help needed for tonight - moving DS(2.0) to a bed

[KP86]

DS has figured out that he can climb out of his cot. At first we just moved it away from the bed so he couldn't use that to climb onto but today he went from cot straight to floor. Thank goodness he wasn't hurt (we have a mini acrobat).

We have a double/queen bed that we will move him into (furnished flat) but I need some hints and tips on how to manage it. As the bed isn't ours we don't have the option of selling and buying a toddler bed.

At the moment if DS has free reign he will not stay in bed. I think it's too much of a game. He actually likes being in the cot and settles well by himself, but now if he wakes and doesn't want to be in there anymore will just climb out.

The bed is against the wall and we have a guard to use to help keep him safe but I need advice on how to keep him in bed! Or even just how to get him to fall asleep there. Currently we put him in cot, he babbles for up to 15 mins and mostly sleeps through until morning.

The bedroom door handle is lever-style so he can open it by himself and come out, which is what happened during lunch sleep today (after he climbed out of the cot).

I don't think he (or I!) is quite ready to drop the day sleep, he naps for around 2 hours and still sleeps 11-12 overnight.

Please help!

My advice having been through this twice is to simply lower the sides of the cot once he's asleep...then he can climb out safely.

He will climb out of either the bed OR the cot anyway...and keeping him in his cot is far less disruptive.

In terms of his bedroom door and coming out, you probably won't need to worry but if you have a child safety gate, put that on his bedroom door. He may of course climb over it...so you will need another at the top of the stairs.

None of mine ever went downstairs without me...and I think it's quite rare at 2...so you should be fine.

When he's a bit older, cracking on for 3 and with more understanding, then put him in his bed and get rid of the cot.

Thanks for that. I also had the idea to remove the fourth side of the cot to see if we can make it into a cot bed.

We are in a ground floor flat, so no stairs luckily.

We've just put DC's cot mattress on the floor in the corner of her room and bigged it up as a "big girl bed" she never stays in it, rolls out all the time and actually prefers to sleep on the rug by the mattress.

We shut her bedroom door at night and her hands aren't strong enough yet to work the massive doorknobs we have. If that wasn't the case I'd have gone for a gate across the door.

We have to be pretty patient and wait until she is sleepy and compliant before saying goodnight and leaving the room though as it would be tricky to stop her exiting with us