Sleeping: at Nap and a Night

I had a similar problem - 3 yr old roaming at night and going into his brother's room. I ended up putting a child gate on the door to his room. I put it on the outside so he could open the door in and call out if he needed something, but he couldn't roam the house in the middle of the night. We used to find him sleeping on the living room floor in the morning - and at least this kept him in his room even if he did sleep on the floor once in awhile.

My daughter did the same thing. She was a big explorer and would even run outside. Her door opened out, so we installed a flip lock on the door out of her reach. Here's a picture of one. http://www.amazon.com/National-Hardware-V808-Door-Brass/d... If you do this, make sure to install it correctly and practice it so that you can easily open it in the dark, (in case of fire). A simple hook and eye out of reach would also work.

Hi N.:

I don't have any great advice for the night roaming but I feel obliged to respond to the part about climbing out of the crib. Our son was just over 2 years old when he climbed out of his crib and broke his leg. We think he got his leg caught in the slats of the crib and then twisted it on the way down. A toddler in a full leg cast is more work than you might be ready to accept. So, I would strongly consider getting him into a bed--either a mattress on the floor or a big boy bed. I have heard of people using baby gates in the doorway to keep children in their room. Hope this helps!!

We just had the same problem with our son. Put a baby gate up at his or her door so they can't get out of their room and roam the house. I would also baby-proof their room if you have not already. Once we did this, our son stopped climbing out. Good Luck!

For what it's worth...my 2 1/2 yr old son was getting out of his crib about a month ago. We put him in a toddler bed and he would wake several times a night and cry at the baby gate and eventually climb over if we didn't come. My husband convinced me try the hook/eye lock where the door would open about 2 inches. We turned on a music cd for him to sleep to which we had never done before. It's been a week and he sleeps all night and stays in his room and get s a sticker in the morning. It's been great for us! Maybe it will also work for you. I feel like a new person sleeping at night again. Good luck.

We had to lock our son in his room. The nurse at his well-visit agreed, it was safer to lock him in a child-proofed room than have him wandering around. He actually turned on the toaster one day while I was in the baby's room. There were tongs on top, I smelled nursing and realized he had gotten up from his nap and done this. We turned his knob so the thumb lock was on the outside. It really only lasted a couple months, then he learned that he couldn't get out and stopped trying. Pretty soon he'll be verbal enough for you to tell him that he can't leave his room.

The first thing you need to do is get that kids OUT of the crib!!! If he's climbing out it's now very dangerous for him! Many kids break their legs because they fall climbing out -- usually after doing it well for a few weeks or months. It's dark in the room, they are tired and therefore not as coordinated - and he's only 2! I've seen too many middle-of-the-night ER visits with 2-3 year olds and the parents all said the same thing "we let him do it because he was so good at it". Ever see a 2 year old in a full leg cast? Trust me - you don't want to!

As for roaming the house - gates are there for a reason. You also need to start teaching him and explain the rules to him. No he won't totally understand but it will sink in after a few months. Put a gate across his doorway - I know parents who double-stack them on top of each other. Put another one at the end of the hallway or at the top of the stairs. Make the house dark at night, that will discourage many toddlers.

If all else fails, use a hook-and-eye up high to lock him in. I personally do not like this method for safety reasons and I think a child should be able to go to his parents in the middle of the night if they get scared because of a dream or are sick or whatever. So make sure you have a baby monitor on.

Definitely time for a toddler bed. I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and she flops around so much at night. I didn't want to move her from her crib because of that, plus she never once attempted to climb out of it, but she liked the big girl bed when we transitioned her. She rolled out of it the first couple of times, but it's great now. She also has figured out how to take apart the safety cover on the door knob. Try using duct tape around it so it won't come apart so easily. Might not look pretty, but who cares if it keeps your child safe. You can even get a colored kind to match his room. I don't think any 2 year old is strong enough to rip that apart. That's a cheap and easy fix that will probably work. If it doesn't, see if the gate in the doorway keeps him confined.

Something about locking his door with the hook and eye just scares me. My fear as a child was that I would be upstairs sleeping and the house would catch on fire and I wouldn't wake up or hear anyone yelling for me, so I would always fall asleep on the couch if my parents hadn't gone to bed upstairs yet. Unfortunately, my fears became reality. Even though I was asleep on the couch, I still didn't hear my mom yelling for us to get out of the house. The smoke detectors didn't work either. I just remember my sister wrapping me in a blanket and shoving me out the front door.

Another question, is he just waking up wanting to play, or is he sleep walking? Good luck, I'm sure out of the many responses you get, you'll find the right solution that works for you :)

wow! wear him out before bedtime, fresh air is your best ally, my mom always told me ( I also did this wandering at night) a child with a full belly sleeps good. you can sleep better if you have an alarm that screeches too, cause you know it will wake you up you can do the sensor activated kind or the type that alarms if you open the door. My son gets up in the middle of the night now and again but if cartoons aren't on he gets in bed with us. We keep the tv set on the cartoon network all he has to do is turn on the tv. Hope this helps.

If your son can climb out of his crib he needs to be in a toddler bed tonight. My daughter fell out of her crib at 2 and broke her arm. I felt awful. It takes awhile for them to get used to the new bed so you will have to give him a lot of reading, cuddling and TLC till he gets used to it. If your son still roams at night let him stay up longer at night before bed. Turn off the TV and let him run around before bed so he's tired. He won't want to roam at night if you are sure he is tired before bed.

I would use the hook and eye the other poster suggested and/or use a gate at his door (not just the safety cover). Also, you may want to put him in a big bed so he doesn't hurt himself climbing out of the crib.

mY thoughts would be to place some water and crackers on there do he has food and drink. Tell him it is bed time and he needs to stay in the room. He can play quietly to himself but he needs to stay in his room.
For a behavioral insentive you could set up a reward system or consequenes that are spelled out clearly ahead of time. Example: if you stay in you room all night we can go to the park tommorow or we will go to chuckie cheese if you stay o. Your room one whole week. It's up to you wherther we go or not.
I'm not sure if he has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. You may Ned to work around that.

Hi N.,
You've gotten a lot of good suggestions that I agree with. I just want to add one more. If you are using the Safety 1st doorknob covers that snap on (you have to squeeze the gray rubber spots to grasp the knob), then I have an idea that might help. My daughter got those off, too (she figured out how to break them open). What we did was wrap electrical tape around it several times. She can't get the tape off, so now she can't get the knob cover off.

Good luck!