Several months ago I wrote about how my toddler son suddenly had a hard time (that’s putting it nicely) sleeping in his crib. He had been the poster child of the perfect sleeper: never woke up in the middle of the night, never cried when we put him to bed, always went to bed with ease. Until we went away for a long weekend.
We remedied the problem through a series of experiments over 23 days, one of which I’ll tell you about today: It’s called the crib tent. While this is not a product blog, I feel I must write about this thing that brought order (and sleep!) back into my life.
I know a few moms who have resorted to the tent, so that made the transition easier for me. It’s not easy to put your toddler in his crib and zip him in. I felt like a bad mom; our bedtime routine has become: brush teeth, read book, hugs and kisses, put in crib, say “Nite, nite,” then ZIIIIIP! and lights off.
The first night I felt pretty bad zipping that tent up, but he didn’t seem to mind. It got easier after time, especially the peace of mind it gives me knowing that he’s not going to climb out of his crib in the middle of the night and start playing with something dangerous. It’s been a little over two months now and we still use it — otherwise he’d be climbing out every night. I think that we’ll transition to a toddler bed sooner than I have planned, but for now, the tent is working.
Related links:
Balancing Motherhood 
November 20, 2007 at 12:24 am |
your child must be the same age as mine… i had the very same crib tent (it was bought more to keep the cat out than to keep the baby in), the same crib set and the exact same under water car toy thingy that you have attached there at the bottom of the crib! š
October 27, 2008 at 6:52 pm |
At what age did you use this and for how long? My son is almost 3 years and was the perfect sleeper. He is now a nightmare, getting up at all hours and crying and roaming the hallway. I am at the end of my rope and am either going to lock the door or get this tent. I thought previously that this was a bad idea but am now willing to try anything. Am just worried that he is too old for this. I was about to transition him to a toddler bed. That is now on hold until I know he will get in bed and stay there.
October 27, 2008 at 6:59 pm |
We got this a year ago, when my son was about 20 months old. We used it for less than 6 months. It worked great, but eventually we felt like trying the toddler bed and that worked great. We moved him to a toddler bed when we was about 26 months old. You might be surprised at how well your son might adapt to a new bed.
January 22, 2009 at 8:05 am |
need your wisdom!
My son was the perfect sleeper until about a month ago when he tried to crawl out of the crib….we just ordered the tent and he cried for at least 30 mintues when we zipped him…how long will that last and will it eventually get where he goes in wthout freaking out???
desperately yours,
danielel
February 26, 2010 at 7:01 pm |
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with extra information? It is extremely helpful for me.
July 28, 2010 at 5:11 am |
The sawing is very poor. The design is general is a failure. This product does not last more than a month. The rods come out of the sleeves because of their flat end, they are very dangerous to toddlers eye. The zip brake quicky or get jamed. The chrome cylinders holding the fiberglass rods slide out and get easily lost. What good does it make for a customer if a procudt fall a part?
October 30, 2010 at 8:47 pm |
our toodler beds are made of synthetic material fabric that is very smooth to touch _
August 17, 2012 at 2:58 am |
I’ve recently moved my son 15 months into a toddler bed due to his climbing out of his playard and crib. I was afraid he would fall and break his neck!! He’s very advanced in a lot of things it’s scary… He started crawling at 5 weeks – no joke! Then walking at 71/2 to 8 months. He for sure keeps us on our toes. Anyway I just converted his crib and made his room a joy to be in with lots of stuffed animals, toys his rocking horse etc. and baught the pillow pet dream lite his first night I stayed up all night a nervous wreck all he did was sleep on the floor and under the crib ( which was plenty of room) and after that he has had no problem .. He loves it! I also have a play tent in his room they he will sometimes go into and lay down. I also cut his door in half ( like at a daycare) top part stays open bottom locked and closed this way he doesn’t fell closed in and alone works for us.. Hope this helps someone.
November 3, 2011 at 12:09 pm |
toddler toy, toy for toddler, education toy, toy…
[…]Crib Tent Helps Toddler Go to Sleep (Mom and Dad Too!) « Balancing Motherhood[…]…
November 8, 2011 at 5:22 am |
Hilfe bei Depressionen…
[…]Crib Tent Helps Toddler Go to Sleep (Mom and Dad Too!) « Balancing Motherhood[…]…
December 11, 2011 at 10:28 pm |
Faustus Eberle…
[…]Crib Tent Helps Toddler Go to Sleep (Mom and Dad Too!) « Balancing Motherhood[…]…
December 20, 2011 at 2:52 am |
insomnia treatment…
[…]Crib Tent Helps Toddler Go to Sleep (Mom and Dad Too!) « Balancing Motherhood[…]…
February 27, 2012 at 1:30 pm |
anxiety cures that work…
[…]Crib Tent Helps Toddler Go to Sleep (Mom and Dad Too!) « Balancing Motherhood[…]…
May 29, 2012 at 11:06 am |
How did you make your site look this awesome. Email me if you want and share your wisdom. .
October 6, 2013 at 1:45 am |
where did you get the crib tent?
August 28, 2014 at 1:52 pm |
Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the images on this blog loading?
I’m trying to figure out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
August 29, 2014 at 10:45 am |
I’m really loving the theme/design oof your
weblog. Do you ever run innto any intyernet browsser compatibility
issues? A number of my blog visitors have complained about my site not
operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Opera.
Do you have any ideas to help fix this issue?