Crib Tent or Toddler Bed?

At this age they do not have impulse control. So she will be constantly getting out of the bed. I would try the crib tent- they cost about $60.

You can't fight this battle; you have to find a way to give in safely. My middle child, now 33, was a crib escape artist at 18 months. I put him in a regular bed with a safety rail -- this was in the days before convertible cribs -- and did a super baby-proofing of his room. I had already bolted the bookshelf to the wall, but I added those drawer locks on the dresser and a hook-and-eye lock high up on the closet door, removed everything with electrical cords and plugged up all the outlets. His room had an overhead light, but if yours only has lamps, move the dresser in front of that outlet. Only toys that could be played with unsupervised were left in reach; crayons and his more expensive books, for example, were put in the locked closet, as was anything that could be used as a step-stool. More often than not the first several weeks, I would find him sleeping on the floor on top of whatever he had been playing with, but once the novelty of being able to move around wore off, he stayed in bed through the night.

Definitely a toddler bed. My twins were in toddler beds around the same age. Besides if you get a crib tent you will spend double the money because you'll end up getting a toddler bed in a few mths anyway. If she's climbing out then she's ready for a bed. Also, if you got a crib tent she would probably learn to get it off. Good luck.

Hi There,
Another option is to use one of those sleeping bags, the ones that zip up but fit around the upper body like a vest. It's the same type you use for infants, but you can find them in bigger sizes (I think you have to go online). I took care of my cousin's little boy last year... he tried to climb out of the crib at the same age as your daughter... and they found the bigger sleeping bags. They were great because he could stand up in them (just put it over their jammies/clothes), but it prevented him from lifting his legs up and over the bar. It worked for a while, until he figured out the zipper, but then I just put it on him backwards and it worked again!) My little guy who is the same age as yours can climb in and out with the side down, but thank goodness he has short legs and can't quite get over yet when the side is up. I am thinking about finding one of those sleeping bags anyway, because he doesn't like blankets... right now we double up on jammies.
Good luck... let me know if you want me to find out where to get the bags!

I used the tent and it worked out very well for my son. My friends laughed at me and said he should be moved to a bed. I had the same concerns as you, so I did what I felt comfortable with. We made a big deal about the tent and he loved it. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Hi M.
Crib tents -- well if they had them for public use I might have tried it when my 6 month old was shimmying up one side of the crib and down the other to get out and into his brothers bed. Instead we blamed his brother!!
Instead we put him into the twin bed and he loved it. We abutted it to the wall and put his brother's twin bed next to his for a while. We just put the mattress on the floor with the twins.
We used those tents however with the special needs kids when I worked in a facility. Some kids still climbed out, so not sure what is best but I think I would talk to my 22 month old first and see if you can come up with a solution. Put the side down so she doesn't fall so far.
take the side off so she can slip out easily.
tell her she must call you and you will help her out.
Put the mattress on the floor
or any other reasonable solution.
Personally you have a false sense of security with the crib tent.
God bless you as you make a decision
K.

We never used a crib, but, when my daughter was 18 months old we put her on a twin mattress on the floor. Once she wasn't rolling off of that any more we put the mattress on a twin bed frame. She has only rolled off once, so we bumpered each side with a small rolled up blanket that I put under the fitted sheet. It works perfectly.

I would honestly try the crib tent! Once they are out of the confines of a crib, it's all over...........I was in such a rush for my oldest daughter to do everything that i put her in a toddler bed way too early.

For the next number of YEARS we were trying to get her on a regular bedtime story, then we'd have to sleep w/her b/c as a newborn she would cry so hard that she'd vomit and that carried right along with her so there went any CIO method attempts!

My brother asked my advice on this when their little one did the same thing w/climbing out - exhaust every other option before you do the bed.

Good luck!

We went to the toddler bed at 23 months beacuse my daughter suddenly didn't want to sleep in the crib anymore and it was too much of a battle. We put it up first at naptime so it wasn't such a surprise at bedtime. I got her special big girl sheets and a little pillow. She was so excited! She only got out once and I explained she'd need to stay put and call for me to get her. She's been fine since. Don't waste your money on the crib tent

My oldest was in her "big girl bed" aka twin mattress on the floor by 22 months. She felt so big and special that she would not get out of that bed until we went to get her.
Now she's a tween and we sometimes need to "invite" her to get out of that bed! LOL

That must have been very scary!! Why not put her in a sleepsack? They make then for her size and prevent climbing out. I have heard that toddler beds often open a whole can of worms so putting it off as long as possible would be the best way.

I'm with the moms who say keep her in the crib as long as possible. Are the sides of her crib the same height? Crib tents don't work in cribs where one side is lower than the other. Also, yes, put her in a sleepsack so it's harder for her to climb out. Grobag makes really good ones in big sizes and you can get them on Amazon. Their 6-18 month size is a little bigger than Halo's 18-24 month size. Grobag's 18-36 month size is huge.

If nothing else works and you have to move her to a toddler bed, you could always put up a gate at her door so she can't wander the house in the middle of the night.

Gloria
http://centraljersey.citymommy.com/

omg definitely get the crib tent, i dont know how we would live without it. the only thing is that you need to be careful how you introduce it to her, my kids had it from the start so they never knew otherwise, she is a little old to get used to it, i would use what you know about how she goes to sleep and try to make it a positive thing, they like it if they think its cozy, etc. maybe ;) ... also, not to disagree here, but if yours is anything like mine (monkeys), putting a sleep sack on her will not only just tick her off, but i think it will be unsafe when she just tries to climb out with that on, know what i mean? imo, i would try to keep her in the crib as long as you can as long as you can do it safely. its a whole new world once they are out. good luck.

My son is a climber and we had a cat to boot, so the crib tent has been up since the day he was born. We call it the "baby house" and pretend it's a tent and he was fine with it - he was never able to figure out how to open it. We also used the sleepsack for safety.

At 2 1/2 years we converted the crib to a toddler bed by swapping out one side with the toddler rail (included with the crib). I got a 2 step steptool (sold at Target, Pottery Barn) and babyproofed everything in the room to the max - no hanging blind cords, nothing he can climb, all shelves very high, etc. I did this out of need as I was no longer able to carry him out of the crib, no other reason.

The crib tent was expensive but the peace of mind it gave us was great.

At 22 months I would go for the toddler conversion as she'll just cry and cry till you lift her out of the tent. As for wandering around her room and hurting herself I would hope that her room is childproofed and safe and if the doors closed she would soon tire and go back to sleep