? Most of my kids didn't do this, but for the ones that did, I was hyper vigilant.

For the record, my wilder boys actually liked the crib as it was a safe zone and never cried when they realized they couldn't get out.

amother

Red

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 11:13 pm

amother wrote:

Yes, my first climbed backwards up the big park slide before kids his age were sliding down it. Climbed up the rockwall in the park at 18m together with 10y old boys and I have the pics to prove it.

Maybe I have a perfect child but I also think it's in the parenting. I provide opportunities for my toddler to access the kitchen counters and even stove so they don't do it on their own. The kitchen cabinets were never locked, I just removed the dangerous things from them.

This is a bigger concept than one post. My personal opinion is that allowing for more independence actually makes things safer as the child grows more confident and doesn't need to do wild things and is taught freedom within limits. I understand your pov and see it in display in the parenting of my aunts and older sisters. They'll also tell you how wild their kids are and how they must be constrained.

I don't believe it and I don't agree with it. I think even a 2y can be taught how to fry a scrambled egg (supervised) while at the same time not to touch the stove on their own. Obviously there are safety knobs on there too. It's ok if you don't agree. It's a broader parenting philosophy. I think "goodness of fit" is the answer more than "this one kid is crazy".

amother

Maroon

Sun, Mar 31 2019, 11:28 pm

amother wrote:

Ok, so for you removing things from the kitchen cabinets and putting knobs on the stove is enough to keep your toddlers safe. You're taking those measures even while you're providing opportunities for independence and teaching freedom within limits. Well, for someone else, those measures may not be enough, even with the same parenting philosophy. Because her child is actually climbing on the counter next to the hot water urn on shabbos. He's turning on a CD because he wants to sing along, and cranking up the volume. He's climbing the bookcase like a ladder because he sees something on the top that looks interesting. Would I call her child wild? No, he's simply curious and impulsive, as two years olds will be. It makes a lot of sense for young toddlers not to be roaming around unsupervised.

DVOM

Mon, Apr 01 2019, 6:48 am

Son #3 was (still is) a monkey. At 18 months we put him in a regular bed; there was nothing we could do that would keep him in his crib. I looked into crib tents and just couldn't do it. As part of my schooling, I'd spent some time reading and viewing videos of the attachment and development studies out of Romanian orphanages, and have never gotten the images of those little cage-like cribs with kids inside with pacifiers taped to their mouths out of my mind. It's made me a little bit crazy about some aspects of parenting. No crib tents for me.

It was (still is!!) very difficult to keep things safe for this child. We lived in a tiny two bedroom basement apartment at the time this child was up and out of his crib, so the good thing was we heard him when he got up. For about two weeks we vigilantly got up every time he did, gently but silently led him back to his bed, he would pop back up, we'd lead him back to his bed.... ten or 15 times a night until he got the concept that he needs to stay there till morning. We stacked all the chairs in the house onto the tables every night to keep him from climbing, just in case. We also installed a very high up lock on the front door.

Monkey is now 6. I've basically stopped trying to safety proof the environment for him. He's pretty incredible. Within days of moving to our new house, he could show me 3 ways to climb up to the roof (one of which entailed leaping from the branches of one of our very tall maple trees while holding onto vines, tarzan-like). My husband was like this as a kid and still sees the world with these lenses. He's taught my son a lot of safety rules, things like testing his weight on things... And even though it makes me nervous, I've come to appreciate the confidence and healthy industry this fosters.

Last summer, upstate, we visited a stream that we usually have fun wading in. There had been tons of rain, and the stream was running really fast, deep, and strong. My husband and boys and a few nieces and nephews got rope from the trunk (there is always rope and other building and climbing paraphernalia in the trunk!) and rigged a rope ladder from bank to bank, taking turns crossing what was now a river while hanging onto the rope. The planning, building, failing, trying again process took hours; everyone came home exhausted, sunburnt, rope burnt, bruised and of course sopping wet. But there is a lot to be learned and gained from risk-taking like this. It's a part of my life that I've come to value.