Toddler cot advice

[pineappletop11]

Any suggestions on how to stop a toddler climbing out her cot please? My daughter has a condition where she can over heat easily so we did away with sleeping bags a while ago and she is also tube fed at night so I definitely don't want to put her in a bed yet. I have the cot at the lowest level and tried being firm with her but she just jumps out constantly. It's so difficult

[dementedpixie]

If she can climb out then its time to go into a bed. She would do worse damage if she fell from the cot bars.

[NannyR]

I think that once they can climb out of a cot, it's not really safe to keep them in one. I've never looked after a tube fed child so I don't know about the extra challenges that poses, but you could try putting a mattress on the floor as a halfway stage between cot and bed.

[pineappletop11]

Thanks for the replies. It's a tough one because she is attached to a machine at night and if she gets up and walks away from it then it would pull her feeding button out which would be horrendous for her. That's why I feel the cot is necessary but obviously not when she can climb out! Hoping there was a way I could stop her doing it as it is without a doubt safer apart from that. Having a bed would open up several more problems no idea what to do

[Ticklemynickel]

We persisted for a week but it was game over once DD could climb out - it was like a challenge for her. She's stayed in bed much better than I thought she would actually so it might not be as bad as you think.

[Caspianberg]

Any chance you can take cot apart, remove base and then put mattress right on the floor level without base, rebuild cot around it? That extra few inches lower might stop her a few more weeks.

Another suggestion is to look at merino sleeping bags. Super love merino for example. They are very good for regulating temperature and they come in larger sizes and toddler which might help you.

[pineappletop11]

@Caspianberg I'll speak to my husband about taking the base out of the cot and see if we could make that work - thanks!

[NannyR]

It depends on the design of your cot but if there is a gap between the cot bars and the floor, just check there is no risk of her trying to crawl under and getting trapped between the bars and mattress, if you decide to take out the base.

The bed might not be as bad as you think, I look after a three year old who was a terrible cot climber. She moved into a bed around two and she never makes any attempt to get out of her bed. She has a gro-clock and her mum and dad told her she had to stay in bed till the sun comes up on the clock and she's taken it to heart, bless her!

[Caterina99]

We were able to drop the mattress to the floor and contain my DS that way

[Mylittlepony374]

Can you ask the Dietitian/ Paed Consultant about changing her feeding regime so it's during the day or bolus feeds rather than overnight? Then you could pop her in a bed?

[pineappletop11]

Thanks for the replies and comments. I think we will try adjusting the cot (if my husband wants to take on the challenge that is! ) and if that doesn't work then maybe try and find a cot that is deeper. @Mylittlepony374 We do bolus feeding throughout the day too and this feeding plan is what finally works after a year of changing things and ties in with all her day and night medications so really wouldn't want to change it. Thanks though and hopefully we get something sorted!

[Serafinaaa]

It's possible to get bunk beds where the bottom bunk is contained with bars for rooms where a very young child shares with an older one. That could work long term.