Tips to Prevent Toddlers from Climbing Out of Their Cribs
Are you a new parent constantly worried about your baby climbing out of the crib? When babies start to crawl or stand, they tend to move around. They feel confined in the crib, and all toddlers climb out of the crib. While you can’t stop them entirely from climbing out, you can always follow some safety tips for toddlers in cribs.
Most parents get scared when they see toddlers standing in the crib. And amidst the worries, they tend not to enjoy the beautiful, notorious moments of their little ones. It is essential to understand that it’s okay if toddlers climb out of cribs – it is very natural for them. We know it is uncommon to see your little ones’ jailbreak skills and not stress over them. This milestone of your baby’s growing journey might feel like a nightmare, leaving you puzzled and scared about your kid having some bumps. Hence, we’ve got you some fantastic safety tips for toddlers in cribs to protect them from climbing out of them.
Lower The Mattress: The best way to ensure that toddlers climbing out of crib doesn’t get hurt is to lower the mattress – reducing the risk of great fall. Many experts suggest that the gap between the mattress platform and the top of the crib railing should be at least 26 inches. This way, the baby climbing out of the crib won’t strike themselves.
Remove All Extras From The Crib: All the cute soft toys, animals, pillows, and cushions you kept in the crib for the baby to play with must be removed. Why? For a straightforward reason, toddlers climbing out of cribs might slip or tumble over these extras and fall off hard.
Understand The Pattern: An interesting thing about a baby climbing out of a crib is that they have patterns. Some toddlers climb out of the crib right after they are put to sleep, some will do that when they don’t find anyone around the crib, and others will do it when they wake up between their bedtime – even if that’s midnight. Hence, one of the most effective safety tips for toddlers in a crib can be knowing their patterns (and not just sleep cycles).
Once you know the patterns, you can prepare yourself to save toddlers climbing out of cribs from getting hurt.
Try Using Sleeping Slacks: Using sleeping slacks is a great safety tip for toddlers in cribs. Your little ones can snuggle sleeping slacks cozily and sleep comfortably without feeling separated. Sleeping sacks also restrict the moment and prevent your toddler from climbing out of the crib.
Use Sleep-to-Wake Clock: We know these are used to train babies to maintain sleep cycles. But guess what? You can use them to prevent your toddler from climbing out of the crib. These clocks will give your baby a visual aid to help them understand when to climb out of the crib.
When To Move Your Baby From Crib To Bed
Seeing toddlers standing in the crib can be horrifying, especially when, as a parent, you are not prepared for this milestone. The worry of them getting hurt will overpower the excitement of your baby being able to stand. Toddlers climbing out of the crib is often part of the 18-month sleep regression or two-year-old sleep regression. This indicates it’s time to transition your little one from crib to baby bed.
Generally, one should move the baby to bed from the crib when they are close to 3 years. This general rule does not apply to all babies. Different toddlers have different paces of growth. Based on your kid’s temperament, how much risk they are okay to take and what pace they are growing at, you should decide on shifting them to bed from crib.
Minimizing The Adverse Effects of Toddlers Climbing Out of Crib
Restrict using crib nets: If you want to prevent a toddler from climbing out of the crib, don’t use crib nets. Your kid might get trapped in these nets and pose a choking threat because of strangulation. Also, ensure the crib is kept away from the house’s windows.
Remove the furniture from the kid’s room; if you have types of furniture with edges inside the kid’s room, especially around the crib – remove that. So that you can help avert severe injuries that may occur when toddlers climb out of the crib.
Use a firm mattress for the floor: one of the essential safety tips for toddlers in the crib is to use a firm mattress that can surround the baby’s crib. Doing this is beneficial for toddlers to climb out of the crib, especially at night. They might get severely hurt if you are not there to watch them.
Baby-proof the room
When your little one starts to crawl, they may roam around the room unsupervised. Yes, after toddlers climb out of cribs, they explore the surroundings. To raise your child risk-free, you must baby proof where they can wander around.
Some ideas to baby proof the room are:
- Put corner guards on the edges of any piece of furniture or item with sharp edges in the baby’s room.
- Lock drawers and cabinets so that the toddler may not take out tiny items they may accidentally ingest.
- Hide all the electrical cords and install cord-free drapery to avert any falls and accidental strangulation.
At EuroKids, we provide safe, comfortable beds for your kids. The ease of your children is equally important to us, along with an engaging learning journey. Click here to know more or to visit a Eurokids centre for preschool admission for your child.