[redfred]

I need help trying to keep my daughter safe at night. J just turned 5. She does not sleep hardly at all (we are seeing a specialist to try to address the physical side of this issue). Since she is awake most of the night she tends to get bored. She has an insatiable curiosity and loves to take anything and EVERYTHING apart. She is not destructive for any other reason than that she wants to know what is inside things and/or how things come apart (she’ll make a great mechanic probably by age 6!). If it doesn’t come apart, she’ll smash to see if it will. And add to that the fact that all small pieces still go in her mouth at times… She perfected “stealth mode” three years ago and it is IMPOSSIBLE to hear her! We have looked into alarm systems with motion detectors but she can beat all the newest technology! (She is only 30 pounds so most detectors will not even register her little body and those that will will allow for her to creep ever so slowly right through them!) My question is if anyone else has had to deal with this, how do you keep a child safe while the rest of you sleep?? I don’t really want to do a door alarm because the sound will wake up everyone in the house (we have infants who are super light sleepers as well). We have had to go back to locking her door at night (she was adopted at birth so the foster guidelines of never doing this don’t apply to her). I hate doing this, but the last time we didn’t she left her room and got the scissors (which we keep way out of reach) and cut her own hair…and she has crawled into the baby’s crib to hold him as well! We put her little potty chair in her room at night so she can always have access to that. She has bars on her windows because she has been able to go out them for several years now. Add to that the fact that she can go over the wall between our houses here, she can climb a pool fence in under 15 seconds and she has no fear. Plus, several houses have pools here that are not properly secured (not that it makes any difference when the kid can climb a block wall and then the pool fence). My point is, does anyone have any additional suggestions or ideas for how to keep my baby safe (mainly from herself)?? Thanks!

[LadyBugz]

We have a wireless door alarm. The sound part plugs into an outlet anywhere else in the house. We put it under our bed. It also has different chimes to choose from and we set the volume. We found it pretty cheap at a home improvement store.

Outside that, perhaps you need to provide her with some interesting things to do at night. (I am working from the presumption that she *will* be up and you *need* your sleep, so you are accepting that she will be up but needs to be safe.)

Have boxes/tubs of fun stuff, and only ever use them at night (so she doesn't get bored with them). Rotate through them, giving her only one or two a night. Things like intricate building kits, legos, dupplos, lincoln logs, race car tracks, simple crafts (like a leather work and some yarn strung through it), a cat's cradle game, those little weaver's kits for kids, a tea party set, some new print offs to look at or color, etc, etc.

You also need to have a way to ensure her safety IN the room. Do you have a baby monitor in there so you can hear if she is distressed?

[jackiesbooks]

A tall baby gate worked for us. Put in about 2-3 inches above the floor. Our 6 year could not climb over it . Then the CW said we could not do that. Then we rigged our own alarm. put several "jingle bells" on a shoestring and nailed it on the top of the inside door. At bedtime, put it on the outside. if the door opened, the bells rang.

[skygazer1016]

I'm glad you're taking her to the doctor to see if there is something they can do to help her with this. I'd much rather have my child on medication so she could sleep and have a normal schedule then have to resort to locking her in her room. That honestly would scare the begeezies out of me. I totally understand why you do it but on the other hand the risks involved with doing that are high...not just the locked door but bars on the windows too. You're stuck in a hard position!

Has your daughter been to counseling? Does she have any chronic medical or mental conditions or did her mother use any drugs/alcohol while she was pregnant?

I wish you a lot of luck and hope you can help find a way to help you and your daughter out!

[redfred]

Thanks for all the input. Yes, locking the door to her room is something we HATE doing, but it finally came down to a safety call. If we leave her door unlocked, we have to lock all of the other kids bedroom doors at night to keep her out of the babies rooms (she is the oldest) especially after the incident where she crawled into the crib because she wanted to hold the baby. I forgot to mention that the bars on her window DO meet the fire code – they have an adult quick release and they are not permanent, a fire fighter would only have to tap them with their ax from the outside to get into her room. And she knows to knock on her door if she ever needs us so that is not a problem. I haven’t been able to keep a baby monitor in her room for years because she takes them apart (somehow she removes screws with her little fingers and then she puts the pieces in her mouth…). She does the same with baby gates – yup, most of them come apart thus defeating the whole purpose. Now that we’re on child #6 I’m realizing how unusual of a talent this is…

[wenrl]

I am totally impressed! Your little one sounds like quite a genius!

As far as keeping her safe, I agree with one of the previous posters, I'd see about meds for her. This is a rare things for me to say, as I am generally against medicating children, but it sounds like it is necesary for her to get some sleep and get into a regular routine. I cannot imagine it is healthy for her not to get at least 8 hours in. Shouldn't 5-year olds sleep 10-12 hours?

[leastofthese]

I believe there are special beds on the market for just such creative children as your little girl.

They zip (or fasten somehow) open and shut from the outside. Of course, she might be able to get this figured out too, but it might be worth a try.

A parent I know who had a bed like this would put all kinds of fun, quiet toys and books as well as a drink in a spill proof cup.

[Kelly Rae]

I'd be interested in what kind of bed is this? What is it called?