16 Month Old Son Climbs Out of His Crib

It sounds like it's time for a big kid bed. Moving is a big change for such a little guy. My son was put in a toddler bed at 14 months and did fantastic! He first miraculously fell out of his crib at 7 months old and close to the year old mark started sleeping badly so we decided it was time for the big switch. He did great and it really helped his sleeping pattern which had been out of whack for sometime. Good luck! I don't suggest forcing a child to stay in a crib, if they are ready for a regular bed then they are ready and these are the signs.

my son did the same thing i have a three in one crib and made it to a toddler bed so that he would not hurt him self and well i also talked to him about the importance of staying in bed and then every time he got out i would put him back in the bed i also used the pack-n-play he could not get out of it then i would put him in the bed when he was good and asleep try that i hope it works sometimes it is not to bad to have them in the bed with you but it will take some time for them to get use to there bed again now i have to look forward to this baby doing that in a little over a year lol glade she is not born yet when i think about these moments lol

Well, my daughter actually just learned the same thing a couple of weeks ago. She's a little older - 21 months - but all the same I figured since she has learned to get out that she had to get a toddler bed. Luckily my crib changes into one for me. I still can't get her to stay in her bed so after a few nights of failing to get her asleep in her own bed (I tried lying with her and repeatedly putting her back in her bed) I decided to try just putting her in her bed and shutting the door. Yes, she cried for awhile, got out of her bed and cried at the door. But it didn't take long before she stopped and just fell asleep at the door. I know, it's not easy knowing that they're upset and want you but if you let the child sleep with you they will always want to and the older they are when you try to break them of it the harder it will be. Well, it's been a few weeks with her new bed and she still gets out of it and goes to the door but she no longer cries and has started to bring her pillow with her (which I hope means she's realizing it's more comfortable that way). I figure with a little more time she will simply stay in bed because getting out doesn't help her. It's much better than letting her fall 4 ft to the floor. My sister in law has a son a few months older than mine and she bought a net that went over the crib to keep him in. She got it at toys r us or somewhere like that. I feel like that's not healthy for development becaus e he's obviously ready for a bigger bed and by putting up the net she is preventing him from learning how to cope with the new freedom. Since your child is still pretty young it may not be a bad idea for you though. I hope this has helped a little.

With a big change in his life, he may need some extra cuddling and reassurance from you. I would not put a toddler in a crib once they can climb, for their safety.

I never used a crib, but I moved my older 2 out of my bed into a big bed of their own around 14-15 months. The house is generally baby-safe, but they never got out of bed on their own so that wasn't really an issue. I would lay down with them until they were asleep at first, then for a few nights, I'd sit by them until they were asleep, then a few nights of leaving for just a minute and coming back. I'd take longer and longer to come back until they were eventually asleep by time I returned. It probably took a week or so, but they ended up being able to just say good night and me leave, and never any crying involved.

One of my sons did that at 11 months old. Its time for a bed becasue you dont want him to get hurt. I put him in a toddler bed and left the door open with a gate (so he cant get out)

Hi if the first night you'll put him in his crib and lay him down he will cry and sit on the floor by the crib so he can see you, do not look at him. let him cry everytime he gets out of the crib let him get all the way out then calmy without speaking get up put him in his crib and sit back down.remember do not look at him this wil go on for a while depending how attached to you he is but i promise it will work. when he finally falls asleep then leave. the next night sit further away so he can still see you in the dark with the door cracked every night sit further and further away till you can leave the door cracked and put him down and leave it will work God Bless you and dont forget dont llok at him and no speaking. he may get out of the crib 100 times but thats ok just keep picking him upi and puttting him back. Let me knowe how it goes H.

Hi L.,

My little one alternated between our bed and his crib in his room throughout his first year and a half. He learned how to climb out of his crib at around 18 mo. (he's 4 1/2 now) but we took the mattress out of his crib and put it on the floor, took the crib out of the room, ultra-baby proofed the room and put a gate across his door at night.

After three or four nights of standing at the gate calling us and us going to the gate and comforting him and telling him to go back and lie down and go to sleep (and some crying on his part and worrying on our part,) he finally got into the routine. He would wake us up when the sun came up and call us to come get him and I'd bring him into our bed at that point. This way he wasn't banned from our bed, but also had a que he could understand that let him know when it was the appropriate time to do so.

I wasn't a big fan of letting him cry it out either, but at about 18 mo. they begin to realize this and use it to their advantage. When he could understand what we were saying, and communicate in turn, we would explain things to him up to three times and then finally realized he needed to work it out on his own and we would leave him to cry, talk, sing or whatever he had to do to fall asleep.

We only had to keep the gate across his door for 6 - 9 months and finally realized that when he woke up at sunrise, he always wanted to come straight to our room. We don't have stairs, or anything that he can really get into to hurt himself, so this wasn't too much of a concern. That's what worked for us, and even now at 4 1/2 he sleeps happily and soundly through the night in his own room and around 7a comes and snuggles with us for a little bit in ours.

Good Luck!
E.

I would give him all of the love and attention he needs right now with so much changing in his life but I would not get him use to sleeping in your room because that could create long term problems. Because of all of the changes he is going through I would not let him cry to sleep but rock him or read to him whatever you have to do to get him to sleep. Once a child can climb out of the crib then they are ready for a big kid bed even though he is so young. If I were you I would let him adjust to the move first before you add another change like the big kid bed to his schedule. It is hard for children to deal with so many things changing. Just give him love and support and he should adjust fine. Good luck!

My husband and I had the same problem. So, Daddy made her bedroom door into the old style kitchen doors with it cut in half. Then he placed a lock on the outside of the door so she couldn't open it in the night but didn't feel trapped by the big closed door. My mom bought her a toddler bed, at night she would crawl out, play for a while (her room was ultra-babyproof), and she would sleep in her toddler bed or under the crib. Eventually, she just wanted her toddler bed and now she sleeps through the night without needing us. If you want pictures of the door, let me know. This door also comes in handy when mommy needs 30 minutes of quiet time without worrying if she is running around the house!