Hi moms! Hopefully you guys can give me some advice on my little boy. He's almost 2 1/2 and he's been out of his crib since Thanksgiving with no problems. But in the last week, I guess he has discovered that he can get out of bed and leave his room. Before, he would sometimes get out of bed and roam around his room for a while and then get back in bed to go to sleep. But now he is getting out of bed immediately and coming out of his room. We can't figure out how to get him to just stay in his room. He doesn't get "time outs" yet (he likes them, he asks to go in to "time out"). We know some people who have put childproof doorknob things on the inside of the door so that the kid can't open the door. But we can't decide if we like that idea or not. It definitely has it's good sides though! So, I'm hoping that some of you will chime in with any ideas that you have that we can try. Any suggestions that you have would be appreciated. Thanks!
My son freaked when we locked the door...that was just too scary for him. Instead we pulled out the baby gate and put it in the door so he could see out but couldn't get out. Over time, he eventually asked for us to take it off, and we told him we would if he'd stay in bed. It was a process, but he did eventually start staying in his bed.
We have been going through this with our 2 1/2 year old and did a reward method. If he stays in his bed all night he gets a special treat in the morning. This can be whatever you want. We bought a package of mini-tonka trucks. It has like 5 in it. If he gets out of his bed we just walk him right back and don't talk to him. It also has helped that we give him choices about having the door open, the light on/off, and if he wants to sleep on the floor or in his bed. Sometimes he is just too wound up to go straight to bed so he'll play for a little while and then go to sleep. He wants the special treats so he stays in his room/bed now. It has worked really well. I got the idea from another mamasource mama who used mini m&m's.
It's not as easy as the childproof doorknobs, but worked better for me in the long run. I've "bed trained" three kids this way so far. For the first few days after moving them out of the crib, I stand outside their door with my hand on the doorknob after putting them down for a nap. When they try to open the door, I hold the door knob in place so they can not turn it. I don't make any sound, so they don't know I'm there. They get mad and keep trying for a while the first couple of times, but eventually they give up and get back in bed, or sometimes they fall asleep on the floor in front of the door. But after a few days, maybe a week, they stop trying. Of course, they can get out just fine after the nap.
M.
Hi K. - we have 2 1/2 year old twins, a boy and a girl. Our daughter also gets out of her toddler bed. We simply walk her back into her room and back into bed and tell her "it is night time - time to go to sleep". Or we say nothing at all (this was the advice of our pediatrician) as we walk her back to her bed. You may have to do this several times and for several nights. The main point you are wanting to make to your son is that it is bed time, play time is over for the day, there is nothing fun going on right now, so it is time for sleep (as you are putting him back to bed). Eventually he will figure out that this routine is quite boring and will stay in his bed. Good luck!
I put the childproof doorknobs things on my kid's doors when they were little and would get out of bed and roam around the house. Mainly cause they would get into things and I was scared that they would get hurt or open the door to the outside while I was sleeping, so I decided to put those doorknob things on every door in the house. Once they got older I took them off. I have a 6 month old now and I plan on doing that again when he gets into a toddler bed. Its the only safe thing to do. Now you could put a baby gate up at his door and he won't beable to get out, but if he is anything like my kids, he will find a way to get it down. It just takes time. Good Luck!!
We had the exact same problem with our 2 year old son. Now 4 and we still use it, Our bedroom is downstairs and his room is upstairs. We bought a doorknob that we can lock on the outside, he can't open the door from his side unless he would use a coin or something to open it, and we don't keep coins around since they can be joking hazzards anyway. This has worked out great, when we go to bed we don't have to worry about him wandering around getting into things. Also, if he wakes up before us in the morning we have his toys/books layed out for him to play with in his room and we don't have to worry about him opening the door and leaving. Lay out his favorite toys and books and buy a doorknob that you can lock on the outside- We found this to be the best way to solve this probem. I hope this helps!
i did the co-sleeping method, which has its perks and drawbacks... but a good friend of mine did the child-proof door knobs, and it worked for them. i know, i know, you feel like you are imprisoning your child, and what if they really need out of their room (fire or something, not to be too dramatic...) a compromise? maybe do the childproof door handle, until you are sure your child is asleep, and then go and crack the door open? good luck!
Do the door knob thing for sure. He could get hurt in the home romaing around at night.
