Crib Climbing
At some point your child may start to climb out of the crib. As early as 12 month. It’s something many parents dread.
Ideally, kids should stay in their crib until they are 2.5 years of age. But if your child is relentless, I’ve got some crib climbing tactics to help keep them in the crib longer and prolong the big kid bed transition.
Remember, the safest place for your child to sleep is the crib!
Tips to keep your child in the crib longer:
1. Move the mattress to the lowest level.
If your mattress isn’t already on the lowest setting, get that mattress to the lowest level! The minute your child is starting to pull up and sit up, get that mattress down!
2. Take the bottom mattress frame off and leave the mattress on the floor.
If your child can still climb out of the crib even with the mattress on the lowest setting, remove the metal mattress frame that holds the mattress and drop that mattress to the floor. Leaving the mattress on the ground with the four crib sides surrounding it. *Warning – this ONLY works if there is NO gap between the top of the mattress and the bottom of the crib rails. You want this to be a little baby jail – no gaps at the bottom where they could get stuck or injured!
See image below!
3. If your crib has one side higher than the other, move the lower side against the wall and the high side facing out.
Some cribs have one side higher than the other. Usually the cribs that can convert into big kid beds and use the back of the crib as a headboard. Use this to your advantage! Take the shorter side of the crib and do a 180 spin so the short side is against the wall. The taller backboard now becomes the front of the crib. Leaving a wall barrier and crib barrier.
4. Tell your child it could break the crib.
I use this one on my daughter. I’ve only seen her attempt to hike a leg over the crib once. I held my breath. She retreated. Although around 18 months she did climb out of the pack ‘n play at daycare for a week. The redundancy of just putting her back in got old so she went back to napping.
She hasn’t climbed out of her crib at home, but she will sometimes try to scale the crib from the outside to get in. Whenever I see her trying to climb it from the outside (usually during playing in her room, not during a sleep period.) I tell her “Oh no, you could break the crib if you climb on it!” “You love your crib, don’t climb on it or it could break!” I don’t use this as a disciplinary tactic, but rather just talking to her. It works every time. She loves her crib so of course she doesn’t want it to break!
5. Try using the monitor to catch them and communicate.
If you leave the room and you see your child trying to climb out of the crib, use your 2-way monitor to talk to your child and tell them no! Let them know you can see them trying to get out and remind them to lay down and go to sleep.
6. Remove any toys/bumpers/pillows they can step on to get out.
Start taking anyway anything they are using as a step to get out of the crib. Crib bumpers, pillows, multiple stuffed animals. Also, remove any stools or pieces outside of the crib they could be using to step out onto.
7. Try a sleep sack.
Try putting your child in a sleep sack! They can’t spread their legs to get over the rail. If they learn to unzip it, put it on backwards and inside out!
Knowing when it’s time to transition:
- Your child can climb out of the crib despite ALL tactics listed.
- They have seen a friend or sibling with a big kid bed and ask for one (if they are over 2.5 years of age.)
I know a person whose child is 2.5 and went to a friend’s house and saw their bed and wouldn’t stop asking for a toddler bed. The parents agreed to give it a try. It actually went well. The child was mature enough to handle the big kid bed!
Methods to transition:
- Have the crib mattress on the floor with NO bed
- Toddler conversion kit/toddler bed
- Big kid bed with RAILS
DO NOT try to put a net over your child’s crib to keep them in there.
Reasons you SHOULDN’T move to a big kid bed:
1. No Signs of Readiness.
If you haven’t seen any signs of your child climbing out of their crib, keep them in the crib. It is THE SAFEST place for them.
If you choose to move your child before they exhibit signs they are ready and before age 2.5, they could develop sleep issues or make sleep issues worse.
2. Expected Sibling.
TRY not to move your child to a big kid bed just because a sibling is on the way. A sibling brings BIG changes as it is. And then to see the new sibling sleeping in THEIR bed could bring on sleep issues and feelings of replacement.
Since babies should be sleeping in a bassinet initially, you can prolong the need for the new baby to sleep in the crib for up to 6 months. Giving your toddler a chance to stay in the crib longer.
If you can, borrow or buy a new crib for your child.
3. You think there is a special age they should be out of the crib.
Don’t move your child because you think 2 is a magical age where they should be in a big kid bed and/or potty training. Don’t add unnecessary pressure and stress on your family. The transitions between big kid bed and/or potty training will go much faster and smoother if you allow your child the time and space to mature enough for it. Never try to transition to a big kid bed AND potty train at the same time. One event at a time.
4. It Can Cause Sleep Issues.
One of the biggest toddler sleep issues comes from moving to a big kid bed too soon.
I had a friend whose child was turning 2 and she was expecting baby 2. She not only moved her child’s room to make room for the new baby, but she upgraded the child to a big kid bed AND started potty training right away. Her mission was to have her first potty trained and in a big kid bed before baby 2 arrived.
The result? She said her child never had sleep issues until they transitioned to the big kid bed and experienced daily accidents while learning to potty train for over 6 months. And even a year later, that child is STILL having sleep issues.
That was WAY too much change for a 2 year old. A new room, new bed, potty training AND a new sibling. All before the child was truly ready.
5. YOU are ready.
Sometimes parents are ready to transition to the big kid bed before their child. It’s OKAY to keep your child in the crib over age 2.5! In fact, I plan to do just that with my daughter. My family is expecting baby 2 this fall and my daughter just turned 2. I have the toddler conversion kit for her crib all ready in the basement for when we need to transition. That is, when I see she is ready. Otherwise, she can stay in her crib as long as possible!
I also plan to purchase a second crib for our second baby. I know this might not be financially feasible for some families, but it is important to me to keep my daughter’s routine as seamless as possible. The last thing I want is her to have sleep issues when we’re in the midst of welcoming the new baby and some “sleepless” nights!
Things to consider BEFORE you transition:
- Anchor furniture to the wall.
- Remove toys and distractions from the floor, including anything that could be dangerous.
- Introduce an okay-to-wake clock.
- Implement a Door Monkey.
Our services can help you with crib climbing and toddler bed transitions, you don’t have to figure it out alone. I’ve got lots of ways to help you make the transition and tricks to keeping them safe and thriving in their NEW big kid bed!
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