Climbing toddler!?

Question

my 20 month old discovered this morning that she can climb out of her crib. we have a toddler bed for her but we still need to put it together. my husband and i are still a little confused about how to go about putting her to bed. i dont want her to be one of those kids that has to have mommy or daddy lay in bed with her each night to go to sleep. any suggestions

Answer 1

Tell her what a big girl she is and show her that big girls sleep in beds, not cribs.  Show her your bed, and tell her that when she gets bigger, she'll get an even bigger bed like yours, but for now she has her own special big girl bed.  And have her sit with you while you put it together, maybe she could help hand you parts (gives her a little bit of ownership and pride that she's helping put together her very own bed).  If her room is big enough, you could even give her a choice on where to put it (near the windor or the closet or something small like that).  Good luck!

Answer 2

mattress on the floor for now - baby gate on her door so she cant get out.

Answer 3

Keep her mattress on the floor until you can get the toddler bed together.  Continue with your regular bedtime routine so she will continue to be comforted by that.  You can expect that she will probably get out of bed the first few nights, because the freedom to do so is new and exciting, and you may find her asleep on the floor.  This is totally normal, and the best thing you can do is ignore it.  If you go in her room when she gets out of bed, it will teach her that she can get your attention (and stall bedtime!), and possibly become the kids who can only fall asleep with mommy in the room.  If you leave her be when she does get out of bed, the novelty will wear off faster, and she will be sleeping in her bed easily  :)

Answer 4

Well, she's normal!!  That's for sure.  Most kids do it.

Is the mattress all the way to the bottom of the crib? I mean, can you set it any lower?

I think I would give it a while before moving her out.  See if it happens again. In the meantime, try to make her understand that climbing out is not an option. I don't want to tell you to do anything that might cause her to get hurt, but my daughter tried that once, and then never again, because she got a nice bang when she fell to the floor. She may have learned her lesson, at least, for the time being.

Answer 5

Tell her no...say no climb. When she gets out just go put her in bed again. This will take like 10 times but after that she will start to understand. I remember my second daughter did that...she is now 3. Her thing now is jumping in bed. I cant get her to stop. I done so much just have her do it the next night.

Answer 6

It's something that she has to get used to and that you have to teach her is cool, happy, safe, and secure.  If you have an easy going toddler you may be able to just get away with putting it where her crib was and using the same bedding.  While she will realize it is different she probably won't mind too much.  

If she struggles with it you're going to have to keep it low pressure.  Easing into it may help as well.  You have to teach her that her bed is a place that she wants to be.  That means not forcing her into it, forcing her to stay in it, or putting her screaming and crying because she is upset about the bed into her bed.  If she gets upset about the bed take her out of the bed, maybe even out of the room, help her calm down, and try it again.  

It's fine if you have to lay with her for a few nights to get her used to it.  Staying with her a couple of nights until she is completely asleep, then a couple of nights until she is almost asleep, and then a couple of just stories and snuggles for a few minutes can work magic for both of you.  If you succeed at helping her learn her bed is safe, happy, and a good place to be you won't need to lay with her every night, just during the transition.

Edit:  I love Michelle's suggestions about having her help you with the bed.  These would work beautifully with an older toddler, but maybe not so well with a 1 1/2 year old.  If you can make them work, though, wonderful!