Say it isn’t so. That sweet little one has figured out how to escape their crib. Most kids get to this point at one time or another. It happens at different ages for every child, making it pretty unpredictable. If you are one of the lucky ones, your child may not do this but, more often than not; your baby climbing out of crib is going to test your parenting.
Why Do They Climb Out?
There are many reasons why kids climb out of their cribs.
One of which is because they don’t want to miss anything. Just like when they were babies and fought sleep, they really don’t want to miss anything that is happening outside of their room. You will know this is the case if they also come out of their room when they get out.
Next, they aren’t ready for bed yet. Many times, kids will climb out of their cribs but, stay in their room. They will play with their toys until they are ready to go to sleep. At that point, they will either climb back in the crib or, fall asleep on the floor.
When will it Happen?
It happens at different ages for each child but, it can be expected anytime after your child becomes more mobile. Once your child can pull up and climb on pretty much anything, that is about the time to expect them to try to climb out of the crib.
The hardest part is it is totally unpredictable. One time you will put them down to sleep and be fine and the next, they are out and free.
5 Tips How to Keep your Toddler in their Crib
1.Sleep sack – These are one of the best mom inventions. Not only are they a safe way to keep your child warm at night; they also help prevent your child from getting their leg over the side of the crib.
2. Video Monitor – Watch on video monitor and go in a soon as you see them start to climb. Make sure they lay back down and know that it is not acceptable to climb. This can happen over and over for a couple of nights until they understand that they have to stay in their cribs.
3. Toys – Put toys in with them that they only play with in their cribs. Quiet books, water pages, Little People are good options. They have something to play quietly with while their bodies relax. Once they fall asleep, you can remove the extra items.
4. Bribe them/Talk to them – You can come up with a reward they receive in the morning if they do not climb out of the crib. I find at this age that they need instant gratification when they wake up rather than earning stickers on a reward chart. I find that a special cereal in the morning that they normally wouldn’t have for breakfast works great at this age.
5. Move the Mattress – some people have luck dropping the mattress all the way to the floor. Make sure there are not any gaps between the mattress and the start of the crib.
Other ideas for why your toddler Is climbing out of their crib:
It could be that they don’t want to miss anything.
I have FOMO (fear of missing out) myself so I can understand when that our little ones may wonder why they have to go to bed when everyone else is still awake. If they are getting up because they don’t want to miss anything than, your best bet is to minimize extra sounds coming from outside of their room. Now, this doesn’t mean make the house silent but, it is helpful to help drown out the noise. You can do this either by having a sound machine playing or, using a radio and turning on a classical station. I have also used meditation CDs as well. If your child can’t hear much of what is going on outside of their room, their temptation to get out and see what is happening is lessened.
Just for Fun
On a rare occasion, they are only climbing out to get a rise out of you. They know that you will come in their room and they are getting that little bit of extra attention. Plus, it keeps them awake. If this is the case, than minimize any and all talking that goes on. It is best to not say a word but, just simply put your child back in their crib. If something needs to be said leave it short and sweet. “Bed time” is all that needs to be said and leave the room.
Remain Calm
No matter the reason your child is climbing out of their crib, be sure to stay calm. Getting them (and yourself) worked up will simply just delay bedtime even further. If you can reassure them that they can play when they get up or that nothing is happening because everyone is going to bed, it will help them to relax.
Consistency
Consistency will be key no matter what option works best for your family. Make whichever option you choose part of your routine. For us, I found it best to let my kids take books to bed so, we made picking them out part of their bedtime routine.
Kids usually have a reason that they want to be up so, helping them to solve their need or problem will help to keep them in their crib and get a good night’s sleep.
You may be interested in the following articles:
5 Fun (Less Traumatizing) Tips to Wean Pacifier Use
Is Your Kid Sneaking Into Bed? Real Moms tell 5 Ways They Successfully Stopped It.
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It’s funny, but neither of my boys ever did this. They stood up in there, but I never found that they tried to climb out. Great tips 🙂
So glad they didn’t climb!
Mind-blowing tips! I love it.
I remember my daughter started trying to climb out of her crib so early! we lowered it all the way but she is so tall that she still managed to be able to get out. We switched her to a toddler bed not long after though. My son is 1 and has never even slept in a crib though lol
That baby is so cute. It is so funny when they climb, but it can be dangerous so these tips are very helpful. I guess nobody wants to miss out of all the fun.
My son doesn’t even try to get out and he’s two. I think he knows we’ll come get him if he wants out. He’s a terrible sleeper too, so I might not ever take him out of the crib, he’ll just roll out of a bed! Lol
Those are great tips especially for first time parents who are experiencing this. It’s really important to make sure you have everything your baby needs, including entertainment so they won’t be tempted to go climb the crib.
Those are awesome tips! My daughter was a Houdini getting out of her crib! She could always figure a way out.
My sister in law has a little one who is nearing the age of climbing out of her crib so I’ll be forwarding this to her right now! Thanks for this!
Babies pick up everything so quickly! I think the video monitor would be a good option for me once the time comes!
Thankfully we didn’t have this problem with neither of my girls. I have heard stories of my nieces and nephew climbing out when they were toddlers!
These are awesome tips for parents especially those who are taking care of babies for the first time. It’s really good to have toys and entertainment ready if you’re planning to let your child stay in the crib for some time.
Lots of great ideas for how to deal with climbers. I was always nervous my kids would fall and get hurt when trying to get out.
I remember my foster sister trying to climb out of her crib and how she would escape to watch telly late at night lol. A video monitor sounds like a great idea to stop them climbing!
I do not have any kids, but for parents who do, I can imagine that this would be so helpful for parents with small kids.
I never had a problem with my son trying to climb out of his crib and its actually surprising since he is such an active boy. But he loves just laying there for some reason.
Both of my kids started climbing out way too young! About 18 months! I could have used these tips, it was a very stressful time!
Oh my goodness this is awesome!HAha it’s totally a problem i wouldn’t have thought of not being a mom. Love this post.
I’m not a parent and this is definitely not something you think about but these tips are so helpful. I like the toy one.
I don’t miss those day but we were lucky – neither of our girls climbed out of the crib. I think they were too scared. Great tips for those parents dealing with it.
I’ve seen a couple of videos where babies miraculously get out of their crib like how did they do that at such a young age. Having a video monitor seems like a good way to go and maybe a few toys inside the crib.
I am the mom of 1 and not a veteran by any means but I totally embraced the sleep sacks. She is 2 now and in size Large and I already stocked up on size XL in both fleece and cotton. The plan is to keep her in the sacks as long as possible. Plus they keep her warm and we have an old home that can get very chilly in the winter!
I had the worst time with my son climbing out of the crib. No matter what I did, he was like Houdini. Always got out!
Yes! These are great ideas.The sleep sack did the job pretty well.
We have a baby monitor and also lower the mattress to the lowest stage possible to where they can’t climb out. These are great tips because it can be scary!
These are all such great tips! Boy, I am glad those days are behind me though!!
These are great tips but I honestly feel like if you’re infant is going to crawl out, they just are and will. My oldest daughter started crawling out of the crib at 16 months which was very surprising. But her little sister topped that record and was even younger when she decided to start climbing out. She was just under 15 months when she decided she wouldn’t be staying in the crib anymore. Once she figured it out there was nothing we could do to stop her!
My nephew and nieces never managed to crawl out of their cribs. My sister and brother lowered their mattresses when they were able to stand and once they got a bit bigger, they transitioned to a toddler bed.
We definitely needed this with our son! And I know I won’t need it with our daughter in the future. She never stops going going going!
Our kiddos didn’t sleep in cribs, but I KNOW this article will help out some of my mama friends whose kids have started doing this! Keeping calm and staying consistent seem to be the two golden rules of parenting through tricky situations like this. 😉
I remember the days of the challenges that came with our toddlers climbing out of their cribs! These are some great tips for handling it. 🙂