He Figured Out How to Get Out of Bed

I hate to say this, but 14 months is very young to be out of a crib--it's not until about 2-3 years where they learn the "Bed boundaries" so it may be very hard for you to teach him this now. There are also safety issues to consider--getting stuck btween the wall and mattress, etc. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping chilren in a crib until they are 35 inches tall--almost 3 feet which is usually closer to 3 years of age. I would consider a couple of different options other than trying to keep him in a bed with rails....
1. Putting just the mattress on the floor--this won't keep him in the bed, but will avoid any safety issues. If he is old enough to understand he needs to stay on the mattress, then at least you don't have to worry about him falling or getting stuck.
2. Putting him back in a crib. Maybe borrowing one from a friend or getting one second-hand until he is old enough to understand how to stay in a bed. The crib is really the safest place for him to be and transitioning him at an older age will be soooo much easier. We transitioned my son at 3 and had very little problems or issues.

Laura has some great ideas for keeping him SAFE in his room, but if you want him to STAY in his bed, you need to follow the procedure that Super Nanny shows on nearly every episode with toddlers...

Put him in his bed (whatever bedtime routine you have) and walk out. If he comes out of his room, walk him back in, then walk out. Do NOT carry him, do NOT give him ANY attention (including an extra hug or kiss) or speak any words at all. Repeat four hundred thousand times. Eventually, he'll get it that there is ZERO reward for getting out of bed, that no matter how many times he does it or how much he protests that the end result will be him back in bed, so he will stop getting out of it.

In order for this to work, you need to remember 3 things...

Be consistant. It will NOT work the first time you try it, but you have to stick with it. If you occasionally give in and hug him, give him water, sing a song, stay with him for a few minutes, etc. it will backfire because he'll think that if he just continues to try you will eventually give in. It's VERY hard, but you can do it!

Be the same during the day. As Super Nanny explains, if you are wishy washy with your discipline during the day, your son will test your limits at bedtime. If he knows you say what you mean and mean what you say ALL THE TIME then when you say to stay in his bed he'll know you mean business.

Be fair to him-- don't put him in his bed too early or expect him to stay in his bed after he wakes in the morning. Use some of the safeguards mentioned in Laura's post below to keep his room safe when he wakes in the morning, but try to go to him as soon as he wakes up.

my kids still get out of bed (4 and 2) :). but seriously, i'm probably the mean mommy in the group. i just keep putting them back in bed and tell them to go to sleep, and then after i do that (if it takes this long) after a few times (especially with 2yo) then i quit talking to him altogether and just put him in bed cover him up, and walk out. like i said i'm probably the mean one. i believe when it's bed time it's bed time. doesn't mean it's time to play.

Sometimes I thought I'd lose my mind, when night after night, my son got out of his bed and came to me to wake me up.
It's all a journey, a phase, of growing, both for him and you. We have to bear with it until it switches gears again. Just gently take him back or tell him to go back to bed and it's ok....

put a gate across the door of his room, and make sure the room is as childproof as you can make it. (outlet covers, etc)At least he won't be wandering around the house unsupervised at night! I recommend a gate with up and down bars instead of the one that looks like a chain link fence....those are easy to climb. Take a look at Improvements Catalog under the pet section (online) and you'll see what I mean. Let me know if you need any help! I do own such a gate and might be willing to part with it......

Well, the rails on those beds are not intented to keep a child in the bed but they are there to help a child from not rolling out while sleeping. I would encourage you to get a child gate for the bedroom door. This is what I did when my kids were little. This way I knew they were not roaming the house, getting into trouble. They were safe in their room until I could hear them wake up & put them back in bed. Good luck!

That's going to happen. Don't worry. It's kind of tiring, but he'll catch on, and it will be great!

babyproof the room- anchor furniture to the walls, cover all the oulets and get a gate for the door...

Wow K. - you've gotten alot of really great advice here! We had the same problem w/our son getting out of bed so we put a baby gate at the door (this was 3 1/2 yrs ago)- I cannot stress enough the importance of babyproofing the bedroom - even if you think he might not climb - attach dressers, bookcases, nightstands to the walls (target and home depot have the babyproofing hardware) - also, you can get boxes that completely cover outlets that have plugs in them so the baby can't pull them out and get zapped. Put anything like baby powder and baby oil..... in another room or locked in a drawer - you just do not know what they might get up to when they are 'locked' in their room. That is good advice on the supernanny - because, once we put the baby gate up, our son would stand there and call for us - you just have to be stearn - Although, I will tell you, our son at one point started to ask us to snuggle w/him (after we had made him get back in bed) and we did, but for only a few minutes. He's 5 1/2 now and of course doesn't get up anymore after he goes to bed so he doesn't ask us to snuggle - And, you know what? I miss it. Enjoy every minute because it really flies by!

Hi K..

I guess at this point its time to just put your foot down. Children at your son's age are eager to explore, so if there's anything he shouldn't get into, lock it up. (Or you may wake to find he's eaten a whole bag of donuts or broken all your CDs.) If there are things (like knickknacks) that you want to leave out, then you have to lay down the rules. Of course, you want to do it in a loving way, but make sure he knows there are consequences to overstepping boundaries. This age is critical when it comes to discipline, so talk with your hubby about what is okay and not okay to do as far as that goes. You two should be in agreement when it comes to whether you believe in spanking or time out, because otherwise you may confuse your child.

Hope this helps, and does not offend.

Have a great day.

C.