HELP!! My 22 Month Old Son Can Get Out of His Crib!!

Updated on July 27, 2008
K.B. asks from Oklahoma City, OK
10 answers

Okay, so my 22 month old son is home with Daddy today and my husband just called me and told me the "bad" news, he layed our son down for his nap and 10 minutes later he was opening his door!! So my husband put him back in the bed and told him to show Daddy how he was able to get out, and our son just swung his leg over the top rail and proceeded to climb out. I am so not ready for this!! So I need help on what to do and how to handle this. The crib can go down one more notch so we are going to do that tonight, and the crib can convert to a toddler bed, so my plan is to do that this weekend. Any suggestions on how to handle the transition to a "big boy" bed would be greatly appreciated!!

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So What Happened?

Thank you so much for all of your comments this has made me a little more confident in myself to handle this big change. We have converted his crib to the toddler bed and he has done great so far, he is also sleeping on a mat at daycare now and has done wonderful, he actually slept for 2 1/2 hrs the first time he was on the mat and he has never taken that long of a nap at daycare, so we are doing really well!! Thank you again!

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C.R.

answers from Dallas on

My daughter transitioned to a big girl bed when she was 21 months. At first, she didn't even realize she could climb out! We got her a twin bed and put bed rails on it so she couldn't fall out. Once she started to get out of bed we used Super Nanny's technique - don't laugh cause it worked like a charm. Here's what we did:

Bath, brush teeth, book, hugs, kisses, bed. The first time she got out of bed we'd put her back in bed and say "Goodnight" and give kisses & hugs again. The second time she got out of bed we'd put her back in bed and only say "goodnight", no hugs and kisses this time. The third and additional times we'd put her back in bed and say nothing, no hugs, no kisses.

The first night took the longest, probably 10 times out of bed if not more. The second night was about 1/2 as much, the third night was only a time or two out of bed. By then, she'd stay in.

Good luck!!

1 mom found this helpful

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K.G.

answers from Dallas on

Try a crib tent cover---is held under the mattress and goes up and over the crib... made out of strong mesh

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S.F.

answers from Dallas on

Well, my first 2 did great once we put them in a toddler bed. The 3rd one was a chore. I finally ended up baby gating her room, so she would stay in all night. She attempted to go downstairs one night, and my DH and I woke up to hear her rolling down the stairs. So just make sure you either gate his room or the stairs. I chose her room, so that she just had her toys to get into and not her big brothers legos to eat in the middle of the night. I never realized she was waking up in the middle of the night, playing in her crib and then going back to sleep until she was in the toddler bed and could get out when she woke up. Good luck.

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S.W.

answers from Dallas on

What a great opportunity for him to help in the transition process. My little guy climbed out of his crib at the ripe old age of 12 months (yes, 12 months!), so we transitioned him into his toddler bed at that time. We had him "help" us when we put it together, and we allowed him to select a new theme for him room. Even at his age, he had fun seeing his new sheets, a couple wall hangings, and new clothes hooks. We used the experience to foster a new type of independence (he's a very independent guy), and he still mentions his "car" room every now and then. The only concern I might have is safety; a sturdy gate in his doorway and making sure furniture does not tip would be priority number one, as I assume the room is basically babyproofed already. Good luck and have fun!

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R.B.

answers from Dallas on

Well you have a couple options really. You can buy a crib tent at Babies R Us and they work great! We used one with our son until he turned 2 and then we put him in the toddler bed.

When he turned 2 we took him to the store to pick out his toddler bed and it wasn't much of a transitional hassle for him at all. he loved his new bed and stayed put all night long. Now I know more parents have trouble with keeping kids in their rooms at night, but I have no advice in that department.

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K.P.

answers from Dallas on

My daughter is two and a half now and I did away with the crib and went straight to a pink princess toddler bed. I had no problems at all she slept in it that night and has been ever since. She never got out of her bed but maybe a couple of times during the process. Anyway she loved coverting to a toddler bed it made her feel like such big girl. It in a way makes them feel more important like they are not caged in a crib...she absolutley loved it and I mean that and she still does. Some people have a little bit more trouble. My son was harder then my daughter. he always wanted to sleep with us and still tires. Don't ever make that mistake because the next thing you know you will have woken up in your OWN bed with a 10 year olds stinky foot in her face...LOL...good luck to you anyway and God bless!!

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D.J.

answers from Dallas on

I moved my son to a toddler bed at 18 months. If your son is big enough to crawl out of the crib then it's time for a "big boy" bed. You may ask, "how do I teach him not to get out of the big bed?"...Well, it IS possible to teach a child at any age not to get out of bed. You may have to use discipline, but beleive it or not IT WORKS. :)

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A.C.

answers from Dallas on

My son was trying to scale the crib at 17 months old and we just went with it. I believe if you just pay attention to what they're doing, they'll let you know what they're "ready" for.....why put a number on it and suffer??? We got him a racecar bed off craigslist and some new "cool" bedding, and redecorated his room (toybox, dresser, etc) and then let him help me get the bed ready. We bragged on it and made a big deal about how cool it was, and he loved it. Obviously part of the redecorating is babyproofing the room: outlet covers, etc. Then we laid him in his new bed and kissed him goodnight, walked out, and put the safety gate in the doorway. He was just fine. My big fear was that he'd get out and run amuck, but as someone told me, I found that he doesn't get out of bed in the dark. I say no fear, just put up a gate, prep his room, and make a big deal of the new step.

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A.J.

answers from Dallas on

Hi, Hold off on the big boy bed, He's not ready yet... Lower the crib to the lowest and buy a CRIB TENT (you can check EBAY for a lower price than retail) and use that. I use/have used one with all 3 of my boys and they are a must in ANY baby room!

Hope that helps!
A. J

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L.P.

answers from Dallas on

My twin daughters did this!!! Then they would strip down to nothting!!!! The only thing I did was make sure their room was safe and made them stay in there until they took their naps. Naps are very, very important for all parties involved. Eventually,they got the message nap time was nap time but it took a LOT of consistency. If he is going someplace other than home during the week, they need to be consistent with you. You will look back on this as funny,not today but later. My daughters are now fifteen and I wish I had taken pictures of them asleep on the floor NAKED! I could use that type of blackmail during these teen years. Good luck and enjoy every day.

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