We've Made a Terrible Mistake

Close your eyes and take a little journey with me.  Relax, and let the scene unfold...

The time:  way too early

The setting:  the Crouton's bedroom

The mood:  very, very sleepy

We see our heroes, nestled snuggly in bed, exhausted from an evening of aggressive sitting around.  Spoiled by a child who values sleep as much as they do, they rest comfortably knowing there are hours left before they'd need to rise and greet the day.

*ca-click*

thump thump thump thump thump thump thump

"MOMMY!  I NEED YOU HELP ME!"

*snort* *cough*

"what the...?"

"MOMMY!  CAN YOU HELP ME?"

"What do you need help with, sweety?"

"I don't know!"

Thus began our odyssey into the next phase of parenthood:  the crib-free era

I have to take responsibility.  It was my idea.  I thought getting a toddler bed was a good idea.

I mean, Cheeky could climb out of her crib if she wanted to.  She just never did!  And besides, she'd sleep forever...what harm would it do?  It was time, right?

Right?

She's so proud of herself, peddling out of the bedroom five or six times a night, or standing next to our bed with an silent, creepy smile.  Never mind that she's in such a good mood when she doesn't sleep.

It seemed like such a good idea at the time.  Now I look at the toddler bed and see a Vessel of Doom, some ancient device with the power to rob parents of their sleep and sanity. 

I've considered building a barbed-wire barrier, or putting electrified plates on the floor, but I suspect Child Protection Services would have an issue with those.  Moving a couch in front of the door is a temporary solution.  And moving out is too expensive. 

What's your suggestion?  Answer quick...I think she's coming...

Comments

[Chris]

I have five children. My oldest is already 20 and my youngest is 3 years old. My wife and I have been through this. All I can say is, NOTHING WILL WORK!

Give it up and rent a hotel room when you want to be alone.

[ilinap]

We had no such problem with Deal. He just stays in his bed until we get him. He's been a perfect child so I know he'll rebel in his teenage years. Anyway, I put a book and a little quiet toy next to him in bed before I go to sleep so he has something to entertain himself when he wakes up. We also taught him the number 7 on the clock so he knows to stay out of our room until then.

As for Bird, he was more like Cheeky. Oh, the NIGHTMARE he was! We eventually put a gate on his door. I suppose it made his room like a jail. That's what a crib is anyway.

[Quentin]

LOL..

We just got Chloe a 'Big girl bed' AKA 'Lit de grande fille'.

Going though EXACTLY the same stuff... Now she's started to try to sneak in and spy on us, but either slams our door or locks herself out of her room.

What has worked for us, is not engaging her at all, just leading her back to her bed & simply saying: you have to stay there.

We also have a couple of kids books which address this & help her understand the limits... unfortunately they're in French or I'd recco them to you..
Hope all's well & that we can meet for a drink soon.

[Chicky Chicky Baby]

We put a child-proof lock on the inside of Chicky's door and respond to her pretty quickly if we hear her calling for us. We also threatened bodily harm if she so much as tried to leave her room. I'm pretty sure DSS wouldn't have a problem w/ that because I can't be held responsible for what I would do if I were woken from a dead sleep by a wide awake preschooler.

[Kara]

You know, I think there's a word for this kind of thing. I remember what it is now- oh yeah, it'scalled Karma. I think this is the universe's way of saying you proclaimed your daughter's status as a varsity sleeper out loud one too many times. All you can do now is wait for it to end. And it will, shortly before she gets her driver's license.

[keersten]

Ha ha! I am actually sitting on my bed so that I can lead my 2 year old back to hers when she get up for the 10th time tonight. (Which I am sure she will in about 20 seconds.) We moved our 4 year old to a twin bed and put the 2 year old in the toddler bed last week. It's been-um-fun. What has seemed to work best for us is just to grimly keep leading them back to their beds. They usually get the message after a few months. We also did the gate thing with the older one. She screamed for hours over it. I don't know--just try to survive. I feel your pain. There she is!

[~JJ!]

Ha!
I don't even want to say that my daughter has never done this because I'm afraid she'll start now.

Her door is extremely hard to open from the inside (we put the knob on that way on purpose) so she calls us instead of getting up. Same annoyance, but at least I have a minute to gather myself (and put my clothes on) before she gets to me.

Plus she's afraid of the dark, so she stays in her bed, under her covers calling instead of walking around in the dark.

Plus I use duct tape. A lot of it...

Ha! Only kidding, jeez.

But I have heard friends use big, laminated paper badges or buttons...they give her say, three and every time she gets out if her bed to get her parents she has to relinquish a button. When she's out of buttons she can't get out of bed again. (I personally don't know how this works)

Or you can give her a clock and draw a copy of the clock next to it with the time she IS allowed to get out of bed, say 7am. When the real clock is the same as the fake clock, rise and shine.

But then again, what do I know?

My kid gets up at 7am like clockwork.

[air beds]

Sleep comes for no parent who decided to upgrade their child to a toddler bed. Toddler beds are evil, and in my opinion all children should be kept in cribs til they're old enough to move out. ;)