Advice on toddler climbing out of cot

[zebrarobot]

My toddler will be 2 in July. Over the last few months he has been climbing out of his cot. It began because he could easily pull his sleeping bag open as it was one of the ones with the buttons at the shoulders. We then switched to a gro bag with a front zip. He figured that out quickly too. We now put the gro bag on backwards but he still managed to pull the zip up enough to get his legs out and then escape.
We then tried meeting the 2 zips on the gro bag in the middle like near his bum so he couldn't reach but he has now figured out how to jump out whilst still in his sleeping bag.

He normally jumps out once when putting him to bed, then when we put him back again he sleeps but its been during the night the last two nights as well.

I'm wondering if anyone has any more tips? The mattress is already as low as it can go. I just feel he is too small for a bed. My elder ds moved to a bed at 2.5 and even then wasn't really an easy transition (we never had this climbing thing with him)

Once they start climbing out it becomes dangerous.
I childproofed the room, got a low bed with a bed guard and put a gate across the door.
I did that with all my dc and it was much easier.
They were all in beds by the age of 2.

I agree it's not safe once they start climbing out. Bed with a bed guard and a gate across the door if you think he will keep getting up.

You're both probably right. He shares a room with his 5yo brother though so I was hoping to move to a bed around his birthday in July so that it was during summer and wouldnt be a big deal if everyone was awake at night with him getting up and down.

Looks like I'll be bed shopping today then. Do we think a toddler bed, or straight to a low single? I did toddler bed with ds1 but he really hated it and took him about 3 weeks before he actually slept in it

Please, please, take him out of the cot. If he falls from the top, it can be very dangerous.
Toddler bed, bed with guards, mattress on the floor are all possibilities.
Mine went into toddler beds at 25 months, and 18 months because they could climb out. It's been fine (they couldn't open the doors st that stage, so as long as the room was safe, they were ok).

I did wonder if there was a market for velcro sheets and babygrows!

We switched ours at 18 months to beds because then getting out was safer than climbing out - dd2 was slightly younger than her sister in managing to learn to scale the cot side - she's now in the military and climbing walls are easy despite being 5ft tall!

Once I think it's time to go shopping

Make sure he can't slip between the bed and the wall.
Safer to put a bed guard on each side.

I'd probably just get a low single, save you buying 2!

Mine went into toddler bed at 18 months, we had him with us wguke we built it and talked about his big boy bed. He was super excited. Put him diwn for his first nap in it with duvet and pillow which he'd never had before. Of course he didn't nap, but come bed time he did great. We put a couple of duvets in the floor so when he fell out it was soft. Only took a couple of weeks and he learned to stay in his pillow!

My 3 year old sleeps on a single bed and her little brother sleeps on the single trundle stored underneath. We moved him there at 14 months and he's been fine (he's 19 months now). We have a towel rolled under the sheet to form a "bumper" to help him feel where the edge of the bed is.

As above we have a baby gate at the door so they can't escape the room.

sunshine yes me too. Alot of money to be made with that invention I reckon

Toddler can open all our doors though and also my 5yo sleeps in there too so I'm not sure about a gate. When we used a gate with ds1 he would just come to the gate and scream because he hated the bed, which wouldn't be ideal if there was another child sleeping in the same room who had school he next day which is why I was hoping to wait until the Summer.

Anyway, i think we'll go for a bed and deal with the up &down for however long it takes and try not to disturb ds1.

Any recommendations for the best bed rail? We used a summer infant one last time and it was really flimsy.

Thanks for everyone's advice. Bed shopping it is

Fortunately my twins are kept in their cots by their sleeping bags as I’m screwed when we have to take the sides off (they both have ASD and letting them out is going to be so dangerous!). Hope it’s not too bad for you

Never forget the thud I heard when DS managed to scale the sides of his cot, even though he was in a grobag, and land on the floor. Think he was as shocked as me. Never did work out how he did it. He had a cot bed so we were able to take the sides off the next day. We used a bed guard and put a gate on his door, but understand that won't work with an older child in the room

Ikea make a low toddler bed that starts short and extends into a single. You can buy the mattress in blocks (so you add a block as you extend it) or just go straight to a single. Our bed has lasted two ds's, the eldest was in it till he was 6 and we turfed him out into a different room to make way for his brother

Once they start climbing out it's time for a bed, or take a side off. There's no going back unfortunately.