Jailbreak: How to Handle Toddlers Climbing Out of Cribs

Some kids come out of the womb ready to treat the world like their jungle gym. Somehow, your child can’t eat with a spoon without covering themselves head-to-toe in their dinner, yet they have no problem vaulting themselves over the bars of their crib and wander into your room at 4:30 AM. Need proof? Check out our video gallery Great Crib Escapes.

It doesn’t matter how old they get or how many times they do it; it’s scary every time.

Plus, as we all know, give a toddler an inch, and they’ll cover your entire house with a one pound bag of flour.

The question is: how do you deal with it?

How Dangerous Is Climbing Out of Cribs?

Climbing out of cribs is normal baby and toddler behavior. But if they’ve recently become an escape artist, it’s not a phase you want to ride out.

Falling from the crib can be dangerous, particularly if their room isn’t carpeted or if there are any exposed edges or corners nearby.

Nearly 10,000 children go to the emergency room every year due to accidents involving cribs, bassinets, and play pens. Over 80% of those injuries happened in or near a crib, and two-thirds of them were the result of the child falling from or jumping out of the crib.

Plus, a loose toddler is like a bull in a china shop, especially if other rooms aren’t gated off. Babes who end up in the bathroom are particularly at risk, and even more so if the bathroom isn’t baby-proofed.

What to Do About It

You’ve got a few options for both keeping your tot in their crib and making it safer in the event that they find their way out.

Lower the Crib Mattress

It seems obvious, but it’s always the obvious things tired parents miss first.

Bring the crib mattress down to its lowest possible setting. A greater distance between the mattress and the top of the rails will make it more difficult for a child to get the leverage required to hoist themselves over the edge of the crib, unless you’ve given birth to the next Simone Biles.

Don’t Buy a Crib Tent

If you’ve ever wondered how to trap a toddler and sleep a full 4 to 5 hours, you might have looked at a crib tent.

Crib tents are marketed as a way to keep kiddos in their cribs. Exhausted parents fit them over the top of the crib and zip it shut. Thus, there’s no way out and everyone can sleep.

Unfortunately, crib tents aren’t safe. The Consumer Product Safety Commission investigated the safety of these toddler-trapping devices and ultimately decided to issue a massive recall back in 2012.

Why?

They found that crib tents posed both strangulation and entrapment risks for children. Not ideal.

Buy Little Grounders Sleep Garments

Little Grounders was founded to help solve this dilemma of finding a way to keep kids in their cribs without the added risk that products like crib tents or sleep bags present. We know, we’re hawking our own wares, but hey, they really help!

Our garments are not only comfy, but they also limit your toddler’s ability to move in ways required by climbing. They’re safe, they’re cute and they help keep kids in their cribs.

Want to know more and buy the only toddler garment that can give you (and your child) a good night’s sleep?

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A Little Love,

Little Grounders