Chaotic three year old boy

[Butwhydad]

Hi all, nice to be here.
Our three-year-old is troublesome. He gets up early, gets into the cupboards (any of them - food, linen, storage...), torments our dogs, empties things, wet things, and hides things. If we are awake, it is easy enough to manage, but if he gets up before us, we are met with all manner of surprises. We have tried rewards for good choices, punishment for bad choices, and ignoring it. Nothing has been successful.

I'd prefer not to lock all the doors before we go to bed to try to minimise the affected area, but maybe that is worth a go?

Is this just a "ride it out" situation, or has anyone succeeded with other strategies?

Thanks everyone. I know this is nothing new, but everything I have read from other sites sounds more like clinical advice rather than practical plans.

Quite a few people put a baby gate on the bedroom door to keep a young child safely contained overnight or in the morning. Would that work? If not, a baby monitor or motion detector that will wake you up when he gets up?

Where are the dogs overnight? I would definitely be locking a door to keep him and the dogs separate in the morning, starting tonight – that's really quite a safety risk, especially if he's bothering them (and unfair on the dogs).

Thanks skkyelark, they are good suggestions. Keeping the dogs separated from him shouldn't be much trouble.

We have tried baby gates previously, but he is quite skilled at either breaking them or climbing over them. The motion detector is a good idea. I will look into that.

Thanks for your response, skkyelark. Very helpful.

Ah, I did wonder if he'd be a climber!

Depending on how close your bedrooms are, something very simple like a shop door bell or a bunch of jingle bells tied to the door might be enough to wake you.

Yep good one. The bells will work! Thanks for this.