Help! I Have a Baby Gate Climber!

Here's a different thought, and it may not be something you are interested in at all, but what about letting your baby come to you in the middle of the night? We did that, and it was really sweet to have our toddler climb in our bed in the middle of the night. She didn't cry, we generally slept through her quiet arrival, and we all woke up happy in the morning. I think your baby may be at more risk from climbing over gates and possibly falling than she would be from just walking down the hall to your bedroom.

Just a thought, and I hope I'm not offending you.

1 mom found this helpful

I saw a plastic wrap cover thing in 'one step ahead' i believe. To slick and no holes, slots or grooves to stick feet and hands in. Try there. Also, my gramma told me to spray cooking spray or a little vaseline on rail. Have to say it worked.

Hi J..

We had the same poblem with our now 3 year old son. Nothing could keep him in his room. So we literally sawed his door in half right above the door nob. Doors are only about $25 dollars to replace, a lot cheaper than most baby gates. And we have learned that it is harder to climb a door. Also we had to put a nob cover on the inside of his door so he could not turn the nob to get out. Keeps him fro roaming the house at night and in the morning. Also, since the door was hollow we found some inch wide striping to glue on the "top" or middle of the door to finish it off. We also put a latch on the back side of the door to connect the doors when needed. But this has worked for us and we plan on doing it to our daughters door when she moves to her big girl bed too.

Good luck and hope this helps!

Several replies have said to close her door and lock her in, but I would caution you that if she is frightened by this it could cause you even worse problems. Also, it seems unsafe and a bit cruel to me. You didn't say if she is in a crib or her own bed. Try a crib tent if she is still in a crib. Good luck!!

We have the gate from Babies R Us that only has vertical bars too. My daughter hasn't been able to climb it yet (and she climbed out of her crib at 15 months), but she is trying to figure out the latch. Might buy you some time. I've also heard of people installing a screen door on the babies room instead of closing a solid door.

We had a climber issue, too. I never found a gate, short of installing a screen door, that he wouldn't climb.

We just shut his door now. And on nights when he comes out, I put one of those babyproof doorknob covers on the inside of his room, so he can't open the door. He's learning not to come out. Most nights now I don't even have to use it.

Why not shut the door and use a baby knob thing so she can't open it? That's what we did when ours were little. When we went to bed, we always checked on them and opened the door, but at least she would have to stay in bed for the "going to bed" portion of the night

How about putting a lock on her bedroom door that locks from the hallway and not the inside. You just reverse the installation of the handle. You can always have a monitor in her bedroom to be able to hear that she is safe. It certainly isn't safe for her to be climbing...

Have a dutch door put on her room. A dutch door is a door that has a top and bottom half so you can leave the top half open to be able to see and hear. You can also lock the bottom half but with the top open you can unlock it.
Good luck

I had to go to LOWES and buy a screen door. No I am not kidding. I couldn't keep my son out of the kitchen. because he knew he could get out the doggie door if he could get that far! I got one of the white vinyl ones. It worked well. Just get one that is solid on the bottom.

We have a climber as well! We had to get the childproof doorknob covers so he can't get out of his room. I felt horrible at first but I knew he was the safest that way. Now that he has gotten used to it, we don't need to even shut his door.
Good Luck!!

You haven't said what kind of baby gate you're using - does it have vertical slats or rails? Grippy little toes can climb those pretty easily, but the mesh kind might prove a little tougher to scale. Worked for a bit with my climber, anyway. I think ours was Graco.

You might have to stop thinking gate and come up with another angle. Now that she knows she can get over gates, you might be pretty much screwed! :D

How about a Dutch door (top and bottom open separately)? You can still hear her and she won't be completely closed in, but it's definitely tougher to escape; just make sure there are no chairs or stools in her room that could give her a boost. Maybe if you painted a cute little scene on the inside bottom half, it could be like a TREAT to have it shut.

Or you could install an electric eye that chimes when she walks through the door after bedtime. There are probably lots of other solutions, but you get the picture - sounds like it could be time to stop thinking "gate" and go to a more general "escape prevention" mindset!

Good luck with your smart little climber!

Call Jack at InfantHouse.com. They do all sorts of baby-proofing and he would know just about everything available. He installed three gates in my house-two of which were very strange areas that needed more than I could figure out!

I have gates by The First Years that have pedals to step on to open them. They're heavy duty, and they've held up well. Plus, you have to step on the pedal strongly to open the gate. My cousin's 45 lb 3 year old steps all the way on it and can't open it. As for the climbing, the rails are vertical and metal. They're kind of slick, and I don't see how any kiddo could really climb them effectively. Hope that's helpful.

Is there a door on her room? If so, just close the door and put a baby monitor in her room so you can hear her. We took the door off the nursery and installed a gate when my first daughter was born, which essentially turned the whole room into a play pen. It worked great for my oldest, but my youngest is also an olympic climber, so the gate is basically useless for her.

Hi J.,

My son is a houdini, climber as well. He would climb over baby gates, take apart the covers that go over the door knobs and escape anyway possible. We finally just had to put a lock on the outside of his door. You could probably get a chain lock so that she couldn't get out but you could still open the door and peek in on her. I know it sounds cruel but you don't want her roaming around the house at night unsupervised. My son was upset at first but now he doesn't mind at all. When he wakes up in the morning, he just knocks on his door and says, "I want out."

Gosh, my 2 year old can't climb ours; however, your child might be a bit more adventerous. We use the ones that are pressured to the wall and have panels (look like rails). There is nothing for them to step on to climb over. I guess I don't know what kind you are already using.

Did you ever try a crib tent on the crib... Its great we have used them with all 3 kids! best baby gear item we had!

goto www.totsinmind.com

IMO kids that young should not be able to come out of their room and walk around the house even to come into your room they can get into all kinds of things while you are sleeping that could harm them. also if there was a fire or other emergency(God forbid) you need to be able to know where they are at all times in the night so youu can grab them and go and not have to search the house for them.

A. J

install a screen door with a slide latch. good luck.

Not quite the same, but when our puppy chewed through the gate, we sewed window screen on to it. If you can get something like that on there in a way that she can't tear it iff, seems like this might work. And sign her up for gymnastics or rock climbing classes!

Hi J.! When my kids were little (about 8 years ago) we bought a gate that had a solid frame but was mesh material. My son was a big solid boy and never was able to push it over etc. and boy did he try. Not sure if they sell them still but it's something you can look into.

Hi J..
I say just get rid of the baby gates altogether. I have the Dr. Ferber book too, and I think it suggests staying by the child's door and telling the child to stay in bed, then if the child comes out of the room, close the door and physically hold it shut for one minute, then open it if the child agrees to stay in bed. If she gets up again, hold it closed for 2 minutes then open it, etc. Check this in the book - I think that's what it says. This worked for my son who also climbed baby gates. Good Luck!

My son and daughter-in-law put those door handle things on that prevent the 3 year old from being able to open the door. They keep the baby monitor on, of course, since he can't get out of his room in an emergency. There is also a smoke detector in his room. It keeps him in his room, if not in bed.

D. Kimbriel
Grandma to 2 beautiful boys

Hi J.,
I don't know how tall your baby is, but we have this gate: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2463324. it doesn't have any cross beams, so she wouldn't have anything to step up on in order to climb over it. It's a metal gate that is attached to the door frame. We actually have it in between our kitchen and living room to keep our dogs in the kitchen. They would chew through the wooden and plastic gates, so this was our last resort! :) It's a great gate though and it's tall too, so your baby shouldn't be able to climb over it.

good luck!
H.