Help with Moving 17 Month Old in Toddler Bed.

When my son was little, I went through that with him. When we got his toddler bed, we switched it for the crib later in the evening and let him fall asleep in the living room. By putting him in his bed when he was already asleep, we din't have any problems with him trying to get up 'til morning.
Hope this helps!
~Be Blessed!!!~
K.

Hi B.!

I believe that there are tents that you can install that fit over top of the crib to keep this from happening. I have a friend that used it and loved it. I think you might be able to find them on the Safety First website. I would take a look on the web to see what's out there before moving your child to a toddler bed. I too have a 17 month old and even though he hasn't attempted this, I would not consider removing him from his crib just yet. It's the one place I know he's safe which allows me to relax at night and when he's napping!

C.

I had to move my daughter into a big girl bed @ 15 months because she climbed out. I was worried she would break something. She did really well at night but nap time is a different story. I think the only reason she did so well at bedtime was she was so tired form not taking a nap durng the day. She would get up and play. Sometimes she would fall asleep in her closet or in her chair. My daughter is very active too. She climbs gates and the only thing I can do is tell her thats its quite time now and shut her door. I have the safty locks on her side. Good luck!!!

Hi B., I know your frustration. I had a girl first who was so sweet and when she was ready she went into her big bed. Then there was my son...one night at 17 months I awoke to him standing next to me at 2am. Once he knew he could get out he did it every night and at naps. I bought a plastic thing to put over the door knob so he couldn't open his door. I wasn't really into shutting his door either b/c I thought he would destroy his room..but he didn't. I showed him how his sister gets in bed and then I did the routine for him. He layed in bed..UNTIL I walked out..and then proceeded to lay on the floor in front of his door and cry for 3 hours. I would go on the other side and just whisper..Ethan mommys here..but you need to go back to bed. After he fell asleep in front of his door I would go in and put him in bed and leave the door open...and he would sleep though the night. The next night the crying was about 1 hour and by the 4th night...he stayed in bed. But you have to be persistent. Isn't that true of anything with kids :-) anyway, now almost a year later..after I tuck him in I still shut the door-he goes right to sleep and I open it when I am going to bed. I know that might sound terribly mean..but I have 2 other kids and a husband who travels frequently..so I couldn't do the "Nanny" thing and stay in there for hours waiting for him to fall asleep. I suppose its similiar to the "Ferber" method but adapted to a bigger kiddo. I hope this helps. Good luck.
K.

Hi B.,

We just moved our 2yr old into a toddler bed about a month ago. We opted for the baby gate in the doorway. We have one that is bolted on the wall an he can't pull it down... maybe an option for you?

Good luck!

First of all, closing the doors is a safety measure in case of a fire. When my son was moved to the toddler bed we used the gate, but once he started climbing/knocking that down we shut his door and put a door knob cover on the inside so he couldn't open it without help from us. We continued to use the monitor so that he could call for us if he needed anything and we could hear what he was getting into. We childproofed his room and only left books and his little touch leap pad in there for him to play with. He did very well, but he's a naturally good sleeper. He was about 20 months old when we moved him. I don't think that 17 months is too early, but there are some people who think you should leave them in the crib until they are 3 years old. I think that's a decision for every family to make and if he is climbing out it's a good time. I would recommend trying to shut the door, as I said, for fire safety reasons and that might help you out.

B.,

I didn't move my son out of the crib until he figured out how to climb out of the crib - I did however put lots of pillows on the side of the crib just encase he decided to climb out some night while I was sleeping - you may want to get a mounted get if he is pulling down the gates you already have, at least for the top of the steps.

Good luck and take care,
Mel

Hi B. -
We moved our son to a twin mattress on the floor at 18 - 19 months. He slept sideways in his crib and kept getting his feet stuck in the bars. We had to get up 5 - 10 times a night to unstick him. Since a toddler bed uses a crib mattress, it was not an option for us. We put a bed rail on the mattress eventhough it was just on the floor. I think it helped keep him in (wall was on the other side). He is VERY active and I was worried too but after about one week he did great. He also sleeps in the same room as his older sister so we likes to have what she does. If you are consistent and patient, it will work.

Good luck - L. B

i moved my son to a toddler bed when he was 14 months old and he is very active too he did really well and he loved it he didnt get out we had no problems we have the 5in1 crib where it converts as he gets older he just turned two now we have to get him another bed cause we have another baby coming in april but he loves it so i say no time is to early to switch them