When it comes to the toddler stage in parenthood, life gets a little more difficult. For one, toddlers are like mini-teenagers who think that the world revolves around them. Toddlers haven’t quite grasped the concept that there are other people in this world with feelings, because they don’t quite understand emotions yet.
With that being said, toddlers are also famous for not comprehending how far their body really can be pushed or how far the ground is from their crib. If you’re a parent struggling to keep their toddler inside the crib overnight or during nap time, then you’re in luck. Here are some tips to keep toddlers from climbing out of the crib to share with you today and a few products that may help you during this stage in child raising.
The Right Jammies
Little grounders makes these pajamas that help prevent your little one from climbing out of their crib. It’s basically a zippered onesie with fabric connecting the legs, leaving enough wiggle room to walk, run and play, but not so much that they can throw their leg over the crib rail and climb out. They offer a variety of colors and are made of 98% cotton for a breathable fabric.
Take Away Any Extra Props
Remove extra toys, pillows, bumpers. You may think that once you’re past the baby stage, that you can add a stuffed animal or two. Well some kids are escape artists and use the extra stuffed animal or pillow to give them a leg up on climbing out of their crib. Another common situation is that their stuffed animal or blanket fell from the crib, and now they have additional motivation to climb out and go get it. Just keep one comfort items if you must in the crib, that way if they wake during the night, they’ll have something to comfort them. Remove the extra bedtime props if you have a little climber on your hands.
Surveillance Camera
Get a baby monitor like this one that allows you to talk to your toddler. As soon as you put them to bed, watch the monitor for any notions of trying to climb out. Then when they do, speak with a very stern voice and say “No, (child’s name), please lay down and go to sleep.” Once your toddler figures out that mommy and daddy are watching, they’ll be less inclined to climb out of their crib.
Try a Sleep Sack
If your toddler is still small enough to fit inside a sleep sack, this larger sleep sack is one of the best methods to keep your toddler snug, comfy and unable to climb out of the crib. Sleep sacks come in many sizes but are predominantly used as a replacement blanket, so you may not be able to use this option all year round or in hot weather locations, but you can try it if your little one is small enough and the sleep sack doesn’t keep your toddler too hot. Is your child a houdini who can upzip already? Try putting the the sleep sack on backwards.
Keep Mattress on Low
There are a few settings on most cribs that allow you to keep the mattress on a lower setting. If you have a way to keep the mattress on a lower setting that will help keep your toddler from climbing out of the crib, I’d say give that a try! While this may be difficult when laying your toddler down and picking them up from a laying position, it should surely keep their feet from reaching the top level of the crib to climb out. This is a pretty cost-effective way to keep your toddler from climbing out of the crib.
Turn the Crib Around
Some cribs have a higher side and lower side, try to turn your toddler’s crib around so that the higher side is facing out while the lower side is on a wall or in a corner so that your little climber cannot get out. Turning the crib around is similar to putting the mattress lower, where it may be more difficult for you to get your toddler in and out of the crib, but it surely could help keep your toddler from climbing out of the crib.
Each of these tips to keep toddlers from climbing out of the crib should surely help resolve the issue of finding your little one climbing out to be independent without your knowledge. Remember that sometimes when a toddler is climbing out of their crib on a regular basis that they may be ready for a toddler bed, which is smaller than a regular twin bed. If you’re not quite ready for that transition then my tips to keep toddlers from climbing out of their crib should help keep them in the crib just a bit longer.
If you’ve tried everything and still have an escape artist. It may be time to consider a toddler bed or removing the front of the crib and installing this crib guard rail.
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