Crib Height Extender – Solving Toddler In Crib Problems

If you are a new parent, you will know better than anyone else that babies can sometimes be quite difficult to deal with. As long as they could be put somewhere safe, you were relieved.

However, the moment they start to stand up and move around, although you’re excited for them, you know that things are about to get a lot more chaotic.  

I love the abundant energy that kids have. However, my kid took the chaos to another level. He was a hyperactive child. He started to crawl when he was seven months old. I had to put a child lock almost everywhere and cover up anything that could hurt him.

However, one main problem that I had to face was the crib. He seemed to keep trying to climb out of the crib. Although we cannot explain to kids that they might fall down the other side if they do this, we can use other means to keep them safe.

Therefore, if you are wondering how to keep a baby from climbing out of the crib, I am here to help you with the solutions and even guide you with the crib height extender.

Solution For The Crib Problem

There are a few DIY hacks and some basic solutions that can prevent your kid from crawling out of the crib and falling down. Let us now have a look at the solutions, some of which are even personally tested methods.

1. Turn It

This is one of the easiest of all the solutions. My husband came up with this idea when I was extremely worried about the baby falling off the crib. If your crib has a longer side, make sure that it is facing the wall. 

This means that the shorter side should be against the wall. The short side is easier for the baby to grab and pull itself up. However, with the longer side, they won’t be able to topple over it; as they cannot climb over the long side. This means that as much as your kid tries, they won’t be able to jump over it.

You might feel that this does not go well with the aesthetic of your baby’s room, but that’s one sacrifice you’ve got to make. Although, you can arrange the furniture in the room accordingly to make the room look good. 

2. Arrange The Mattress 

Now, this looks like a classic crib height extender tactic. You don’t have to increase the height of the crib, instead, you will trick your kid into thinking so. All you have to do is remove the crib support which is located underneath the crib and put the mattress on the floor. This would prevent the baby from climbing up easily.

Personally, for me, this worked wonders. When I removed the crib’s mattress support and put the mattress on the floor, my kid could hardly reach the height and crawl up to the crib. 

However, you have to make sure that there is no gap between the mattress and the crib wall. Some cribs cover up the gaps. If you find a gap, you have to cover it up as it is more dangerous than your toddler falling out of the crib.

You can use a play mat, but it has to be thick enough to put the mattress at a specific height. It should neither be too high to give the baby the chance to climb up nor too small that the gap doesn’t fill up. 

If you can overcome this small difficulty, this DIY hack will save your toddler from falling off for the longest time.

3. Items Of Furniture

The first time I thought about how to prevent toddler from crawling out of crib, this was the first thought that struck my mind. I have a small table right beside the crib. There are a few toys that my boy used to like to play with. That was what attracted him the most to climb over the crib and reach the table.

Therefore, I removed all the tables and stools near the crib. These items of furniture give them the leverage to climb off the crib. Also, sometimes there are certain things on the furniture that might attract the kids’ attention, and they could try to reach them.

As much as it is a good sign that they are curious, if you are not nearby, they can fall and cause an accident.

You might be disappointed with the arrangement of the room, but it will save you a lot of hassle.  All you need to do is remove any elevated piece of furniture away from the crib.

4. Special Pajamas

This is another amazing hack that I wish I knew earlier. You can either buy the pajamas or just try to sew them by yourself. So, what is so special about these pajamas, you may ask?

Nothing much except that a part of the pajama is sewn in the leg area, to be more specific, near the feet. This cuts off their leverage, and now the baby will face difficulty climbing up the crib. 

You can do this by yourself by sewing the leg area a little with a cloth, or you can even check out the ready-made ones. 

There is also another type of pajama from Little Grounders that looks cute and stylish and will be the perfect fit for your baby. These pajamas will restrict the movement of your toddler. Hence, it is advised to use them while they are in the crib. 

5. Sleep Sack

This is another type of pajama, but it won’t restrict your toddler’s movements completely. As the name suggests, it is like a sack, and thus, they won’t have the necessary balance and grip to climb up. 

This is also useful if the toddler doesn’t want to have a blanket but they might catch a cold. Just put a sleep sack on them, and they are good to go. It is also appropriate during the rainy and winter seasons to keep your toddler warm. 

6. Bed Rails

This could be a bit difficult, but if you can use this hack, it would help you a lot. All you need to do is unassemble one wall of the crib, if possible. After that, just replace that with a bed rail. Bed rails are safer and more difficult to climb. This would protect your kid from climbing and falling off. 

Additionally, make sure that you get the size of the rails right. Get a measurement of your crib, and then order the rails accordingly. 

Moving To A Bed

Many people, when they see their toddlers climbing up the crib, immediately shift them to toddler beds. There are also options such as in bed co sleepers. To be honest, that is quite a sudden decision and might be overwhelming for the baby.

The best thing to do in case your toddler starts to climb up the crib is to try out the DIYs and hacks. Usually, they are supposed to work out. If it doesn’t work out, then you can go for a toddler bed. 

Another thing you must keep in mind is that a bed has more problems than a crib. In a crib, at least you are sure that your baby is protected from all sides. In a bed, you have to be more alert, as your baby can roll off the sides anytime.

This doesn’t mean that you should never put your toddler in bed, but it should happen gradually and once they’re old enough for it.  

Even though toddler beds are quite low in height, and the fall wouldn’t hurt much, it doesn’t mean they are safer than cribs. Before you teach your toddler to sleep in a bed, you have to make them be familiarized with their new sleeping area.

It could be that the first day you shift your toddler to bed, there will be a lot of crying and wailing. They might not even sleep the whole night.

Hence, you must first make sure that your child knows that this new bed is going to be their sleeping place. Maybe let them spend some time over there during the day.

You can even shift their afternoon nap to this bed. Gradually, they will become more comfortable with the idea of sleeping in bed. 

If you are still worried about them falling off, you can get bed rails and put them in place, until they manage to sleep without rolling off the other side. 

Final thoughts on crib height extending

I hope that you were satisfied with our crib height extender methods. Handling a toddler is a difficult job, and sometimes, there are bound to be accidents. However, as prevention is better than cure, you should always be prepared for such common accidents.

On the other hand, you cannot stop your toddler from exploring and going about in their ways as they grow curious about the world around them. They are bound to crawl and climb up places, go off to corners and dig out some old stuff underneath the sofa.

All of this is a part of their childhood, and we should not stop them from exploring. All we can do is employ unique maneuvers to ensure their safety.       

        

      

     

    

 

 

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