21 Month Old Climbing Out of Crib

I don't have any first hand experience with this, but I've had friends use crib tents to keep their climbers in, and others that put mattresses on the floor and use a baby gate to keep their little one in their room at night. Either way will keep the child safe, so it's up to you.

We use crib tent, the original one. I bought it on line from the official distributor of the manufacturer, and it's actually cheaper than Amazon.com and elsewhere. Some parents "heard" that crib tents don't work. Well, it works very well for us. I think that it would take a kid much older than 21 months old to "figure out" how to get out of a crib tent. If you buy it brand new, and assemble it yourself, it is actually quite secure. My daughter loves it from day 1. It makes her feel safe and secure. I agree that a crib tent is probably not something that you can use for a long time, but the same goes for most of the baby or toddler items I think. For example, how long do you think a toddler bed would be useful for? So go with your gut on this one:-) Good luck with your choices.

Get the newer version: crib tent II - this one completely surrounds the mattress inside the crib so you don't have to worry about them figuring out how to open it, etc. It gave me total peace of mind until we put him in a toddler bed after he turned 2. My son loved it...like it was a fort or something. You can see my full review of it here: http://www.epinions.com/review/Crib_Tent_II_with_Inside_S...

I've heard a lot of people say that crib tents work. However, I also hear that they aren't really that safe because kids can pull them down and then they become a strangulation hazard. In most cases, when kids start climbing out, it is best to move them to a bed or mattress on the floor. It will be a big adjustment, but he will eventually learn to settle down and stay in bed. Also, many parents will put a gate on the bedroom door, so even if your son gets out of bed, he can't leave his room.

K.
http://oc.citymommy.com

Talking to other moms about their experiences switching their children out of the crib, whether you do it now or later, there's a good chance your son will "up and roaming around" when you switch him to a toddler bed or mattress. IMHO, why go and buy something else just to keep him in his crib for a few more months, when eventually you'll want him to sleep in a bed? For my own sanity, since he doesn't climb out, I would have rather kept my son in his crib for as long as possible. And if he had started to climb, I would have switched him asap, but now I'll be needing the crib in a few months, so we've got the toddler bed now.
It's been a little over a week for me, and I started when my hubby was out of town (so I'd only have to deal with one other crying and cranky person in the house instead of two ;-) I started a few weeks ago telling my son that he wasn't a baby anymore and that little boys sleep in beds. When the bed arrived, my son was so excited and loves to sit and play in it. When it came to actually sleeping though, he'd end up on the floor half the time. When he woke up and walked up to my bed, I'd just quietly get up and walk him back and pat him back down. He's down to waking up only once at night, and (now that my hubby is back in town and even though we've never co-slept) he comes into bed with us (so hubby can sleep--geez, you'd think I have 2 kids!). When my son starts to look like he actually enjoys sleeping in his bed, I'm going to tell him that "mommy isn't going to visit him at night anymore" and that "he's a big boy and doesn't need to visit Mommy and Daddy at night anymore", put up the baby gate, and just let him figure it out on his own. This is the only thing that got him originally sleeping through the night, and it only took 3 nights originally.
My son's Montessori pre-school teacher as well as my pediatrician all said to just put up the baby gate right away and let him fall asleep on the floor a few times. I'd have done it from the start, but again hubby can't handle hearing our son scream at night. Fortunately, hubby has a business trip in a month.
You may think your son is too little, but some moms I know have done it at younger ages and some as old as four! Sometimes the younger ones did just fine, some climbed out. Sometimes the 4 year old still climbed out and walked around.
I'm not sure if this is what you want to hear, or if this is helpful to you. But I wish you the best of luck and good sleep again soon!

Hello J. :) I say it's time to get rid of the crib and get a toddler bed (or if the crib converts, convert it!). My kids were in toddler beds pretty much as soon as they had a handle on walking. Your son will wander eventually if he continues to get up at night, just make sure his surroundings are safe. Maybe a baby gate will do the trick. Good luck :)

baby-proof his room and use a childlock on the door- it make take a couple of nights, but ours learned quickly to stay in bed until morning.. They are safe and their room is like a giant crib.

my son did that and then i put all of his stuffed animals around the bottom of the crib and he stopped and my son is super agile..he stayed in his crib til he was 3 ..keep the room dark and tell your little one not to climb out that he could get an owie.

Time to take it down. Your little acrobat will figure out how to escape from a crib tent, too. You could gate him or close the door to his room to keep him inside during his nocturnal wanderings. It will be a bit of a transition at first, I found my daughter under her bed several mornings, or on the other side of the room. He will figure out that the bed is more comfy than the floor eventually. We started out by putting a mattress on the floor, then using a rail when we erected the bed.