My 2 year old escapes his bed!
My 2 year old son recently learned how to climb in and out of his big boy bed (we switched him out of the crib early because we have a new baby). Now he refuses to stay in bed, and sits in the hallway screaming and crying for hours on end. We don't want to have to resort to putting a gate on his door. Does anyone have any other suggestions?
posted August 1, 2007 - 6:51am
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We actually have a gate on our daughter's door, and I do recommend it. She's two and a half and we've had the gate for close to a year. We'll probably remove it soon. It's not a jail sentence; we did it mostly because we didn't want her wandering out into the hallway and possibly hurting herself by bumping into something. But it also seems to have taught her (along with our discussions with her) that her bed is her bed, and mommy and daddy's bed is...well you get the point. I also found that when she doesn't want to get back in bed, exploiting her sense of independence works. She likes to do everything herself, so I tell her if she doesn't get back in bed herself, I will pick her up and put her there. Boy does that get her moving. I hate to say it, but sometimes you have to be tough with them at this age, especially with kids with strong personalities. He may be kicking and screaming when you pick him up to put him back in bed, but do it anyway and just be strong. You may even have to hold him down (gently!) with your hand. Don't hurt him, of course, but just show him that you won't accept him wandering around and he needs to stay in bed.
Good luck!
Patti
SAHM in SF Bay Area
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PermalinkMy son started escaping his crib at 22mths olds and even worse, we were staying with friends/family for a couple months during transition for a move!!!! So not only was he escaping, he didn't even have familiar surroundings. Anyways....we are in our new home now and the gate has worked wonders, but...I read him stories and then put him in his big boy bed and sit next to it until he falls asleep. If he starts to climb or play...I tell him I will come back when he is ready to settle down and I leave the room and shut the gate. He will sometimes cry, sometimes play and then cry, but I return to his room when he gets upset and he seems to know I mean business and he will lay down and fall asleep with me by his side relatively quickly. A few times recently he has just climbed into his bed and put himself to sleep! I am hoping that becomes more frequent b/c we have a new baby on the way in 2 months and I won't have time to sit with him...I am thinking about setting a timer and when the timer goes off (sleep or not) I will leave the room. So....we tried no nap and had the same reaction...cranky! We are still working on it! Good luck to you!
Sara
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