12-Month Old Climbing Out of Crib

I have not tried this but I hear there is netting or tent like things (for lack of a better word) that you can put over the top of the crib so they can't get out. Kind of like a canopy. I hope this helps!

At 18 months my niece broke her collarbone climbing out of her crib. When my sister-in-law picked her up she was limp and her eyes were rolling back. Needless to say, she was relieved to hear it was "only" a broken collarbone.

Put a crib tent over it or put the mattress on the floor. Tonight!

I would suggest a net tent over the crib for safety reasons. He is a little young for a youth bed and you don't want a 1 yr old toddling about with you unaware.

It sounds like he'll be a "climber"! For now, put his crib mattress on the floor and thoroughly childproof his room - I'm not talking about outlet covers and bookcase tethers (though those are vital). I'm talking about making his room a safe place to be when you are NOT there - make sure everything is accessible - nothing AT ALL should be on high shelves, since your son will certainly try to climb up to see what's up there. Make sure the dresser drawers pull out slow (or use latches) and cannot fall out. Make sure toy bins are small and not too heavy for your son to pick up and haul around. Make sure sharp edges and corners are covered. Move the large hard toys (weebles, duplos, etc.) to a different play area in the house - your son WILL fall on the hardest, sharpest item in the room when you are not there.

It's hard to allow your child to play out of your sight, but eventually, you WILL want him to wake up and play (at 5 am especially), without your supervision. Making sure he's in the safest space possible will put your mind at ease, and will give him a boost of confidence knowing he is free to explore without you. By all means, keep using a monitor, and stay aware of his activities. But celebrate too - your son is eager to learn about the world around him!

And when you're done with your son's room, take a good look at the rest of your house. We get in the habit of just putting stuff "out of reach", but for a climber, the only out-of-reach space is a locked cabinet.

Good luck!
-K.

Friends of ours had the same problem. She bought the crib tent-topper at Babies R Us and that has worked great. It attaches to your current crib, and is basically a mesh tent top that zips shut. They can breathe, and see, but can't crawl out! Good luck!

C.

Get a crib tent!!! I used it for all of mine and it's great! Because the last thing you want is for your little one to get up in the middle of the night, while you are sleeping.

Good luck!

D.

we got a crib tent at babies r us. it's a mesh tent that fits over the crib (sides and top are all mesh so there's light and air). there's no way your baby could get out of it. i think it was about $70 though. maybe craig's list or something would have one cheaper.

Consider getting a "big boy bed" with safety rails. Make it a HUGE deal that he's sleeping in a "big boy bed". Let him pick out his "big boy sheets, pillowcase and comforter/blanket". Oh, and don't forget the baby gate at his doorway. So, he won't be toddling about. Make sure there is nothing he can get hurt on in his room. I did this and it worked great. Occasionally I found my daughter asleep on the floor. Eventually, she learned that the bed was more comfortable. Make a sticker/reward chart for everytime he stays in his bed at night. Use a baby monitor so that you can hear him get up. You will know because you will hear him playing. Have patience. He is learning and exploring his abilities and surroundings. I was always afraid of the crib tents. What if I had to get my daughter's out in a hurry? Good luck!

if you want to move him to a toddler bed or a mattress on the floor, that would be the safest. honestly, i know a lot of people suggest putting pillows on the floor, and to each his own, but its a long way down, especially if they go head first, i cant imagine that putting pillows on the floor is the best way to go. i think the crib is the safest place for them, especially depending on your house and what he could get into wandering around unsupervised at night. if you want to keep him in the crib longer, get the crib tent 2, ive used it for all 3 of mine, it is great and nothing beats the peace of mind knowing they are safe. they do have it at onestepahead.com, though i think i got it a little cheaper elsewhere, google it. good luck, D.

Hi C.!You can get a crib tent that fits over the crib. It is breathable and it will preevnt him from clibling out and throwong things out too. I bought them for my twins but never used them but I know several people who have and it works well for them. My advice would be to put it on soon so he gets used to it. When he gets alittle older he may resist it and his sleeping pattern might change. They sell them at babies r us. I.

C.,
Go to babies R us and buy the crib tent thing that zipps them in. My son did the same thing, only he fell flat on his back and I thought he was paralyzed.. and he was older.. but anyway. as long as your crib is a standard type, not higher in the back than the front ect.. just your basic model, it will fit. If not, I would get a "cheaper" standard crib to use for this reason.. he is too young to be in a bed and you will be sorry if you try to switch him now.. Go to babier R us TODAY!! thats what I did!
good luck.
M. from Pittsford

Like most everyone else said...CRIB TENT!!!!!!!!

Get a toddler bed
Make sure your house is baby proof. Outlets covered, cabinet doors locked, staircasses fenced off, all toxic substances out of reach, pets secured.

I dont like the idea of "tents" to contain a child. But we all have to do what we have to do to make things work.

Been there done that

My son did the same thing. So we put him in a toddler bed. We figured that if he did fall, falling out of the toddler bed would be a LOT better then falling from the crib.

He is now 2 1/2 yrs old, and has only fallen out of bed once, and that was about a month ago.

Go to Babies R Us today and buy a crib tent...they are awesome...he didn't fall today, but that doesn't mean he won't.

Best wishes!
J.

If you can't get a crib tent, an immediate solution is those sleeper sacks. They are PJs that are usually fleece, but instead of having legs it's just a sack (like a sleeping bag). They sell them with short or long sleeves or without sleeves & you can put whatever you want underneath. The idea is so they are snuggly warm without needing potentially dangerous blankets (great for the cold weather coming). My friend used them on her son until he was 2 1/2 and finally ready for a big boy bed cuz he'd climb out of his crib & then go into his twin sister's room & wake her. And once he learned how to open zippers, she'd just put it on backwards! With the sack on he can't lift his leg high enough to get it over the side of the crib - he'll probably even have trouble standing himself up with it on! Thus no climbing out! Oh & make sure the crib bottom is at it's lowest setting if it isn't already. Good luck!

You have a curious little boy! Mine climbed out at 18 month, but took a fall and his whole left side was bruised. I did not want to take a chance of that happening again so he went into a toddler bed that night. He did great with the transition. Just be sure you have gates up where you need to to keep him safe and that you are all babyproofed, he's going to keep you on your toes!

I am a mother of 4 sons. When my boys climbed out of the crib for the first time I first made sure it wasn't a one time thing. If they did it again I left the side down because for one thing I knew when they were sleeping they couldn't roll out. And for the other reason when they did climb out I didn't want them to fall out trying to climb over the side. I basically did that for all 4 of my boys. I just felt it was too soon for a bed. Although I did know friends who did get a toddler bed when that happened. Good luck!!! Jo-Ann H.

Ah the fun begins! I just bought a "crib tent" for our 2 yr old who has been doing it for a couple of mos now, am installing it today.

When he first did it the Peditrician suggested it was time for him to be in a bed. Well, we tried that and he was in our room 6x/a night. Back to the crib and we'll see how this ten goes.

Hi C., My son did the same thing climbing out of his crib (secured too) without falling when he was about one and he came into our room also. What we did was replaced his crib with a twin size mattress on the floor (no box spring or bed frame) so it is low enough to prevent him from falling off from 3 ft or higher and hurting himself. We also got a portable bed rail (the one that you slip under the mattress to hold down) so that he does not roll off while sleeping.

Short of putting him in a youth bed, I don't think there's much you can do to keep him from climbing! I think its probably illegal to put a screen top on his crib! LOL

Seriously though, when my son was small, we had the same problem, although he was a bit older than your son, at about 15 months. We basically childproofed his room, so that there was nothing that he could get into, or hurt himself on, and bought him a youth bed.

We also installed a baby gate across the entrance to his room, but he climbed over that too. Finally we just sawed his bedroom door in half, so he couldn't get over it, and installed a hook and eye on the outside of it.

That seemed to be the answer...he was able to get out of bed when he wanted, and play, but we didn't have to watch him every minute to keep him safe.

I have seen these nets that can be put over the top of cribs for this very reason. I think they may have them at www.onestepahead.com.

Otherwise, you can put him in a toddler bed or just put a bunch of pillows around the crib in the event that he does fall sometime.

I am assuming that you already have your crib mattress on the lowest setting possible?

Time for a toddler bed! They're safer and use the crib mattress so it's not a huge investment!

Buy the crib net:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6372...

If he's climbing out of his crib, then it's time to get him a bed. It's dangerous for him to be climbing out, because he could fall on his head in the process. At a minimum, put a mattress or sofa pillows next to the crib where he climbs out, so that when he falls he will not get hurt. But face it, it's time to get him a bed. You can't stop progress.

Hi C.,
Why?
What is the problem with him climbing out at a year old?
He took good care of himself, you said he didn't fall. He is simply growing up and gaining skills. This is a good thing. You didn't want him to stay in the crib forever, did you?
Now, I assume the question is, do you need to buy another bed? No not necessarily. I suggest you lower the side so it is easier and decide about safety precautions in case he gets out when he was not safe. Now is the time to also tell him what to do. Sounds like he came to find you. That is usually quite normal. Our younger son climbed out at 6 months, walking at 7, and running by 8 months. Our older son, never climbed out, we took him out at 4 years because the younger one was on the way. My twins climbed out at about 2 years. We left the side down for a while with the twins. Our younger son simply got into the other twin bed, and at 7 months we took the crib down. He didn't stay in it.
Cribs are not prisons, they are safety devices. We put mattresses on the floor for the twins because they fell off of everything. Finally we gave them one double mattress and sleep they did.
Sounds like him climbing out was a shock for you. You can imagine our shock when we figured out that our 4 year old was not taking the baby out of his crib, but in fact he was getting in bed himself & climbing in with his 4 year old brother.
Kids are fun and all different.
Enjoy his growing up
God bless you
Since I am old enough to be your mom, I always say talk to mom, she probably has some great stories to share as well.
K. SAHM married 38 years adult children 37,32,and twin girls are 18 and in college.

This Is just the begining brace yourself!!!!
Get a crib tent! Today!
Happy Parenting.........

Hi, C.. When my kids started climbing out of their cribs I made sure that the mattress was on the lowest level it could be at. That's the only way I ever knew of to keep them in their cribs for a longer period of time, which won't be much longer anyway. lol

Good Luck,
A.

Hello. Some say it is time for a regular bed when they can climb out. I say, unless you are ready to keep putting him back in his bed till he gets that he is not allowed out, buy the bed tent. My son did the same thing. Unfourtunetly he broke his arm. I was horified that this could happen, the next day we went to Babies r us and baught it. Good luck.