Hey There,
When you get to that point where your toddler is exerting their independence and
practicing those acrobatics (aka crib climbing) it may seem like the time to transfer
toddler bed.
But wait! Hold on!
If your child is younger than 2.5 – 3 years old first try some of the tips below to see if the
sleep issues you are experiencing will resolve. This is to ensure that your child stays in
the safest possible environment until they are ready to switch to a full size bed at
around 3 years old or later if they are fine with their crib. Most children stay happily in
their cribs until age 3.
When we open the possibility of a bed to a young child it may give them too much
freedom at such a young age and may lead to other sleep related issues.
1. Try lowering the mattress of your baby’s crib as low as possible. Try to remove
the metal support and drop the mattress directly to the floor making sure that
there are no spaces between the mattress and the bottom of the crib as this is a
safety hazard.
2. Turn your baby’s crib around if there is one side that is higher than the other.
This prevents baby from climbing out of the lower long side. Place the crib in the
corner to eliminate one of the short sides, leaving baby with only one short side
to climb.
3. Have your child sleep in a sleep sack to discourage climbing.
4. If a traditional sleep sack doesn’t help try to use pajamas designed to keep crib
climbing at bay like Little Grounders PJS or The Naughty Monkey PJS, or create
your own.
5. When your child climbs out, without saying anything, put them back in their crib
and keep repeating as necessary. This will eventually get boring for them and
they will not continue climbing out. Keep in mind to not do anything that may
seem like a reward for your child, be it hugs and kisses, eye contact talking etc.
Keep it as boring as possible so there is no reason for your child to continue the
negative attention seeking behavior of climbing out of their crib.
6. Think of any way you can lengthen the height of your child’s crib. Some parents
have used suspension shower rods to add to the bar height, others have added
pieces with a carpenter and there are some additions that can be purchased
online like Ikea Guard Rails. Please make sure anything you add to your child’s
crib is not a safety hazard. Any additions to a crib is at the discretion of the
parent.
7. Many parents wonder about Crib Tents. According to the American Academy of
Pediatrics they are not approved for safe sleep as any additions to a child’s crib
are not regulated. If a parent chooses to use a crib tent it is at the discretion of
the parent.
Sweet Dreams,
Faigy