[mikiment]

OK, folks, we've clearly got a live one here in Orlando. Young Master Christopher (who just turned ONE last month for the love of God) recently mastered climbing out of his Exersaucer, play yard, and over any/all gates. Now today, he climbed/fell out of his crib and scared the heck out of me.

After checking arms/legs/head/body thoroughly, could find no injuries, and Chris was just laughing his head off at his accomplishment, the little rascal! I returned him to his crib, then laid down to spy on him to figure out what he was doing. Basically he pulls himself up to his waist on the crib railing like it's a pommel horse, then swings his little legs up and tries to go over - AARRGGH! He's not stepping on bumpers or anything for a boost (already removed those way back.) Now I'm afraid to leave him in there in case he wakes up and starts mountaineering. Needless to say, his rail is already up as high as it goes, mattress dropped as LOW as it goes.

HELP! Anyone have any ideas/suggestions? My pediatrician says this usually happens around 18 mos. to around 2 - great...My husband's threatening a modified kennel approach that we hide during follow up social worker visits (Guess it's the mechanical engineer in him, with the software engineer side kicking in to design a alarm system to bust our little climber.)

But seriously, Christopher's still so little for the ages they told us to start using the toddler bed, and I can't have him wandering the house or even his room without close supervision even though it's been baby proofed. He's just one! Plus, he still shares his nursery with his one year old sis Alexandra (they are a month apart), but so far she's not climbing yet, just cheering him on, much to Mommy & Daddy's consternation.

I saw these crib tent looking devices on the internet, but reviews seemed mixed. Any advice/suggestions? This little rascal is upping my Clairol usage by the minute!

Thanks in advance for any/all suggestions.

[Shay]

I wonder if you could get a tall baby gate to put in his doorway that way if he did crawl out of his crib or toddler bed he is confined to his room?

I am not there yet with Daria so I really am at a loss for advice. Sorry!

[Vicki H]

We have had this problem for a little while with Alex. He knows how to get out without falling now.
We did not use this but they make crib tents to go over the top so they cannot climb out.
This might be something you may want to get since he just turned one year.
Alex was at an age that he knew he wasn't supposed to climb out and he only recently started doing it again, since he is now two it's bed time for him.
I believe you can purchase the crib tents at Babies R Us, you might be able to find them online as well.
Good luck to you, boys are a riot.


Vicki

[joyfulme3x]

Good gracious!!!
What a little adventurer you have! Glad he's okay--my 18-month-old nephew just broke his arm last month falling out of the crib!

We have a crib tent from Babies R Us. We mainly got it to keep the cat out of the crib, but it would probably keep a 12-month-old in just fine (an older toddler may be able to figure out how to undo the zipper from the inside, but it might hold your little one off for a few months till he is more ready for a toddler bed). The crib tent is pretty pricey, and it's a bit of a pain to attach to the crib--plus it makes the sheets hard to change--so it's not a perfect solution. I think though that in your situation it might be worth a try!

Good luck! You must have lots of fun with your little explorer!

Joyfulme3x

[stephw3boys]

PUt a mattress on the floor so if he falls he does not get hirt.

Get the crib tent!! IMO you should not move a child to a crib unless you want life as you know it to change - for the worse!

[mikeintexas]

My little William climbed out of the crib at 15 months and there was no stopping him. We went ahead and transitioned to a bigger bed, made sure his room was safe in case he roamed around in there, and used a baby gate at the door. That was our solution and it worked fine. I hear the tent thingys are okay though. Either way, figure something out quick to avoid the problem joyfulme3x writes about (broken arm).

Mike

[waxhawfamily]

Once they learn to climb, there isn't much you can do.

I would suggest either tenting him in, moving him to a toddler bed, or lowering his rails so that it's not so much of a fall. Also, door knob covers work well until age 3 or 4. You can make his room safe and put covers on the door knobs if he will climb over a gate at the door. We have door knob covers on all exterior doors, pantry doors, and our attic door - so far, so good.

Also, PLEASE bolt his furniture to the walls. Since you have a climber on your hands, ALL your large peices of furniture need to be bolted to the walls. Many small children are killed each year by trying to climb furniture and having it fall on top of them.

We have many things in the house bolted to the walls.

Have fun with your little adventurer!

[calikismet]

I have not used them, but I know that they make pajamas that have attachments to keep the legs together (clips on the interior of wach leg that attach to one another) -- kind of a mermaid thing, to keep them from being able to swing their legs over. They may only come in winter weight, tho.. My friend's son started climbing out at about a year, and they use the tent.. But they also looked into the PJs.

I agree 100% that you are NOT ready to have him out of the crib at only a year old. Life as you know it changes once you go to a big-boy bed.. We were sooo glad that we waited a while to move our son over until we were sure that it was safe for him.

Our daughter is 15 months now, and has climbed out of her pack-and-play once. I was certain that she'd be trying to crib climb, too, but so far, so good (knock on wood!!).

Best of luck!!

[Mykidsmom]

Our youngest was climbing out of the crib at around 16 months but he would not stay in a toddler bed, it was almost like the toddler bed made him hyper. We took the mattress out of the crib. We put a baby quilt on that board that holds the mattress. After one night all I had to do was to make the threat that I would take the mattress out and he would settle down. We have always been fortunate that once he went to sleep, he was out for the night.

Ditto on bolting the furniture to the wall, it is amazing how high they will climb and how fast they get there.

It is funny how we, as parents, are so proud of their achievements but we can't let on to them.

[Jim_in_PA]

Christopher must have some of my genes...I reportedly was quite skilled at climbing supposedly "unclimbable" fences when I was a young lad so many years ago...

[jgljrl]

Just wait until he is old enough to go outside.....the trees will be his next goal. I think I lived in the trees in our neighborhood for several years as a youngster.

I've seen some great advice on here, especially about bolting the big furniture to the walls. He will be climbing entertainment centers, etc.

I think either the tent over the crib or possibly moving on to the toddler bed sound good. As for the door thing, I've known parents to install a regular screen door in their kids room and having it lock from the outside. That should keep him in his room and you can still hear him.

[Kasey]

The crib tent is great!!! Our son was climbing at a year and until we got the tent it was nervwracking.
We looked into the pjs which I heard were great, but they only came in winter weight, so I didn't get them.
he now pulls toys and boxes and uses them to climb on the couch in our family room or to look out the window and he has a little rolling toy cart which he uses a truck and climbs into it--I swear he is a disaster waiting to happen some days.

Good luck and definitely get the tent!!

[angelkisses0102]

crib tent! crib tent! crib tent! keep him contained as long as possible. our little boy is also a climber and has no fear. he will attempt to climb anything. anything!! he has even tried to scale a flat wall.

the best advice i found was either on here or at frua regarding a climber: your must adapt your sense of adventure and see his accomplichments through his eyes. you can't change him, just protect him. i never thought it would not faze me to see my little boy standing on a table dancing.

a climber can not be out of your sight for a minute. they will use anything to help them get just a little bit higher. our little guy decided to start climbing before he could even walk. we simply taught how to get back down safely and basically can't let him out of our sight.

good luck, climbers are a handful!

[spitzlvr]

I used the crib tent with my son. When he learned how to get the zipper open, my DH would clip the zipper pull to the side of the crib with a quick release connection. Ds didn't have the understanding to pop it open, but it was instant for us. We loved it. (And he did too - we introduced it to him as a 'big boy tent')

[tbristow]

I've had early climbers (oldest dd scaled out of the play yard at under 7 months...should've served as a warning. and youngest dd came out of the crib the first time at 10 months) but apparently the first trip out scared them a bit and they didn't try it yet. Hunter is pretty short but thus far has not tried to get out. I agree with all those that say he's too young for the toddler bed. Both of my girls were close to 2 when I moved them and it worked fine. I've never tried it, but I would personally go with the net if Hunter started climbing out. Good luck, it sounds like this one is going to keep you entertained!! And then of course there is always what sis will be into when he has you distracted.