Two year gor out of his cot today

[milkyman]

My 2,2 year old was standing in his room today in his sleeping bag, No idea how he got out as never shown any sign of doing this. What should we do, is it ok to keep him in his cot. Whats it like transistioning to a cot bed?

[LovelyWeatherForDucks]

We've just made the switch to a toddler bed for the same reasons (same age!). It's been fairly easy - he was definitely ready as he preferred to snuggle on the floor with a pillow and duvet than go in his cot!

[LovelyWeatherForDucks]

PS I would have been happy with him to stay in his cot if he hadn't seemed ready - if he was sleeping happily and not climbing out constantly then I would have left him longer. Just because they can climb out doesn't mean they will!

[footallsock]

Move him now or risk him injuring himself falling out. A friend of mine DS broke his arm doing it. The transition is fine and will have to done anyway - mine went to beds at 20mths each

[addictedtosugar]

It was easier transitioning to a bed with DS2 (who escaped early too), as he couldn't open his bedroom door, so we toddler proofed his room, and left him to it!

His older brother could open doors when he climbed out of the cot, and spent several nights sleeping at the top of the stairs

Personally, I think if they can get out, they need to go in a bed PDQ - the thought of them falling onto their head from the top of a cot gives me the shudders.

[Starlightbright1]

My DS went in at 18 months as he was a climber..I put a stair gate at his bedroom door those as his door led out straight to stairs..He loved it..Make a big fuss about been big..

[sebsmummy1]

We had the same problem a few months before his second birthday. He appeared in the office and frightened the life out of me as I had left him 'safely' in his cot 10 mins before.

Our approach was a little less traditional but certainly effective. We sawed a hole in the cot lol! In our defence it was a second hand cot which we had bought off eBay for a tenner so had no value, sentimental or otherwise. What it did have though was a very expensive mattress within that was worth about £100 and my son was very happy sleeping in the cot.

So we sawed off about 6 struts on one side and gave him, in essence, a door. He is happy as larry now and most importantly he is safe.

[morethanpotatoprints]

hello OP

My ds1 was doing this at one and we had to move him into single bed.
We halved all sheets and blankets so he couldn't wriggle too far down and put cushions on the floor in case he fell out.
He soon got used to it and by 18 mths was telling anybody who would listen about his big boys bed.

[worserevived]

We've just switched to a cot bed for the same reason. What I've learned is:

Get some cot bed rails, toddlers roll about in their sleep and fall out of bed.

Toddler proof the bedroom, and fit stair gates on the stairs or in the bedroom doorway. The stair gates need to be taller than the cot sides obviously, or they will be climbed over too.

Put a mattress or cushions on the floor by the cot bed so there is a soft landing when they get up/fall out.

Use an intercom so you know when they are up.

Moving beds in an adjustment so expect a week or two of broken nights. To start with dd wouldn't stay in bed, so we've had to completely re-do the whole evening bed time routine to get her to settle again.

[whyhasmyheadgonenumb]

DD jumped out when she was 19 months - the day after DS was born. I watched her do it, like she had been doing it for years. Hilarious.

[Fozzleyplum]

IMO there's no point in hoping a child will stay in the cot once they've worked out how to escape.

DS2 broke free before he as 2, so we took the side off the cot and we had no problems after that. I can also remember, surprisingly vividly, the day I learned to gate vault my way out of my cot (I'm 46, so it was a VERY long time ago!). You'll probably find that if you try to leave you DS in the cot, ostensibly imprisoned, he'll keep escaping, but is more likely to stay put if he knows he is free to get out.

[olivesnutsandcheese]

DS escaped from his cot whilst in his sleeping bag at 19months.
Obviously DH was away at the time
so I had to buy a toddler bed and build it all before bedtime.
The first night in it was a bit tricky but thereafter he's been as good as gold. I strongly recommend a bed with built in rails. DS loves his little white bed.
We have a bolt on the outside of the door which we lock every night for safety since he worked out how to open the door. He stays in bed though like there is some kind of weird toddler glue sticking him in
Good luck OP

[sebsmummy1]

Olives a bolt sounds a bit scary, wouldn't a stairgate work? (and yes I do have some weird fear of fires and feel like a bolt might prevent a child being rescued quickly).

[dodi1978]

Oh dear... 17 months and waiting for this to happen.

DS has started trying to steal my husband's bedside lamp (it has a removable cable). I think he'd love a light that he can just switch on to 'read' his books in the morning.....

[milkyman]

thanks all. olive what bed did u buy?

[olivesnutsandcheese]

probably a bit late now OP but we got the Ellis toddler storage bed from Argos.