Two Year Old Crawled Out of crib....Are My Crib Days Over?

Yup - time to convert that crib into a day bed, or move him to just the crib mattress on the floor. He'll be a lot safer that way.

Also... you didn't ask, so feel free to ignore this, but a lot of research has shown that putting a child in their bed/crib for a time out will backfire. They come to associate the crib/bed with punishment and will fight bedtime even harder. The crib is great for confining a child, but try a corner for time outs. You may find that he's better able to control himself if he feels closer to the action.

You can buy a crib tent to contain him. The longer he stays in the crib the better.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

Definitely. Once he can climb out, it's time for a big boy bed. Good luck!

It is safer to move him out.... now that he's figured it out. I had a friend who's daughter broke her arm at 18mos the FIRST time she scaled the crib. Best of luck!

I have a son, that was in his crib until 3 years old.
Why? Because, he LOVED his crib and slept SO well in it.
When he was about 2, however, he fell out of it. And he fell onto the carpeted floor below.
He didn't get hurt, but it made him realize, that climbing out of the crib (which I would tell him is dangerous) is scary... and he could have gotten hurt.
After that one incident... he NEVER EVER, tried to climb out again.

Then one day, when he was 3.. he told us...that he wanted to be in a regular bed. So then we did get him one. And he slept well that way too.
No battles.

Pretty much, he's done. Go ahead and put him to bed tonight in the crib. But no more time out in the crib. See how he does. If he doesn't climb out, perhaps you have a little more time for night sleeping. If he does, then no more crib.

Do you have a gate you can put in the doorway of his room? Maybe he will climb that, maybe he won't. I'd use it and just make sure his room is very safe for his time outs. You are doing the right thing, putting him in his room during scream fests. You don't want him to ever get what he wants when he screams, and you don't want him to have you as an audience when he screams either. If he starts climbing the gate, time to shut the door. You can hold it on the other side - if you are quiet, he won't know that you are out there holding it. Or, you can turn the knob around and lock it from the outside. Never let him know you are outside the room - it negates the timeout.

Now for the crib - time to put the crib mattress in the floor and take the crib out of the room. Let him sleep there for a while, and when he's a little older, either get a toddler bed, or buy a regular twin bed. When you buy a regular twin bed down the line, go to the store and pick out several choices of what you would be willing to have. Then take him and tell him that he's going to get a big boy bed. Let him pick from your choices. It will make him feel very good to get to help choose.

If you start having trouble with him staying in his bed, I would require that he stay in his room, but let him sleep wherever in the room he wants to. When he realizes he's not getting out of that room, and you aren't paying attention to where he's sleeping, he'll get back in the bed because it's more comfortable than the floor.

D., there is nothing in the world wrong with locking the door so that he can't come out. It is a safety issue for him to be wandering the house, so you must keep him in his room when he is supposed to be in there. Don't feel bad and don't feel guilty. Just make absolutely sure that he can't hurt himself in there.

Dawn

Yes, IMO, he's done with the crib. My youngest did this at 18 months. We started by just putting his crib mattress on the floor. We were lucky enough to already own a toddler bed from our older son, which we put in the little guy's room as soon as we could take apart the crib. I'm sorry to say it wasn't easy to keep him in bed after the crib was gone, but I didn't see we had a choice. The crib was no longer safe for him. We didn't try the crib tent.

The safety of crib tents has been seriously questioned as of late - do a little research and determine whether you are comfortable with the recent issues they have discovered.

I have always been told by other moms (as well as my own experience) once they learn to get out, it is time to move them to a toddler bed. Good luck! Make it fun and I bet you will be surprised how well the transition goes!

Yep, he is done. Our daughter was not even 12 months and could hoist herself over the crib in no time.. We even used a crib tent, and she was able to manipulate the zipper from the inside!!!

My husband was in denial till the morning he walked in her room and saw her coming over the top, head first.

Dismantled it that day and put her mattress on the floor, till we could decide what kind of bed to purchase.

OK, If you follow the advice and move him to a toddler bed or something similar set boundries from the very beginning. "You will stay in your bed until..." "If you get out of bed your consiquence will be ..." Be mean and be in charge or he will rule the roost and you will have no peace. Once you've established rules and boundries you can lighten up a little.

Good Luck!

M

Yes.

He's done.

A crib tent only postpones the inevitable; frustrates the child (more screaming); and possibly is an entanglement hazard. Don't bother.

Please be aware: Yes, you WILL have to go through a tough adjustment period for both of you. He will discover instantly that he can get out of his toddler bed (or off his mattress that's on the floor) and that he can walk out of his room. But at some point you have to make this transition; why wait? Get it over with though that could take some time. Be very consistent with bedtime routines. Once he is in bed, if he gets out, do not interact with him or it becomes a game to him -- I get up and mom fusses at me, what fun! And remember that even "negative attention" such as fussing at him is still attention, and he will love it. Walk him back to his bed, get him into it and leave. You may have to do it over and over and over but if you can stay cool and calm and can NOT break down and be angry with him or even talk to him, he will find out that getting out of bed does not equal fun or attention. And disciplining him the next day for getting out of bed does no good at all -- he is too young to connect the previous night's behavior with the next day's discipline. Don't make that mistake. Stick to firm and silent returns.

But do get him out of the crib. Picture a child falling from the top rail level of a crib. Pretty high for a small child. Now picture a child doing that fall head first. Very dangerous. My friend's kid broke her arm the very first time she climbed out. Not worthwhile to try to corral him with a crib tent; bite the bullet and prepare to walk him back to bed a lot.

We use a crib tent. Bought it to keep him from getting his hands and feet stuck between the rails. Its proving a real lifesaver to keep our climber safe in his crib. We use a corner for time outs. A corner can be found anywhere, so its more versatile than a crib.

Good luck to you and yours.
F. B.

You asked, this is MY opinion, nothing more or less.

A 2 year old child is way too old for a baby bed in any way. They are a pre-schooler, not even a toddler anymore. They are ready for the transition to a twin, full, or queen bed. They are little kids, not babies.

Toddler beds are for toddlers, ages 12 months up to 24 months. If a child is transitioned into a toddler bed by 15 months they are used to sleeping in them and if it lasts past 24 months then a few more months don't matter.

BUT if a child has not been transitioned into a toddler bed by 24 months they need to skip it entirely. The bed will not last more than a month or two at best.

So, get his big boy bed ready for him and put the mattress directly on the floor. Put him down on that for a few months and get him used to sleeping on it. Then out the frame and box springs under it.

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It depends on whether he will stay in from now on if you try it tonight, etc. and see. I had one who climbed out and he was a good climber and so I just put the side down, we had the drop down sides that they now have decided are not safe, and he just climbed over it easily and yet didn't fall out of bed that way. In that day there were not toddler beds used like they are now. I would see how he does for a few nights. He may have scared himself and when he's not mad he may be fine still. Maybe use a different type of punishment for him in the future.

Ya know, I've never once used a crib. DD1 went from a pack n play to a mattress. She's been using an air mattress for about a year now. She turns two in November and we're hoping to switch her to a toddler bed soon. DD2 was in a pack n play until about a month ago. Now she has a little "Matt" on the floor (huge king-sized blanket folded up). She'll be one in November. There is nothing in their room besides their beds. And they go to sleep better than most older children I know.

Moral of the story: It is perfectly fine to simply lay your child on a mattress. Do away with the crib. I bet he'd love to have a toddler bed.

For what it is worth when we tried out last round of CIO with our then 14 month old, he vaulted out of his crib a few times (picture holding on to the side rail, hopping up and down to gain momentum and then vaulting over the side like a gymnast on the pommel horse). I asked on here what to do and was told to take him out of his crib, putting him in a toddler bed/on a mattress on the floor. I thought about it further because my gut couldn’t accept the crib being the root of the problem. I decided the real problem was not that our 14 month old was done with his crib but rather that he was furious when he was trapped in there for the CIO sessions. When we stopped trying CIO, he no longer had any interest in climbing/vaulting out of his crib. He has never once tried to get out of his crib in the intervening 6 months. It would seem the time outs in the crib might be the problem with your son and I would try finding another venue for the time outs before adding more factors to the mix. If he is still getting out of the crib, then you know for sure it is time to move on from the crib. I piled a toddler mattress and assorted pillows around our son's crib until we were sure he had no further interest in climbing out. Besides they do say time outs in the crib aren’t a great idea. Good luck.