Help! Toddler managed to work out how to get out of safety gate across his door, thinks it's very funny, 1.5 hours and counting!

[grainmum]

Just that really. We moved my 2y4m son to toddler bed a couple of months ago, with stair gate across entrance to his room. Tonight he has worked out how to get out. Each time I put him back he immediately comes out again, he is not in any way distressed, seems to think it's a great game.

I'm just calmly and with very little talking other than "back to bed" taking him straight back to bed. Any other ideas? 90 minutes and counting! Not sure I can get downstairs and pour some wine before he is out of bed again!

At 11pm I finally gave in and cuddled him to sleep. Bad choice I know, but felt like there was no alternative. Now to do dishes, sort washing etc then maybe get some sleep myself before he wakes up again.

You can buy high stair gates, could be worth investing :)

Adjust the height on the gate. So raise it off the floor enough that he can't reach the latch but not enough that he can wriggle underneath

Back in the cot.

"Big Boy Talk" about how Big Boys who sleep in Big Boy Beds have to stay in their bed at night time - always, all of the time.

Explain that he will have 1 week in a cot, sticker chart counting down the days. Then you will ask him if he is ready for a Big Boy Bed and that he will need to stay in the bed all of the time.

If he agrees then the change is done on his terms and he has chosen to stay in his bed, not get out of bed, rather than be in the cot. Any transgression from this would get a reminder about the "Big Boy Talk". One night of a problem would mean back to the cot and start again.

I feel strongly that many children are moved into a bed before they are ready and this causes extra problems, like the one you are experiencing.

Really a stairgate should not be needed in his room at all. What if there is a fire? He needs to be able to come and find you if needed. But he needs to be of an age where he understands and can be trusted to stay in bed unless there is a problem. If he is not at that stage yet, them I would consider him too young to be out of a cot.

Thanks for replies. We might moved him out of his cot because we were going on holiday a couple of weeks ago and wanted to try to get him to sleep in a bed before that because we felt he was too big for a travel cot now.

Some food for thought here, thank you.

Just take the stair gate off his door, it's dangerous now he can climb over. He will be able to climb out a cot also if so, so wouldn't bother putting back in

Get him super tired before bed the next few days, help him take baby gate off as he's a 'big boy now'.

At bedtime read him stories in semi darkness until he is almost asleep before leaving him

FATEdestiny what's the difference between him being in a cot or a room with a stairgate across the door in the event of a fire?

I'd imagine it would be much easier to grab child from cot and run, than fiddle with a stairgate to get into the room.