I so need help

Hairstylist16

My 2 yr old son just climbed out of his crib for the first time. The crib transitions to a toddler bed but I just don't know how to help him transition to a big boy bed and it makes me nervous just giving him free reign to the house if he wakes up before us. Looking for advice from other moms that have been in this situation. Thanks

ktwils2010

We are moving my dd in a couple weeks to her big girl bed. Definitely completely toddler-proof his room. We are also planning to (and this comes from all my mommy friends) put the safety lock on the inside of her door so she can't get out by herself. I definitely do not want her to be able to roam the house at night. I've also heard of people putting a baby gate in front of the their door or turning the door knob around so they can actually lock them in. Good luck!

BrunoBabies

Above exactly

lest12

Doesn't a safety lock on the inside make you nervous?    In case of emergencies?

No judgment, but it was my first thought.

ksyknelvr73

We put a gate on DS' door when we switched him. We also have a 2-story house, so we put a gate at the top of the stairs also (in addition to the one on his door). After a couple weeks of having the gate on his bedroom door, he got it and he didn't really wander around. If he gets up, he comes to our room.

Cherylwang

I may be extremely lucky but neither of my kids have left the room when they moved into a big kid bed. I thought my daughter would bc she is busier than my son ever was. She lays in bed and calls for me as if she is still in a crib. So I guess you never know.

erind228

My kids always wake me up if they wake up before me. Put up a gate if you're worried.

snowpants

We're planning to do pretty much what @ksyknelvr73 said.  Toddler proof the room, put a baby gate at the door, make a big deal out of it (look at your very own big boy bed, squee!!!!), and take a deep breath.  Good luck!

Hairstylist16

Thanks everyone, those were all things I was thinking but just wanted to make sure I wasn't forgetting any tips.

liberty95

We put a hook and eye outside out son's door. We trade to break free and his room is upstairs. He climbed over the baby gates the same night he climbed out of the crib so locking his door was the only safe option.
After the first few nights he doesn't even wiggle th doorknob, just waits for us when he wakes up. The hook and eye is piece if mind though so he doesn't tumble down the stairs in the middle of the night.

ktwils2010

lest12 said:

Doesn't a safety lock on the inside make you nervous?    In case of emergencies?

No judgment, but it was my first thought.

The safety thing just snaps over the door knob - basically making it child proof. The door is still the same to open from the outside, from inside the room you have to squeeze the sides of the safety lock to turn the knob. In case of emergency, I'd still be running to her room to get her out at this age regardless if she's in her crib or a big girl bed. I think I consider the possibility of my dd roaming the house while we are sleeping a much bigger safety risk!

ETA... Obviously when she is older, getting up to use the potty in the middle of the night, more responsible etc she will have free reign of her door.

Sareynoo

We transitioned to toddler bed around two years and put a child gate up in DD's doorway so she couldn't get out.

Mztwilson

We had to do this with dd so we child proofed the crap out of her room and used a gate in the doorway to keep her in her room. Most days she was still in her bed when is wake up but occasionally she would be snuggled up on the floor with some toys. None the less she was safe. Having them able to climb out of the crib is a lot less safer then having free roam of her room

sumochik

We used a gate both times as well. Something that helped with one daughter but not the other was to let her pick out the bedding. She was more inclined to sleep in her big girl bed if she got to choose the character/design and get a decorative pillow.

MollySm

We haven't done it yet, but as far as the safety thing - my understanding is that firemen and first responders say it is safer to have them locked in their rooms.  In case of emergency toddlers aren't going to get out themselves, and so you want them in a place they can be easily found.  If they can roam, they can also hide and you won't know where to look.

ncbelle

It's never been a problem for my kids. If they wake, they come straight to me. I don't personally feel comfortable not having them able to come to me if they need me so we've never done a lock or gate.

pcourtade

A gate infront of DS's door worked great for us.

becomingmommyagain

My youngest DS (now 14) was a major sleep walker.  He would have night terrors and near panic attacks.  He would usually get up within an hour and half of going to sleep, most of the time we were still awake when he'd get up but not always, sometimes he'd get up in the middle of the night.  We had a multilevel house with slippery tile floors - the risk of him getting up and falling down the stairs and us not even knowing was high. When he was very little we child proofed his room of all hazards and limited toys in his room in case he got up to play.  I'd always check on him before going to bed and then lock him in.  His room was next to ours so I wasn't worried about not hearing him if he cried.

When he hit potty training age we would actually wake him before we went to bed to go potty and he'd usually go without waking fully.  We stopped locking him in when the middle of the night sleep walking episodes decreased, which was around age 4.  After age 4 he walked almost exclusively within the first hour of going to bed and then slept sound the rest of the night. For piece of mind we did put a baby gate at the top of the stairs just to deter him from trying to go down while sleeping.

He slept walked frequently until he was about 12 years old and then suddenly stopped.  

For my older two kids, we just put a gate in the hall so that they couldn't get to the stairs.  They were all pretty easy to get moved into toddler beds and usually went straight to sleep.

lest12

@ktwils2010 & @mollysm -  thank you.  all of that made total sense.  I honestly wasn't doubting anyone, just wondering what the flip side to my reaction was.  Thanks

LegalLadyBug

My pediatrician suggested putting a gate on the bedroom door. Obviously make sure outlets are covered, furniture is secured, etc.

Julie&Micah

My DD is also two but hasn't yet tried climbing out of her crib. I'm going to keep her in the crib as long as possible! I am so nervous for a toddler bed too! Good suggestions.