climbing out of the cot

[terrydoo73]

I have a little boy, one of twins, aged 18 months old who today climbed out of his cot when I put him down for his morning nap. I realised something was wrong while listening to the monitor and went in to find him walking around the room - the other twin was in his cot sound asleep!

I said to his dad tonight and he told me this was his latest trick - he did it yesterday morning at home!

Now what do I? I immediately put him back into the cot and he went over to sleep OK after 10 minutes. Is there anything I can do to stop him doing this in the future?

[sweets]

i would put him in a bed and put a gate on the door, you wouldnt want him hurting himself climbing out! if you havent got a bed you can use then put the cot mattress on the floor and use that.

[sarah707]

I have a big problem with one child as he refuses to settle in my cot - he screams, stands up, screams louder, tries to climb out, screams again and bang his head on the sides til he's all red and angry and hot and bothered and totally unable to sleep. :(

I've had to get permission from the parents to use the buggy :D

[Polly2]

I have also used a buggy with children in the past

[AnnieM]

On this note, are we allowed to let babies sleep in buggies? I have just come back from the Welfare Requirements training and someone had recently been inspected and told by the inspector that she was not allowed to let babies sleep in a buggy. I have always let little ones sleep in pushchairs, I always have one that lies flat and have always used this and that has been fine with parents, now I am not sure. I don't have any lo's at the moment, so not an issue, but need to know for future reference, I will have to try and squeeze a travel cot in somehow if this is correct.

[sarah707]

On this note, are we allowed to let babies sleep in buggies? I have just come back from the Welfare Requirements training and someone had recently been inspected and told by the inspector that she was not allowed to let babies sleep in a buggy. I have always let little ones sleep in pushchairs, I always have one that lies flat and have always used this and that has been fine with parents, now I am not sure. I don't have any lo's at the moment, so not an issue, but need to know for future reference, I will have to try and squeeze a travel cot in somehow if this is correct.

You cannot let babies sleep in buggies because there is a risk of them suffocating ... the angle is wrong unless they are absolutely flat and there is no support for delicate backs and necks like in a mattress.

This is something Ofsted will pick you up on as it was mentioned in an inspector's briefing paper recently.

I am not aware of any Ofsted rules about it for older children though except childminders in the past have been told to get written parental permission.

What did your tutor say?

hth :D

[youarewhatyoueat]

What age are you saying shouldn't sleep in buggies, from when the mindees are about age 1 I often go for an afternoon walk and the children will have a sleep, i've never seen it as a problem. Its such a tie to the house if they all have to be in cots. Different at this time of year but i still have 2 18 month olds that sleep in the double buggy and are often still asleep when I start the school run.I don't see it as a problem, should I?
I'm just about to invest in some sleeping sack/beds for them to sleep on the floor as they are getting bigger but I do like my peaceful walks, I take a flask and a book and find somewhere in the village to sit, I'm missing it at the moment.

[AnnieM]

The tutor was also unsure of the regulations surrounding this. She new that babies under 9 months shouldn't sleep in pushchairs, but didn't know it was a welfare requirement that they didn't, she had tried to contact ofsted compliance dept., as this lady had been in touch with her previously regarding this, but they refused to comment unless she gave her name and the name of the ofsted inspector who had said this, which she was not prepared to do as she herself had a nursery inspection looming and was worried it would impact on it. What she did say was that if they fell asleep while out walking, when you get back you should immediately transfer them out of the pushchair, this advice is from a midwife though not ofsted, so I had just wondered if there was something official from ofsted that said we should not let babies sleep in pushchairs, as I have never been picked up on this in the past and was only inspected 2008.

[mama2three]

On my permission slip i have a part regarding sleeping in buggies. The 15 month boy i have regularly falls asleep on the school run and would wake if i tried to move him to the cot.
for the OP , i would see what the parents intend to do at home and try to follow suit. when my ds started climbing out i took the side off the cot so he was safe , and turned the handle upside down on the door ( he knew how to pull down on it to open it but it took him months to work out pushing it up! )

[madasahatter]

i took the side off the cot so he was safe , and turned the handle upside down on the door ( he knew how to pull down on it to open it but it took him months to work out pushing it up! )


oooh very clever and oh so sneaky on those far too clever for their own good toddlers :clapping: :laughing:

[terrydoo73]

Here I am 2 months later and my child is still getting out of the cot. It is most annoying because he is very quiet about it all and you have to be quick and go in before he tears the room apart. His other brother continues to sleep while this is going on. Result being he doesn't get enough sleep and is cranky the remainder of the day. His mum and dad have put on boards to stop him getting out of the cot at home. My attitude has been to pop him straight into the cot again saying nothing and avoiding eye contact. Am I correct? It just seems to be taking forever to get the message through to him!

[Louise_Oaktree]

I would still go down the buggy route....but that's just me. He's old enough to be safe in a buggy and you will know he can't get out. I would be especially worried as there is another child in the same room...I know they are twins but what is he "did" something to the other child whilst out of his cot....

There is a Mum at my son's pre-school who's son broke his collar bone falling out of a cot trying to climb out, I would do a risk assessment and document why you have done it to show ofsted.

Mine all sleep in buggies as it is what they are used to and they are with me all the time this way - I don't like the idea of not being able to see other people's sleeping babies even if using a monitor...

[terrydoo73]

Thanks for your reply Louise - puts a different perspective on it which I need to think of considering. It seems to be at the second sleep in the day. At home they are fine - go down at 12 and sleep for 2 hours but in my house the max I get out of them is 3/4 hour hence needing to put them down again at 3 for another 3/4 hour. If only they would sleep for the 2 hours with me I wouldn't have to worry! It might be easier all round if they were strapped in but could you guarantee they wouldn't hurt themselves with the buggy straps ie whilst trying to get out of them themselves?

[Mummits]

My own boys were terrors for climbing out of their cots. They developed a technique of gripping around the bars with their toes as they hauled themselves out. We had both of them in beds before they were a year old because it wasn't so far to fall. I'm very wary of mindees doing the same, though travel cots seem to keep them in better - no bars to climb up! But as soon as they look like they might be able to get out, I put them in snuggle sacks on the carpet. I don't have mindees sleeping upstairs either. I'd rather have them downstairs where I can see them.

[Louise_Oaktree]

Thanks for your reply Louise - puts a different perspective on it which I need to think of considering. It seems to be at the second sleep in the day. At home they are fine - go down at 12 and sleep for 2 hours but in my house the max I get out of them is 3/4 hour hence needing to put them down again at 3 for another 3/4 hour. If only they would sleep for the 2 hours with me I wouldn't have to worry! It might be easier all round if they were strapped in but could you guarantee they wouldn't hurt themselves with the buggy straps ie whilst trying to get out of them themselves?

I am in the same room as mine and usually face the buggy towards the patio doors. I have one who loves watching rain/snow/birds etc and finds this really relaxing. I can soon see if they are trying to get out but mine are in such a routine I have never had this problem unless I have visitors when they try and sit up to see whats going on :laughing: I would say it isn't working well if they are not sleeping even 1/2 the time they do at home.

I did have one who wouldn't settle but she used to sleep on the school run in the buggy so I stopped putting her down in the afternoon. The other option would be to try and settle him on the sofa?

[Heaven Scent]

What type of cot is he in - none of mine have ever been able to climb out of a travel cot just the normal one. They appear to be old enough now to sleep in a pushchair - get hold of one that lies flat and is wide so that when they wriggle they have room and dont keep buping off the sides - I have a pram for under 1's its a faff to store when not in use but its a god send - my screamer loves it and I get great peace - she doesn't sleep during the day in her own bed so the storage is less a problem now than it ever used to be - DH also puts up with it clogging the garage at week-ends - he used to moan about it until he saw/heard mindee in action and then saw the change it when she was sleeping. I will leave her sleep in it for as long as I can and once she starts to sit up I'll put reigns on her.

[madredann]

One of the children I care for actually fell out of the cot the monitor was on i was in the room where monitor was and he was checked regularly. When he usually wakes up he cries but on this occassion I couldnt hear a thing. I felt soooo bad you wouldnt believe, thank god he didnt seriously hurt himself. I would recommend using a travel cot no escape unless you have a 5 foot baby/toddler. Remember to ask parents if the child attempts to climb out and ask every now and then as they sometimes forget to tell you this important piece of information.

[Heaven Scent]

My daughter despite being very petite used to somehow catapult out of her cot and land on her bedroom floor with a huge crash - she was put in a bed quite young!!!

[jelly15]

Gosh I never knew that it was a risk for babies under nine months to sleep in a pushcair:( . My own children always had their daytime naps in pushchairs from a few months old. My youngest mindee was 14 mounths when she started with me and like them all naps in the puschairs.

I am glad I read this post for future mindees under a year olds safety.