What to Do with 21 Month Old?

Let him come with you to the bathroom! Do your work where he is. Involve him in some way - give him a spray bottle with water and a towel, a little broom, a dusting cloth, etc. Keep him with you to learn about life! If you keep him in another room away from you, how does he learn and explore? My children were always with me. No, you won't get things done as quickly as you'd like to, however you'll share precious time with your child, the son that loves and adores you!

Enjoy each & every moment with you dear, and precious gift from God!

P.S. I'm actually shocked to read that a few have suggested locking your child in a crib tent! Unbelievable.

1 mom found this helpful

I got this advice from the great moms on this site. I have a 19 month old that was getting his feet caught in the crib spindles and climbing out of his crib. I got this wonderful crib tent (40 or $65 depending on which one) at walmart.com. I got the more expensive one and love it. It zips up like a tent so they can't get out. My toddler loves it and thinks it is play time when I zip it up. I put a few toys in there and walla. Hope this helps

1 mom found this helpful

At this stage they just want to explore, so I used gates. I purchase 3 gates and placed them around the house, I moved them as needed. Baby could see me but had no chance of getting into the cleaning supplies if I was cleaning or the hot stove if I was cooking....

Good luck

1 mom found this helpful

Hi L.

We are starting to have the same prob with our 21 month old as well. You are reminding me to look into options of a crib tent http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2404625. There's a variety online, u can check Amazon for reviews.

Best, A.

1 mom found this helpful

if he has his own room, you can make sure there is only safe toys in there and put a gate in the doorway. that way he cant leave the room, but the door is open so you can still keep a close eye on him. if he doesnt have his own room, you can make sure that 1 room in the house is baby proof and put up gates to keep him safe in that room. i have a very active 24 month old son and we cant live without our baby gates!

1 mom found this helpful

You bring them along- even the bathroom. With chores, have him help you if he can. My son likes to help put laundry in the dryer- I put the wet laundry on the door and he pushes it into the dryer. Or I set him up with a project i.e. crayons or stickers and paper while I do the dishes. Or I turn on a movie/sesame street for him. Hate to let TV baby sit my kid but in controlled amounts and for my own sanity it is sometimes necessary. And sometimes not much gets done besides playing with my son. That's ok too and in fact often better.

1 mom found this helpful

Baby gates, superyard and a crib tent saved me. But my 5 year olds are pretty good at telling me when the baby is into something he is not supposed to be into. That helps a great deal, when Im...going to the bathroom! I also will put my baby (17 mos) in the walker when I am trying to unload the dishwasher for example. He still loves the walker (even tho he is much too old for it) and his big brothers love to push him around in it!

1 mom found this helpful

I think the crib tent is the best solution too. My girlfriend has twin boys with the same issue and they love the tent also.

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter started climbing in and out of her crib at 23 months. I ended up just putting her in a bed, and she's done well. If she was getting in to stuff, I'd gate her in her room, but thankfully she's not too bad with that. I can take a shower with her "loose", or even do the dishes. I gated off the stairs and the kitchen so she can't injure herself. I switched her to her bed so she wouldn't hurt herself. The day she started climbing out she ended up with bumps all over her head from falling, poor thing. I gated her out of her room until we got the big girl bed, so she wouldn't climb in.

1 mom found this helpful

Put up a gate at the door to his room. That way the door is open but he shouldn't be able to get around the gate. Make sure that all of his toys in his room are safe for him to play alone. I have even read in books that it is very good for kids to have this chance to entertain themselves. Most kids are constantly entertained and don't know how to self-entertain. Start with small increments of time and slowly build him up.

1 mom found this helpful

If your house is babyproofed, he will be fine. If you have stairs, close the gates when you need to leave him alone for a second. If you need to go to the bathroom, take him with you. Children will never learn to be independent, however, if they're constantly glued to your side. Make sure that his room/playroom is a safe place for him to play, and let him play alone for a few minutes at a time every day. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

Perhaps you could have a "busy box" that you only give him when it's time for something you've got to do. This box should contain safe, fun things that will keep him busy, but ONLY can be played with at those times.
M.

1 mom found this helpful

Crib tent. My twins love their crib tent. It took them about a week to get used to the change. There was some protest but after the initial reaction they loved it. They would often asked to be zipped up. It reminded me of cozy tent attached to their bed.

1 mom found this helpful

You don't want him to hurt himself climbing out of the crib. It may be time to switch to a toddler bed and put a gate at the door. That is what we did and it was great. My kids could entertain themselves for a tad while I used the restroom or did a quick chore in the safety of their room.

1 mom found this helpful

try completely baby proofing one room in the house (his maybe) and then get a tall baby gate?!

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter started doing this around 15 months and I was a nervous wreck. I wasn't able to take a shower without worrying that she was escaping from her crib and hurting herself in the process. For peace of mind, I bought a crib tent. It is a mesh tent that domes over the crib. To install it, you take the mattress out of the crib, install the tent and then put the mattress back in. Trust me, there is no escaping this thing. Eventually, my daughter did figure out how to unzip it from the inside so I had to saftey pin the zipper shut. I actually found this item at a children's orchard. Call around because new it is close to $70 at Babies R Us. I bought it for $20 at the one off of Crown Valley Parkway. Best of luck to you.

1 mom found this helpful

How about a playpen or pack-n-play. Because they have a net sides instead of wooden slates, I think it is harder for them to escape. I used to put my then almost 1 year old and almost 3 year old in when I showered in order to know they were safe.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi L.,
Boy do I understand what that is like! My son jumped ship over his crib rail at 17 months! I would say to try to make at least one room in the house super baby proofed, and then put a baby gate on the door. Another option would be to get one of those Super Yard xt gates that makes a large enclosed play area. They are a good size, plus you can expand them if you need to, and you can put lots of toys inside, plus there is still plenty of room to run around inside. Also, the panels are collapsible so that when you're not using it you can fold it and put it aside. It was a life saver for me.
Amazon has is on sale right now for $59.99 with free shipping.
Sometimes a mom just needs to be able to go to the bathroom in peace! =)
All the best!
M.

1 mom found this helpful

Using the corner of a room, we bought one of those wall/gate systems (ours was from One Step Ahead, bought on Craig's List) and created essentially a giant playpen. We laid out the foam interlocking alphabet letters on the floor & put in a bunch of toys, often rotating them. Ours is in our kitchen/dining/family area, so we are often here & can interact verbally while still keeping her out of danger (i.e. stove, etc.) This has worked well since she was about 9 mos. She's now 25 months. At this point she sometimes wants out & says so, but we just repeat, "Mommy/Daddy has to ______ right now & we can't watch you. It's not safe for you to be by yourself. When I'm done, we'll play together." (And we do.) It has worked like a charm.

1 mom found this helpful

there are thins that you can attach to your crib to prevent the little one from getting out. Attachments to make the sides higher and also nets that go over the top.

And I bring my little one into the bathroom with me when he is acting overly mischievous!

1 mom found this helpful

Don't you have a room or 2 that are "babyproofed??" With my first daughter, we gated off the living room and it was pretty much a padded cell with only stuff in it that would not hurt her and that she could use to make a mess and play. By the time #2 came, we had moved and this was no longer possible, but we then just gated the rooms that were off limits (my husband's office, the laundry area, etc) and removed all cleaning fluids, sharp objects, and even some tippable bookshelves. Yes, she did make messes with toys, pots and pans, etc. but you can hear that happening, and decide whether to stop it or clean it up later.

I agree, this is the hardest time in your life, until he is about 2 1/2 or 3, but this is also the time in his life that you need to train him on what is OK and not OK.

Just figure out whether you can make one safe room for him to be gated into or else gate off all the areas where you DONT want him to be. You should be able to leave the room for a few minutes, but not more than 5 minutes without the supervision of at least a quick peek. Oh, and please take down the crib.

1 mom found this helpful