Would it be wrong to put a lock on the outside of my kids room to keep him in?

[TheBlonde]

I'm having a toddler sleeping nightmare and he just won't self settle in bed
Even staying with him doesn't ensure success

Unfortunately he can open the door and escape from his room
I'm thinking of putting a lock on it to prevent this

Opinions?

Thanks all I will try this rapid return stuff

Didn't really like the lock idea

(Hillary - I get the fire issue now )

I don't understand....

He stands and cries at the stairgate, so you want to shut him in his room so that you can't hear him crying? Surely he will just be crying somewhere else? The best option would be to stop the crying altogether.

Sorry, cross posted, saw that you are going to try rapid return.

Get ready for a lot of returns!

rapid return - I know someone who did it (successfully) - over 100 times the first night, less the 2nd and 3rd night but then it was cracked - be determined in doing it and it will work!

No worries, don't want him crying anywhere, want him sleeping peacefully in the bed

Good luck, The Blonde. I remember feeling quite desperate when mine were whizzing about the flat in duplicate when they first went into beds. I hadn't heard of rapid return in those days and went for a stair gate which did work sort of- they just whizzed about their room giggling like maniacs until they became exhausted and collapsed asleep on the spot- at which point I'd go and transfer them to bed!

How about a cabin hook? You can fit it at your eye level and make it so that it latches the door ajar, rather than shut. I did this with DS2 when he was a baby so i could hear him, but the cat and DS1 couldn't get into his room and poke him.

Message withdrawn

Please don't put a lock on his door. being locked in could be dangerous and it will also frighten him.

lol JetJets - we have a stairgate on DD's door because both DH and I were sleepwalkers as children and we don't want to risk it (very steep stairs outside her room).

It does work as a good prison too though

hmm, well before we resorted to the stairgate across the door thing (which worked a treat, may i add) we put one of those gates at the top of the stairs that undoes like a rollerblind... however, dd1 realised that if she could get down flat on her tum, she could wriggle backwards underneath it and down the stairs. which she did a couple of times in the pitch black. so the stairgate across the door worked wonders and she only needed it for a short time before she got the message that bedtime is bedtime.

Could you just move the handle up high - I have friends who live in a 1930's (?) house and all their handle are high up, it's great

Is he scared of monsters? A spray bottle with 'monster repellent' written on it (and water inside) did the job with my nephews.

a fire could start in his bedroom and you might not know about it til its too late

if the door was unlocked he could get out himself, if it IS locked then he obviously couldnt

you get the picture