Gate is open...sigh.

[brewersal]

Couldn't go out the window because there's a 20ft drop and neither of us would have fit through it anyway! (only the little top section opens! ) Its a very funny memory but it was a little scary at the time!
Sal x

[Chester]

I don't have a wonderful reason for not locking him into his room at night. It just doesn't feel right. Because our kids are adopted and we had to do foster care before the adoptions were final, I still have a lot of their regulations in my head, locking kids inside their rooms isn't allowed.

I don't want going to bed or going into his bedroom to turn into a power struggle, where once he's in his room he can't have contact until someone else unlocks him. Gates are a more fluid barrier.

Guess just a personal deal, no one in our house sleeps with their doors closed.

Dawn

[hidyperson]

"no one in our house sleeps with their doors closed" - that probably is the strongest reason.

I'm just saying this 'cause my parents should have done something, but didn't and the fall out was terrible.

Think about a little boy with DS loose in the house at night. And don't think, ' oh he'd never -'. Because he would, don't count on good sense when comes to kids and safety - Jeff's worried lecture.

[cindylou]

This is interesting.

I was speaking to my in-laws (as they were over here for dinner) and we were talking about how my Sam (3.5 yrs) never climbs out of his crib. He'll call me from his crib to come and get him--but he doesn't climb out. It's reallly weird, because he's all boy-crazy on the scooter--major outdoor kid--always going 100% at everything. My nephew was climbing out before he was one. So I was saying--"Sam's still in a crib and it works for us because he doesn't try to get out. I don't have to worry about him going all over the house when I'm asleep." Then, I remembered this thread on uno and told them about Dawn worrying about her boy because he gets out of bed and wanders about.

My Emma--(10 years old) looks at me and says--(very direct) Why not lock the door?

I just started laughing. She's so dang practical.

I can understand your problem with it Dawn. My parents do Foster care also-and it's always in the back of your head thinking "is this abuse? "

I get your perspective to Jeff (as does Emma, if that makes you feel any better!!) that better safe then sorry.

For what it's worth--when we initially took our girls out of cribs and into beds they would get a spanking for not staying in bed once we put them there. Even Kaylee. However, she didn't wander in the night so I'm not sure how I would've handled it.

cindy

[CC]

Hmmm K, just my thoughts, have to say NOOO way I would lock any one in a room all night I would much rather have the child be able to get to me if necessary KWIM

Chris was truly well actually still is a man on the move and we did the baby gate but when he got older and was able to walk around at night I made a point of losing a few nights sleep showing him to go down and turn on the VCR how to get his Cheerios LOL and a drink. We did have a few incidences I will say, like he decided one time to cook a light bulb in the Micro , or when he flooded our kitchen cause he wanted to go swimming

I will say actually fire prevention tells you to shut all bedroom doors for safety BUT to lock them in Hmmm seems as much unsafe as if they are walking around. What if they needed you and couldn't get to you?? Or what if they need to go to the bathroom and couldn't get to it Hmmm seems not right to me

BUT

Just my thoughts

CC ~

[hidyperson]

Maybe it's just trial and error for each kid and family.

[CC]

Hmmm Jeff is that really you??

LOLOL

"Maybe it's just trial and error for each kid and family. "
Hmmm now where has my spunky pal gone LOL

CC ~

[shellk]

Personally....Kourtney would unlock the door..and come on out..it only took her 2 nights to figure out the locked door thing, and then we turned the knob around and locked it that way...And were told that is like child abuse, even if it is for safety reasons.

So we took to swtiching out the locks on doors we didn't want her to go in. We used the door knobs that take a key like an old style tuna can. So, that worked for us.

Nothing worse than a party in the middle of the night that you don't want to attend.

Michele

[Chester]

I hear ya Jeff, I am worried. We've got our alarms on the doors, the baby monitor is on in the kitchen so I can hear if he gets down the stairs to the kitchen. He does get scolded and sent back to bed, when he is out.

I got the baby monitor idea from here, the double baby gate, and if all else fails I've got it in the back of my head that we can lock him in if necessary. Locking him in, truly wasn't even in the back of my head.

Uno is a wonderful place to get ideas for my worries! Thanks to all!

Dawn

JT has done really well the last few nights. I'm not putting my guard down or my security systems though!

[Jessie]

Yup, there's nothing like having your kid brought home early on a Saturday morning by the police after being seen running down the middle of the street in his boxers . . . ;D

That's been a few years now, don't think that would happen nowadays . . . he's gotten out of the running off stage of life. Thank God!




Jessie

[Claire]

Adam is terrible at wondering. So we have a monitor in his room, typed to the ceiling as he will throw it around And also a little hook lock on the outside of his room door for nights only. We got permission from the Fire department as it is aginst the law to lock a child in a room. We also told Social Services as we don't want them hearing it wrong from someone else and have them think we lock our child up all the time. We have a beach area just 1/2 block from our house and that is the first palce Adam would go. He loves to swim.
From what I was told as long as you have a fire detector and a monitor in the room where your child sleeps the hook lock was Ok and we sleep a lot better knowing he is not going to go for a swim at 3am.
Hope this helped.