Cot escapee

My daughter has similar problem with 2nd dg,but kept her in those sleeping bag type of nightwear,which had buttons on the shoulders,she was unable to climb over the cotside as the sleeping bag type prevented it,,and also kept her warm ,but as she got older,she removed cotsides,as it was a convertible cot/small bed,and after a few nights,she settled ok

My DD would make very effort to climb out of her cot, which really worried me as I imagined her falling from the top of the frame. She then moved on to rattling the cot so hard that we feared it might be reduced to matchwood, so on her second birthday we bought her a low bed, put her in a bigger room, and had a gate across the door. 'Worked like magic - she clearly just didn't like being confined, but was happy to lie in a bed that she could get out of if she wanted to.

I don't think bed guards were invented when mine were little and I can't remember any problems with them falling out of bed.

DGS, as adventurous as his mother, somehow ended up with the bed guard on top of him.

My first child climbed out of his cot at 16 months. I left the side down from then on, and put a small stool next to the cot so he could climb out safely. We had a stair gate at the top of the stairs.

I think the rule is, once they can get out of a cot they should be in a bed with a bed guard. I never had a stair gate for my children neither did my daughter for her son. We both taught the children how to slide down backwards on their tummies. Safer for them, also fun. Stair gates only prevent them falling, don’t teach them danger.

My daughter was like that. Put him in an ordinary bed and the novelty soon wears of . I would also dispense with the srairgate. You can always put the room closure up higher if you need too.

I put my son in a bed at 15 months as he kept climbing out to and I thought it less distance to fall.

Yes, he climbed out of that a few times but also learned to climb back in too. I did find him asleep on the floor once though.

this thread reminds me of my younger son - he was a regular houdini too. I often found him asleep, on the floor, under the cot, when I went in to his room in the morning. I can't remember if I resorted to putting a mattress or blanket out for him! Another happy memory - going into his room and finding the other 2 in his cot with him (lucky it didn't collapse!) - all chatting away! He was known as ET (for extra terrible), for years because he was such an escape artist - now a highly successful businessman of 40!!

Second daughter was a climber too. And not just out of the cot but then after she tippy toed across the landing to the bathroom, put the plug in the sink and turned the taps on and the first we know was when water dripped through to the ground floor. We had to have a new bathroom carpet. I think got a bolt for the outside of her bedroom door. I think we'd had the perfume incident by then too .

I would wait outside the door, when tot gets out of the cot (with side down for safety) just put them back in the cot and leave without speaking to them. Repeat as necessary. It’s the only way to train toddlers to stay in bed.

I lived in a flat when my son at around age 2 started climbing out and wandering around. I ‘m afraid I put cereal out in a bowl on a tiny table in front of his chair, in front of the telly. I taught him how to switch the telly on and how to retrieve milk in a then carton from the low door of our tiny fridge.

He’d eat his Weetabix in front of cartoons from about 6 am.

I've contacted a local handyman. I have my daughters old cot (35 years old!) and I'm hoping he'll be able to put one side of it on hinges with a lock on the other side to create a high AND strong gate. Daughter is a deep sleeper and I don't think it's safe to shut his door because she won't hear him if he's in danger.

Boy wonder was up early this morning. He was out of his cot and into his mums room in 20 seconds. Physically, he's a dynamo. Walked at 8 months. Has upper body strength like nothing I've ever seen in a toddler. When he goes to soft-play, he goes in the older kids section and does everything they can.

There is no changing HIS nappy if he locks his legs. So strong and such a strong will.

I remember sofa cushions up as a barrier around the cot of one little girl.

But a bell on the stairgate that will jangle loudly when the little one reaches the gate!

Good luck!

We also taught her to come downstairs backwards, facing the stairs iyswim.

Stairgate not staircase

Auto-correct again!

My eldest DC was a Houdini too.

At 20 months I think we bought her an ordinary single bed, part,y because DC2 was on the way and we wanted to get her used to the bed before the new arrival took over the cot.

She loved her bed but would hop in and out several times before settling down to sleep.
We always had a staircase at the top of the stairs and generally 'ignored' her (whilst keeping an ear open) until the novelty wore off.
DH made the stairgate and she couldn't open it.

One of our DSs was a bit of an acrobat at an early age. We put him in a bed at about 18 months with a safety barrier, so that he couldn't hurt himself climbing out of his cot. I once found him astride the raised side of his cot, "riding" it like a cowboy! We also abandoned stairgates because he could just avoid the problem by climbing up the stairs on the OUTSIDE of the banister rail!! It was all about damage limitation really!!

pink wallpaper Snap..! My DS was a little terror, and as his bedroom door opened out onto the top of the (steep) stairs - we lived in a small terraced house - when he went into a bed at just over two, we put a hook and eye at the top of his door which we used to hook up when he went to bed, and unhook when he'd gone to sleep.
When we put him to bed, he tried the door - just once - every single night

My daughter went into a bed at 16 months as she was a mountaineer/Houdini and we had concrete floors, the carpet didn't make them feel any softer for a little skull potentially hitting them. Yes she was a pain as kept getting out of bed but she did learn it was her bed to sleep in, eventually. A high stair gate on doorway would make it safer, we didn't need that as lived in flat. She was also out of nappies at that time and would get out of bed to use potty for herself, and no she didn't grow up to be a brain specialist, she was just very quick at learning when she was a little girl. Having a bed also meant I could lie down next to her to get her off to sleep instead of leaning over a cot side, which for me was a big advantage

We had this problem and put daughter in bed and then hook and eye closure at top of door do she couldn’t open it.

I never had any problems with my 4 climbing out of a cot but a friend of mine did. Her final solution was to put the mattress on the floor with the cot turned upside down on top of it like a cage!!! Perhaps not pc but it did work!! As to stairgates, my stairs were too wide for a gate so I also taught them to master the stairs as soon as they were mobile. Bedroom doors were also always firmly closed at bedtime.

I agree with putting him a big boys bed, or dropping the side of the cot.

My first son had to have his cot screwed to the floor too because he could rock it across the room and this was before he could walk, which didn't happen until 16 months. He did the same with his playpen and pram too. I would often find him sat in his pram outside another shop, bless him!

May years ago now...we used a properly screwed on stair gate across the bedroom door. Each child moved into a toddler bed at around 15 months. I left a couple of biscuits and a tippee cup of milk right by the stair gate. The child would head for the stair gate, find the provisions, eat/drink and then fall back asleep on the floor.

NaughtyNanna haha! So many things in the past would definitely be non starters now but that gave me the image of Hansel and Gretel and poor Hansel in a cage! Made me laugh just before leaving for a mole biopsy!

Many many years ago when I worked in a residential nursery, we used to put an old door over the top of the cot to stop an escapee!! I'm absolutely sure this would be considered abusive now so "don't try this at home"!!