Climbing out of crib - What to do? Tent/Toddler Bed or neither?

My little girl just started to climb out of her crib this week. So now we are faced with what to do, and she is refusing her one nap a day - and keeping her brother up as well. Needless to say, it has been a challenging week for all of us.

Any thoughts on how to handle this? We turned her bed around because it has a higher side to it that normally faces the wall, now it faces her room so she can't climb out of it - it's too high. The only problem is it is a little difficult for me to pick her up if she's laying down.

Should we be thinking about switching to toddler beds? I hear that transition can be tough too.

Any recommendations from those of you who have "been there"? Or thoughts in general. Thanks, in advance.

 

My little girl just started to climb out of her crib this week. So now we are faced with what to do, and she is refusing her one nap a day - and keeping her brother up as well. Needless to say, it has been a challenging week for all of us.

Any thoughts on how to handle this? We turned her bed around because it has a higher side to it that normally faces the wall, now it faces her room so she can't climb out of it - it's too high. The only problem is it is a little difficult for me to pick her up if she's laying down.

Should we be thinking about switching to toddler beds? I hear that transition can be tough too.

Any recommendations from those of you who have "been there"? Or thoughts in general. Thanks, in advance.

 

We were forced to switch to toddler beds just after the girls turned two. Zoe fell out of her crib once and broke her arm. We were going to try crib tents, but decided after reading the reviews on the crib tents to try to switch to toddler beds. It has gone really well for us, EXCEPT for the fact that it takes them about an hour or 2 to actually go to sleep. They play in their room, mind you there is NOTHING in their room except each other and a night light, for a while before they go to sleep. But after they are done, they climb back into bed and go to sleep.

With that said, I think yours might be a little young yet to try toddler beds. I think I would go with the crib tents as long as possible. I know that I would have kept them in their cribs as long as possible if they hadn't started climbing out. But I would definitely get crib tents if you are going to keep them in the cribs. It only takes one fall to break a bone...trust me I know. HTH

 

I personally think she's too young to try and transition, especially if she's already battling naptime.
I wholeheartedly recommend a crib tent, you should get at least another year out of her crib IMO.

 

I love crib tents, and so do my girls! I also put alot of musical or light show toys in with them, so it's exciting to go to bed or nap. I ask them if they want to go to nap or bed and they always so yes.

Good Luck!

 

My crib tents were a life saver! That is what I recommend.

 

Crib tents were a sanity saver for us. Like aggiemom said, if you think there is even the slightest chance she can get over the high side you mentioned then it would probably be best to make a decision very quickly, whether it be a toddler bed or crib tent. We have had several TS member's children who have needed casts for broken limbs due to crib climbs/falls.

We used crib tents until we transitioned to beds at 3 years.

 

Crib tents!

They gave me peace of mind and the girls loved them too. They were great for us for a couple of reasons:

-The girls used pacifiers and never lost them in the middle of the night because the crib tents had netting and the pacifiers couldn't fall out of the crib.

-I could take a shower without worrying if they were awake or not because they were safe in their cribs

-Even if they didn't want to nap I could put them in their tents and they would have "quiet time". I could mop the floors, make phone calls, etc. without having to worrying about watching them.

When we finally transitioned into toddler beds (at 3 years 3 months) they stopped napping and bedtime has become a real challenge. I say go for crib tents until they are at least 3!

Good luck!

Lisa

 

I'd vote neither. I'd go with a twin instead of a toddler, unless you have a toddler one on hand. my theory with that is why transition them twice? they'll only be in the toddler bed for a short while and need to move again. not to mention the added expense (although not an issue when you have them on hand already).

This is how it worked for us. when my eldest was a month or 2 under 2 years we switched him to a twin bed (actually, the exact age as your twins...he was born 2/13/02 and we switched him in early january 03). we started with a mattress on the floor, then a month or so later added the boxspring, then a few months after that we added the frame. he had 2 rough days at first, but we stuck to it. and it was really only a rough hour at bedtime for the first day, then a rough half hour the second day. we did not leave the crib up, so it wasn't an option (we did have the mattress in his room and talked about it a few days before we transitioned). since we had twins coming, we didn't feel we had a choice...I didn't want to buy 2 new cribs. after those first couple of nights things were fine and dandy.

when the twins turned 2, we decided to transition them the same way. we started with mattresses on the floor and prepared ourselves for the same experience...a couple of rough nights. we never had them. they were excited and perfect from day one in their big kid beds. I don't know if it had to do with the fact that they saw their big brother in his big boy bed or if was a matter of them just being different kids.

good luck with your decision! personally, I don't think yours are too young. make sure you either close the door or gate it so you don't have little wanderers. and you might want to consider posting a poll for people who transitioned at 3 and those at 2, or just before. It seems like the people who had the hardest time among my friends were those who transitioned later...almost like the kids were too set in their ways. I don't know if that holds true across the board, of course, which is why you may want to cast a broader net and ask here.

 

I also need advice! My boys are 14 months and have both been climbing out of their cribs for over a month now. I am at my wits end. We have put a gate at their door because they get out of their cribs and open the door. So far, they have not been able to climb over this particular kind of gate, so they are safe for now. We have bolted down or taken everything out that we can. But they stand at the open door and scream at the top of their lungs so their 3 year old sister also suffers. They will only occasionally nap after 30-60 minutes of crying, and I don't know what to do. I've had people tell me to buy the crib tents, but they're like $80 a piece, and I'm afraid they'll just get caught between the tent and the crib. They climb on everything. Please help!!!!!!!

Thanks!!

 

My decision was a bit easier -- mine are OBVIOUSLY not ready to transition even though they are physically able to climb out (at

 

I would do crib tents. They are a bit pricey but worth every cent and have great resale value on e-bay. The new ones are made so they can't get between the crib and the tent-they are anchored by the mattress.

It seems to me that the people who tried to transition before 2 1/2 either went back to cribs or pulled everything out of the room. I never locked anything up or took anything out of the room.

Also, is $160 worth saving a broken arm or worse?

 

Crib Tents! My boys are around the same age and they just climbed out last week. I put up the tents that I bought four months ago right away. I don't know if you have time to order them since you need them now. I bought mine from walmart.com at $48 each, now they are on sale for $42, shipping for two only cost $7. I only got the original tents without the netting since there is no insects to worry about. I think Baby's r us has them and you can get 10% twin discount.

 

I will be getting a tent. My girl twin doesn't have an adventurous bone in her body so I'll only need one for my mountain climbing boy lol! My boy can already climb easily into his crib with the side all of the way up. I'm just suprised he hasn't realized he could also get out then. So I'm a firm believer in keeping them in cribs till they really understand they need to stay in bed and their bedroom.

 

Thanks for everyone's advice! I got two crib tents (the new kind that fit under the mattress), and this is the second night that the boys went to sleep and stayed asleep all night long. They seem to understand that resistence is futile, so they don't fight it and fall asleep. YAY!!! The zipper is loud, but they are used to hearing each other screaming, so it doesn't seem to phase them. Now if they just made a tent to keep them off the railing on the staircase!!! LOL!!

Thanks again everyone!

 

We put ours in toddler beds and they are doing just fine. However, we are also using safety rails on one side of each bed. We have their beds seperated but with one long side wedged against the wall and the short side wedged against a heavy dresser. They stay in their beds and I don't have to worry about them falling out because they are so low to the ground. It has worked out great for us.

 

I tried switching to toddler beds at 25 months and it didn't work out to well. We stuck it out for 3 months (with no naps & lots of fighting) before buying the crib tents. That gave us some peace until they girls turned 3 and were actually ready to move to toddler beds. I'm a big fan of crib tents for twins. Singletons seem to make the transition to toddler beds a little more easily, probably since they aren't sharing a room with another toddler.