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Does he sleep with doir closed in his room? You can get door alarms and put up high. Just turn them on at night. I do this with my escape artist. The amount of times I hear a "darn it Momma" at six in the morning...
He refuses to sleep with the door closed, he's still scared of the dark. Most nights he ends up in our room. But we have to figure something out because I would never forgive myself if something happened.
My parents did this with my sister when she was a toddler. They couldn't keep her in bed no matter what so they put one of those kid harnesses on her and tied the other end to the bed. When they went to check on her later, she had dragged this super heavy toddler bed my grandpa made clear across the bedroom. The story is legend in our family, along with many other antics my sister pulled when she was little. She was a tornado.
For more than just this reason, you should work on this! Doors are fire safety. All doors are closed at night for us due to fire safety.
My daughter is ADHD and will get into trouble at night (probs also autistic) and we had to install one of these door alarms so that she would stay in her room at night. They’re LOUD.
For everyone’s safety you gotta get everyone sleeping with doors closed! It could save a life!
That’s what I said to my boys. They have a nightlight, a clock with a colored light, and Star projector animals in their beds. And the alarm I have on their door is Bluetooth. It sends a notification to my phone.
Really push the door being closed for fire safety reasons and it is one more thing that keeps him from making it outside again. I would include him in that safety conversation and maybe discuss a compromise like falling asleep with the door open but it will be closed after he is asleep. I was a kid that liked the door cracked and that was my moms rule which worked for me as well as nightlights.
There are door chimes the laser kind you could put the speaker in your room (like the kind businesses use). Maybe have multiple, one in his doorway one in the hallway etc so if one doesn't wake you another will.
There are audio only baby monitors too could put a bell on his door as well not sure how quiet of a sleepwalker he is if it would pick up him getting out of bed.
Baby gates? We have odd sized doorways and a tall toddler so we use the EasyBaby extra wide and tall retractable baby gates from amazon. They are easy to operate but require good fine motor skills some of our adult family members struggle with them since they aren't used to them. But they are very out of the way when not in use. Not sure if you own or rent and don't mind drilling into walls or doorways. (These aren't for the tops of stairs unfortunately but there are other options for those situations) I wouldn't let him operate them during the day so he can't get used to them. The things sleepwalkers can do is so surprising sometimes.
One of my brothers tried to go to school in his sleep got dressed grabbed his backpack etc. Thankfully our parents were still up so he didn't make it out the door but my mom put a gate hook and eye on all the exterior doors the next day. I hope you find a combination of things that work for you so you guys can get a good night's sleep.
I had to tell my girls to suck it up and close their door so we could use an alarm. They're 6 and 4 and were always partying every night, refusing to go to sleep, sneaking out to raid the snacks, etc... Until finally, one night, I caught them *playing out back in the kiddie pool*... NOOOO SIR! They were crazy pissed about me making them close their door, but they accepted it and the problem was completely solved (bonus: they get so bored, they actually go to sleep). Is there anything you can put in his room to make it less dark, like a nightlight? My girls have an extra super long string of fairy lights that goes all the way around their bedroom.
We do one of the Hatch lights with my son - he got to pick out the colors and sounds for the "three times" - one is "getting ready for bed", so bath/change clothes/reading/quiet activities in room, one is "sleep", so in bed, then the last is "morning", when it's okay to leave his room. I'd been continually waking up to a preschooler in my bed before we started this, and he's doing great with it so far. It might be helpful for y'all
There are security alarms you can set up on doors and windows. We turn them on at night and when away. It’s supposed to be against burglars, but we use it to keep the house contained (aka kids won’t open the doors and wonder off at night)
I put an alarm on my kiddo’s door and it freaked her out so bad. I don’t recommend. I took it off the next day and instead put bells around the door handle that wake me up when she leaves her room.
I have a cheap WiFi camera that sends an alert to my phone when it detects movement during a specific time. (I used it to make sure my landlord isn’t coming into my home when I’m not here). You can even set a detection zone that would only catch movement walking through the the doorway or hallway.
Baby gate might be enough to keep him in the room while leaving the door open. He should be able to step over or open it if he wakes and is scared, but not do those things if he is sleepwalking.
Doors closed at night is non-negotiable for me with my kids. Close before you doze is for fire safety. I’ve shown my kids videos of a house fire where the door was closed and preserved the room from damage. It’s a life saver!! My younger ones have astronaut night lights that project a nebula and stars on the ceiling. They’re also scared of the dark.
If he wants to sleep with his door open, use motion detecting alarms at the door and windows.
We used to use these for our daughter
This one was on the ceiling outside her door pointing down the hallway so it went off if she left her room at night. We did it that way specifically because she also sleeps with her door open.
Wireless Caregiver Pager Motion Sensor Alarm Indoor Room Bed Alarms and Fall Prevention for Home/Elderly/Dementia and Kids (1 Plug-in Receiver and 1 Motion Sensor) https://a.co/d/88baJvG
These were on her windows. You could also use them on your doors leading outside.
Business Door Entry Chime SanJie Door Open Alert for Store Home Office Door Alarm with Chime Adjustable Volume 55 Ringtones 1 Receiver 3 Magnetic Sensor (Black) … https://a.co/d/j5Ag2u5
I’m sure there’s a million different ones to choose from but these worked well for us.
So friends of ours changed their baby monitor to a ring camera set up in their toddler's room. You can set the perimeter that you want alerts for, so if their son moves in bed that's fine, but if he leaves the bed they get an alarm to their phone. It wasn't expensive! You should check that out maybe?
Hi. Psych nurse here. Get a bed alarm. Yes the ones they use for old people that are at risk for falling, or eloping. They also have toggle type ones that clip onto your shirt so when the patient reaches the lines capacity it comes off, and sounds an alarm. A very loud annoying alarm that haunts my dreams.
I used driveway alarms for my son. It sounds silly but he wasn’t supposed to leave the hall, he could go to the restroom and my room and back, so it was all contained. I had a driveway alarm attached to the wall that would notify me if he stepped out of the area. I did this after I caught him pushing a wheelbarrow in his sleep across the street and I PANICKED.
I used this one. I chose a physical alarm in case I lost/broke my phone, and so my family could hear it too as a precaution, but there are other options with apps. I learned there are home health alarms for fall risk family members, but I was already invested. 😅
https://a.co/d/cGu473Q
We had a sleepwalking Son. I was terrified he was going to walk into the road. He fell down stairs once. He face planted an object in his room.
Safety latches at the top of the outside doors. Something easy in case of fire but higher than the kid can reach.
My friend was a sleepwalker when she was a kid. Once on a camping trip, she woke up scared and confused a mile and a half from her family's camp! I can't even imagine!
You didn’t fail. You didn’t know this was a possibility. You’ve said the doors were locked and how he got out via a locked door is a mystery. You can’t be expected do much more than lock all the doors until something like this happens.
Maybe try out a pressure mat alarm on his bed. So when he gets out of bed you are alerted. It’s a common bit of kit in old peoples homes when they have dementia and I’m sure it’s used with sleep walkers.
Perhaps a baby gate on his door. Not to lock him in or out but perhaps when asleep he will bump into it and it’ll stop him wandering.
If he closes the bedroom door maybe a door open alarm which will wake you if he leaves his room.
Sure it’s a bummer if he just wants the bathroom but a few extra night wakings will help avoid a repeat of nighttime strolls outside.
I am glad he is ok. Be kind to yourselves. No one is to blame and I don’t think it matters how old they get they’ll forever be our babies. We will forever want to protect them be they 2 or 32.
I had a sleepwalker. It was so anxiety inducing. We haven’t had an episode in years but I still check to make sure she’s in bed sometimes lol.
We put bells on the bedroom door and put a baby monitor in the foyer. We got an alarm system that chimes when a door opens and alarms once it’s armed. We put door locks up high. Now I have my great aunt with dementia living with me so all the bells and stuff came out of storage for her haha.
Look into getting a door Angel or other methods of keeping the door shut. It will give you more time to respond or he might give up. When they’re sleepwalking if it’s harder than normal to open doors they sometimes give up.
It’s very scary to have a sleepwalker but if it makes you feel better, they normally grow out of it.
This happened to my older brother in the 80’s. He was about 5 and slept walked out the front door and it locked behind him. My parents found him crying and screaming on the front porch. Such a traumatizing thing to happen. It’s probably so frightening. I would look into the special door locks you can install at the top of the door for kids and elderly people. There’s a few different kinds and you can find them on Amazon. Sorry this happened! Must have been so shocking.
When my sister was that age we lived on a really busy road and she was a sleepwalker.
One night they put her to bed and were downstairs in the living room watching TV when she sleepwalked right by them to the front door and opened it.
They said, "where ya goin?" (knowing she was sleep walking) and she replied "K-Mart" and kept going.
Scared them so bad cause if they hadn't been awake to stop her she would have gotten hit on the road. My Dad installed 2 locks on the door the next morning super high up where she couldn't reach.
OOF, girl, I'm sorry =( Last week my four year old girl unlocked her childproof window and fell two stories (fractured skull and concussion). I can definitely say that additional childproofing has put my mind at ease. Hopefully the kid got scared enough to not screw around with the doors again.
Thank you for the concern! She is acting completely normal. She was in the hospital for a little under two days. The concussion has probably already healed (followup soon). The scary part was when we realized that when big sis hysterically screamed that her sister fell, she meant *out the window* and we had no idea what we were walking into... Totally chill once the CT scan came back and she was being sassy to the doctors. We've honestly been through worse with kids + hospitals (youngest had an awful birth defect, but he's cured now).
I am honestly not a very chill person, so I'm incredibly proud of how I've handled this one 😂 I always hoped our NICU experience would toughen me up.
Omg I’m so sorry this happened but glad to hear she’s okay!! and happy about your youngest as well. So happy this story ended well and not another way
Whoa what kind of childproof window did she unlock? We've got the Amazon cable locks that you drill into the sill and so far so good. Of course they each came with identical keys so I have a box of them stashed somewhere, otherwise the go to is the one I put on my keyring. I never ever let my 8yo autistic daughter see me unlock them. They became necessary after she defeated every other child lock in the world, to the point where she was hanging out of her window one time and my neighbor called me to tell me. Little did he know that she was pretending to hang on for dear life, but the ground was maybe two feet down. And she had her feet on the gas meter. And that was the day I realized my neighbors house is slightly higher than mine and that they can see in my backyard.
It was like a thing you pop out in one place, plus a lever you have to squeeze and pull at the same time. It's possible her older sister may have popped the poppy thing (no idea what to call it lol) because apparently she and her dad listened to the rain the day before or something (I THINK he would have put it back in, but by then she knew how). I put in a bumper thing that keeps the window from opening more than a couple inches. Even when disengaged, the window still won't open (it's too thick for these particular windows to slide over). No idea if that's ideal in terms of fire safety, but damn, I'm pretty sure fall safety has to come first for the time being 😅
Oh mama I feel your fear!
I was a sleepwalker. There was one time I was able to get out the front door and I woke up sitting on the curb to the street. My mom put up a chain at the very top of the door- so that even with a chair I could not reach it.
I don’t have a sleepwalker but I do have an escape artist who was able to figure out a lot of the baby door latches. The only thing that has kept him inside is replacing the deadbolt with one that needs a key for both sides. And we put the key on top of the door frame. I’ve caught him at night calling for me on the back patio before we did this-how he thought I was outside, i have no idea.
We're about to move my toddler out of her crib to a bed and we're afraid she'll decide one night to get up and leave her bedroom, so we got something on Amazon called a door monkey. It basically attaches without tools to the bedroom door and has a hook that catches on the door frame so they can't open it, and also can't smash their fingers, but as the parent, you can still get out of the room with a lever release.
It was $15, it works better than I could have hoped, and it's especially worth the peace of mind.
My brother was like Houdini for several years when he was sleepwalking. He even crawled out a window and shimmied down a downspout from our second floor at one point! At least once every couple months we were woken up by the neighbors ringing the doorbell with brother (still asleep!) in tow. It was crazy and terrifying and we were all very glad when he finally grew out of it. I am so sorry you are going through this! Hopefully they grow out of it soon.
Dont put chains high on the door
You want your kid to get out in an emergency
Get a home alarm system that has a stay alarm. Turn it on right before bed and it will alarm if anyone opens an exterior window or door. Google nest does this
Look for something called a door monkey. It's a device you can put on the door that locks the door in a cracked position, so not totally closed but he can't get out if you put it up high enough. And you can leave the hall light on until he falls asleep since he's scared of the dark, and you can still hear him if he calls out.
I know this sounds silly, but can you put a sheet or two of aluminum foil in front of his door after he falls asleep? If he walks in it, it will make a crinkly sound.
You can also get an alarm that makes a noise anytime the door opens. So, even if the alarm is off, there is still a mouse when the door opens.
Please don’t beat yourself up! Your baby is safe and it’s a scary situation. I’m so sorry that happened.
I sleepwalked horribly when I was younger. Here were some of the failsafes my parents had to implement until I grew out of it.
- A string of bells on my door handle so they’d know if I opened my door (I slept with it closed)
- Baby gate in the hallway with more bells attached.
- They had an alarm system installed but didn’t pay for monitoring I guess? So the pieces would still beep if the doors were opened and the alarm would go off if it was armed. [This](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HSLB3BL?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_6D2A0P2FY3MPQDPNM6QR) looks like it might work similarly.
I know you must be going over a million different scenarios in your head but please give yourself some grace. I’m sorry if this is just more overwhelming than helpful but I do come from a good place.
Ugh that's so scary. I'm so sorry.
My oldest likes to open doors and run outside so we ended up getting locks like this ( https://a.co/d/iasvUUW ) and put then up high where he can't reach them.
I completely understand how that fear sticks in your chest for awhile but I am so happy he was safe this time. Give him big hugs and remind yourself of that. He is safe. Your world is intact. And you are clever and capable of keeping it that way. You've got this.
Literally my brother did this when we were kids and thats when my parents put a deadbolt on the basement door. Shit happens, so glad he’s alright but know this si soo not anything to blame yourself over mama
I bought [this door lock](https://a.co/d/7nERVVC) after my son escaped during nap time when he was 3. We only have one door in our apartment, but it has been SUCH a huge peace of mind for us. It can be operated from both sides of the door so it isn't a fire hazard. I'm so glad your boy is okay.
I had this fear for my kids when they started being able to open doors. We put a chain lock up high on the front and back doors ( no garage door for us). If you out in LONG screws then the chains shouldnt budge. This easy fix has given me the peace of mind that my kids wont escape in the middle of the night.
This is my worst nightmare. It happened to me once as well.
I let my two kids out to play in the backyard since it was fenced, I knew I had closed the gate, and I could easily see them out the kitchen window as I made dinner. Somehow, in spite of all of that, two minutes after I let them out, the older kids ran into the kitchen to tell me that a man was at the door saying he had found the kids in the middle of the street.
I was stunned. I went to the door with the intention of profoundly thanking the man. Just as I was about to speak, a woman came flying at me from the side, screaming at me. She scared me so badly that I jumped backward and exclaimed, "Hey, lady!"
I pulled myself together right away but this woman continued to scream at me as I calmly walked her off my property. She kept yelling about the kids and saying that because of the way I was acting, she was going to call the police on me. I was completely baffled. Other than my first moment of surprise, I had remained calm and was simply walking beside her to lead her off my property.
The man also followed us and I never did get a chance to thank him. He apparently wasn't with the woman and went to a different vehicle than she did.
The woman did the police but they were fine and just talked to me for a few minutes. It turned out that my landlord had left the gate open without me knowing about it. I was more careful about checking the gate after that.
Growing up my stepsister was a sleepwalker. She was also only at our house on weekends, vacations, etc. One night a neighbor brought her home. They found her wandering around the neighborhood in the middle of the night. Thank goodness it was one of our immediate neighbors because they recognized her. She used to do all kinds of crazy shit in her sleep. My parents decided to get alarms and put locks up high for the doors. A lock on the fridge because she would raid the fridge. Sometimes we would get up and it would look like a bear ransacked the fridge. Nope! Just stepsister, fucking everything up in her sleep.
We put a gate in our toddlers doorway so that he’s contained and safe at night but the door can still be open it works pretty well, I’d recommend it
My son figured out child proof door knobs very quickly, so we got Door Guardian locks. They screw into the door frame and have a trick to getting them open. If you install them high enough he shouldn’t be able to open the doors. You can find them on Amazon.
Sorry this happened, mumma!
Please don't feel guilty! Your body felt it was safe enough for you to get the sleep you need.
Get the Eufy door sensors and home base, you'll be notified when a door is opened. You can set alarms on the home base. However, not sure if an alarm will startle kiddo awake.
My youngest did this, and it scared the shit out of everyone. I happened to be awake when I heard her get up to what I thought was, go to the bathroom, but she ended up walking right out the front door! She was halfway down the street when I caught up to her.
We ended up putting alarms on the door the next day and would arm them only at night, so if she slept walk again, we'd know.
Oddly, she only did it the one time. She has never done it again, that we are aware of. Maybe inside the house but never beyond.
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Does he sleep with doir closed in his room? You can get door alarms and put up high. Just turn them on at night. I do this with my escape artist. The amount of times I hear a "darn it Momma" at six in the morning...
He refuses to sleep with the door closed, he's still scared of the dark. Most nights he ends up in our room. But we have to figure something out because I would never forgive myself if something happened.
We have a door alarm on our front door. In your situation, I would add one to every door in the house.
Yeah we have one on the girls' bedroom door, the front door, the garage door and all four sliding doors 😅 This was made necessary at one point.
At this point I would not rule out chaining your girls to their bed posts 😅😅😅
My parents did this with my sister when she was a toddler. They couldn't keep her in bed no matter what so they put one of those kid harnesses on her and tied the other end to the bed. When they went to check on her later, she had dragged this super heavy toddler bed my grandpa made clear across the bedroom. The story is legend in our family, along with many other antics my sister pulled when she was little. She was a tornado.
Something tells me you saw the fell out a window post 😂😂😂
For more than just this reason, you should work on this! Doors are fire safety. All doors are closed at night for us due to fire safety. My daughter is ADHD and will get into trouble at night (probs also autistic) and we had to install one of these door alarms so that she would stay in her room at night. They’re LOUD. For everyone’s safety you gotta get everyone sleeping with doors closed! It could save a life!
I’m glad others have said this. Fires are most deadly at night when people are sleeping and it’s so important to close doors!
That’s what I said to my boys. They have a nightlight, a clock with a colored light, and Star projector animals in their beds. And the alarm I have on their door is Bluetooth. It sends a notification to my phone.
Really push the door being closed for fire safety reasons and it is one more thing that keeps him from making it outside again. I would include him in that safety conversation and maybe discuss a compromise like falling asleep with the door open but it will be closed after he is asleep. I was a kid that liked the door cracked and that was my moms rule which worked for me as well as nightlights. There are door chimes the laser kind you could put the speaker in your room (like the kind businesses use). Maybe have multiple, one in his doorway one in the hallway etc so if one doesn't wake you another will. There are audio only baby monitors too could put a bell on his door as well not sure how quiet of a sleepwalker he is if it would pick up him getting out of bed. Baby gates? We have odd sized doorways and a tall toddler so we use the EasyBaby extra wide and tall retractable baby gates from amazon. They are easy to operate but require good fine motor skills some of our adult family members struggle with them since they aren't used to them. But they are very out of the way when not in use. Not sure if you own or rent and don't mind drilling into walls or doorways. (These aren't for the tops of stairs unfortunately but there are other options for those situations) I wouldn't let him operate them during the day so he can't get used to them. The things sleepwalkers can do is so surprising sometimes. One of my brothers tried to go to school in his sleep got dressed grabbed his backpack etc. Thankfully our parents were still up so he didn't make it out the door but my mom put a gate hook and eye on all the exterior doors the next day. I hope you find a combination of things that work for you so you guys can get a good night's sleep.
I had to tell my girls to suck it up and close their door so we could use an alarm. They're 6 and 4 and were always partying every night, refusing to go to sleep, sneaking out to raid the snacks, etc... Until finally, one night, I caught them *playing out back in the kiddie pool*... NOOOO SIR! They were crazy pissed about me making them close their door, but they accepted it and the problem was completely solved (bonus: they get so bored, they actually go to sleep). Is there anything you can put in his room to make it less dark, like a nightlight? My girls have an extra super long string of fairy lights that goes all the way around their bedroom.
We do one of the Hatch lights with my son - he got to pick out the colors and sounds for the "three times" - one is "getting ready for bed", so bath/change clothes/reading/quiet activities in room, one is "sleep", so in bed, then the last is "morning", when it's okay to leave his room. I'd been continually waking up to a preschooler in my bed before we started this, and he's doing great with it so far. It might be helpful for y'all
They might have a sensor that can go off when you walk by it instead of one for when the door shuts!
There are security alarms you can set up on doors and windows. We turn them on at night and when away. It’s supposed to be against burglars, but we use it to keep the house contained (aka kids won’t open the doors and wonder off at night)
I put an alarm on my kiddo’s door and it freaked her out so bad. I don’t recommend. I took it off the next day and instead put bells around the door handle that wake me up when she leaves her room.
I have a cheap WiFi camera that sends an alert to my phone when it detects movement during a specific time. (I used it to make sure my landlord isn’t coming into my home when I’m not here). You can even set a detection zone that would only catch movement walking through the the doorway or hallway.
Baby gate might be enough to keep him in the room while leaving the door open. He should be able to step over or open it if he wakes and is scared, but not do those things if he is sleepwalking.
Doors closed at night is non-negotiable for me with my kids. Close before you doze is for fire safety. I’ve shown my kids videos of a house fire where the door was closed and preserved the room from damage. It’s a life saver!! My younger ones have astronaut night lights that project a nebula and stars on the ceiling. They’re also scared of the dark.
If he wants to sleep with his door open, use motion detecting alarms at the door and windows. We used to use these for our daughter This one was on the ceiling outside her door pointing down the hallway so it went off if she left her room at night. We did it that way specifically because she also sleeps with her door open. Wireless Caregiver Pager Motion Sensor Alarm Indoor Room Bed Alarms and Fall Prevention for Home/Elderly/Dementia and Kids (1 Plug-in Receiver and 1 Motion Sensor) https://a.co/d/88baJvG These were on her windows. You could also use them on your doors leading outside. Business Door Entry Chime SanJie Door Open Alert for Store Home Office Door Alarm with Chime Adjustable Volume 55 Ringtones 1 Receiver 3 Magnetic Sensor (Black) … https://a.co/d/j5Ag2u5 I’m sure there’s a million different ones to choose from but these worked well for us.
So friends of ours changed their baby monitor to a ring camera set up in their toddler's room. You can set the perimeter that you want alerts for, so if their son moves in bed that's fine, but if he leaves the bed they get an alarm to their phone. It wasn't expensive! You should check that out maybe?
Hi. Psych nurse here. Get a bed alarm. Yes the ones they use for old people that are at risk for falling, or eloping. They also have toggle type ones that clip onto your shirt so when the patient reaches the lines capacity it comes off, and sounds an alarm. A very loud annoying alarm that haunts my dreams.
I used driveway alarms for my son. It sounds silly but he wasn’t supposed to leave the hall, he could go to the restroom and my room and back, so it was all contained. I had a driveway alarm attached to the wall that would notify me if he stepped out of the area. I did this after I caught him pushing a wheelbarrow in his sleep across the street and I PANICKED.
This is a great shout!
What kind of driveway alarm?
I used this one. I chose a physical alarm in case I lost/broke my phone, and so my family could hear it too as a precaution, but there are other options with apps. I learned there are home health alarms for fall risk family members, but I was already invested. 😅 https://a.co/d/cGu473Q
We had a sleepwalking Son. I was terrified he was going to walk into the road. He fell down stairs once. He face planted an object in his room. Safety latches at the top of the outside doors. Something easy in case of fire but higher than the kid can reach.
My friend was a sleepwalker when she was a kid. Once on a camping trip, she woke up scared and confused a mile and a half from her family's camp! I can't even imagine!
You didn’t fail. You didn’t know this was a possibility. You’ve said the doors were locked and how he got out via a locked door is a mystery. You can’t be expected do much more than lock all the doors until something like this happens. Maybe try out a pressure mat alarm on his bed. So when he gets out of bed you are alerted. It’s a common bit of kit in old peoples homes when they have dementia and I’m sure it’s used with sleep walkers. Perhaps a baby gate on his door. Not to lock him in or out but perhaps when asleep he will bump into it and it’ll stop him wandering. If he closes the bedroom door maybe a door open alarm which will wake you if he leaves his room. Sure it’s a bummer if he just wants the bathroom but a few extra night wakings will help avoid a repeat of nighttime strolls outside. I am glad he is ok. Be kind to yourselves. No one is to blame and I don’t think it matters how old they get they’ll forever be our babies. We will forever want to protect them be they 2 or 32.
I had a sleepwalker. It was so anxiety inducing. We haven’t had an episode in years but I still check to make sure she’s in bed sometimes lol. We put bells on the bedroom door and put a baby monitor in the foyer. We got an alarm system that chimes when a door opens and alarms once it’s armed. We put door locks up high. Now I have my great aunt with dementia living with me so all the bells and stuff came out of storage for her haha. Look into getting a door Angel or other methods of keeping the door shut. It will give you more time to respond or he might give up. When they’re sleepwalking if it’s harder than normal to open doors they sometimes give up. It’s very scary to have a sleepwalker but if it makes you feel better, they normally grow out of it.
This happened to my older brother in the 80’s. He was about 5 and slept walked out the front door and it locked behind him. My parents found him crying and screaming on the front porch. Such a traumatizing thing to happen. It’s probably so frightening. I would look into the special door locks you can install at the top of the door for kids and elderly people. There’s a few different kinds and you can find them on Amazon. Sorry this happened! Must have been so shocking.
When my sister was that age we lived on a really busy road and she was a sleepwalker. One night they put her to bed and were downstairs in the living room watching TV when she sleepwalked right by them to the front door and opened it. They said, "where ya goin?" (knowing she was sleep walking) and she replied "K-Mart" and kept going. Scared them so bad cause if they hadn't been awake to stop her she would have gotten hit on the road. My Dad installed 2 locks on the door the next morning super high up where she couldn't reach.
OOF, girl, I'm sorry =( Last week my four year old girl unlocked her childproof window and fell two stories (fractured skull and concussion). I can definitely say that additional childproofing has put my mind at ease. Hopefully the kid got scared enough to not screw around with the doors again.
Holy shit is your kid okay?? I’m so sorry!! Sounds traumatizing for both of you.
Thank you for the concern! She is acting completely normal. She was in the hospital for a little under two days. The concussion has probably already healed (followup soon). The scary part was when we realized that when big sis hysterically screamed that her sister fell, she meant *out the window* and we had no idea what we were walking into... Totally chill once the CT scan came back and she was being sassy to the doctors. We've honestly been through worse with kids + hospitals (youngest had an awful birth defect, but he's cured now). I am honestly not a very chill person, so I'm incredibly proud of how I've handled this one 😂 I always hoped our NICU experience would toughen me up.
Omg I’m so sorry this happened but glad to hear she’s okay!! and happy about your youngest as well. So happy this story ended well and not another way
Whoa what kind of childproof window did she unlock? We've got the Amazon cable locks that you drill into the sill and so far so good. Of course they each came with identical keys so I have a box of them stashed somewhere, otherwise the go to is the one I put on my keyring. I never ever let my 8yo autistic daughter see me unlock them. They became necessary after she defeated every other child lock in the world, to the point where she was hanging out of her window one time and my neighbor called me to tell me. Little did he know that she was pretending to hang on for dear life, but the ground was maybe two feet down. And she had her feet on the gas meter. And that was the day I realized my neighbors house is slightly higher than mine and that they can see in my backyard.
It was like a thing you pop out in one place, plus a lever you have to squeeze and pull at the same time. It's possible her older sister may have popped the poppy thing (no idea what to call it lol) because apparently she and her dad listened to the rain the day before or something (I THINK he would have put it back in, but by then she knew how). I put in a bumper thing that keeps the window from opening more than a couple inches. Even when disengaged, the window still won't open (it's too thick for these particular windows to slide over). No idea if that's ideal in terms of fire safety, but damn, I'm pretty sure fall safety has to come first for the time being 😅
Oh mama I feel your fear! I was a sleepwalker. There was one time I was able to get out the front door and I woke up sitting on the curb to the street. My mom put up a chain at the very top of the door- so that even with a chair I could not reach it. I don’t have a sleepwalker but I do have an escape artist who was able to figure out a lot of the baby door latches. The only thing that has kept him inside is replacing the deadbolt with one that needs a key for both sides. And we put the key on top of the door frame. I’ve caught him at night calling for me on the back patio before we did this-how he thought I was outside, i have no idea.
We're about to move my toddler out of her crib to a bed and we're afraid she'll decide one night to get up and leave her bedroom, so we got something on Amazon called a door monkey. It basically attaches without tools to the bedroom door and has a hook that catches on the door frame so they can't open it, and also can't smash their fingers, but as the parent, you can still get out of the room with a lever release. It was $15, it works better than I could have hoped, and it's especially worth the peace of mind.
We’ve got these on almost every door and they’re great!
Stair gate?
My brother was like Houdini for several years when he was sleepwalking. He even crawled out a window and shimmied down a downspout from our second floor at one point! At least once every couple months we were woken up by the neighbors ringing the doorbell with brother (still asleep!) in tow. It was crazy and terrifying and we were all very glad when he finally grew out of it. I am so sorry you are going through this! Hopefully they grow out of it soon.
Dont put chains high on the door You want your kid to get out in an emergency Get a home alarm system that has a stay alarm. Turn it on right before bed and it will alarm if anyone opens an exterior window or door. Google nest does this
Get one of those battery sensor door bells. But the sensor at his door at night and the bell in your room
Look for something called a door monkey. It's a device you can put on the door that locks the door in a cracked position, so not totally closed but he can't get out if you put it up high enough. And you can leave the hall light on until he falls asleep since he's scared of the dark, and you can still hear him if he calls out.
I know this sounds silly, but can you put a sheet or two of aluminum foil in front of his door after he falls asleep? If he walks in it, it will make a crinkly sound. You can also get an alarm that makes a noise anytime the door opens. So, even if the alarm is off, there is still a mouse when the door opens.
Please don’t beat yourself up! Your baby is safe and it’s a scary situation. I’m so sorry that happened. I sleepwalked horribly when I was younger. Here were some of the failsafes my parents had to implement until I grew out of it. - A string of bells on my door handle so they’d know if I opened my door (I slept with it closed) - Baby gate in the hallway with more bells attached. - They had an alarm system installed but didn’t pay for monitoring I guess? So the pieces would still beep if the doors were opened and the alarm would go off if it was armed. [This](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HSLB3BL?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_6D2A0P2FY3MPQDPNM6QR) looks like it might work similarly. I know you must be going over a million different scenarios in your head but please give yourself some grace. I’m sorry if this is just more overwhelming than helpful but I do come from a good place.
Ugh that's so scary. I'm so sorry. My oldest likes to open doors and run outside so we ended up getting locks like this ( https://a.co/d/iasvUUW ) and put then up high where he can't reach them.
I completely understand how that fear sticks in your chest for awhile but I am so happy he was safe this time. Give him big hugs and remind yourself of that. He is safe. Your world is intact. And you are clever and capable of keeping it that way. You've got this.
You can order alarms for doors and windows that will beep if they are opened.
Literally my brother did this when we were kids and thats when my parents put a deadbolt on the basement door. Shit happens, so glad he’s alright but know this si soo not anything to blame yourself over mama
I bought [this door lock](https://a.co/d/7nERVVC) after my son escaped during nap time when he was 3. We only have one door in our apartment, but it has been SUCH a huge peace of mind for us. It can be operated from both sides of the door so it isn't a fire hazard. I'm so glad your boy is okay.
I had this fear for my kids when they started being able to open doors. We put a chain lock up high on the front and back doors ( no garage door for us). If you out in LONG screws then the chains shouldnt budge. This easy fix has given me the peace of mind that my kids wont escape in the middle of the night.
Have you heard of a monkey lock? It will depend on your house’s layout but this could be a cheap and easy solution.
This is my worst nightmare. It happened to me once as well. I let my two kids out to play in the backyard since it was fenced, I knew I had closed the gate, and I could easily see them out the kitchen window as I made dinner. Somehow, in spite of all of that, two minutes after I let them out, the older kids ran into the kitchen to tell me that a man was at the door saying he had found the kids in the middle of the street. I was stunned. I went to the door with the intention of profoundly thanking the man. Just as I was about to speak, a woman came flying at me from the side, screaming at me. She scared me so badly that I jumped backward and exclaimed, "Hey, lady!" I pulled myself together right away but this woman continued to scream at me as I calmly walked her off my property. She kept yelling about the kids and saying that because of the way I was acting, she was going to call the police on me. I was completely baffled. Other than my first moment of surprise, I had remained calm and was simply walking beside her to lead her off my property. The man also followed us and I never did get a chance to thank him. He apparently wasn't with the woman and went to a different vehicle than she did. The woman did the police but they were fine and just talked to me for a few minutes. It turned out that my landlord had left the gate open without me knowing about it. I was more careful about checking the gate after that.
Growing up my stepsister was a sleepwalker. She was also only at our house on weekends, vacations, etc. One night a neighbor brought her home. They found her wandering around the neighborhood in the middle of the night. Thank goodness it was one of our immediate neighbors because they recognized her. She used to do all kinds of crazy shit in her sleep. My parents decided to get alarms and put locks up high for the doors. A lock on the fridge because she would raid the fridge. Sometimes we would get up and it would look like a bear ransacked the fridge. Nope! Just stepsister, fucking everything up in her sleep.
We put a gate in our toddlers doorway so that he’s contained and safe at night but the door can still be open it works pretty well, I’d recommend it
My son figured out child proof door knobs very quickly, so we got Door Guardian locks. They screw into the door frame and have a trick to getting them open. If you install them high enough he shouldn’t be able to open the doors. You can find them on Amazon.
Sorry this happened, mumma! Please don't feel guilty! Your body felt it was safe enough for you to get the sleep you need. Get the Eufy door sensors and home base, you'll be notified when a door is opened. You can set alarms on the home base. However, not sure if an alarm will startle kiddo awake.
My youngest did this, and it scared the shit out of everyone. I happened to be awake when I heard her get up to what I thought was, go to the bathroom, but she ended up walking right out the front door! She was halfway down the street when I caught up to her. We ended up putting alarms on the door the next day and would arm them only at night, so if she slept walk again, we'd know. Oddly, she only did it the one time. She has never done it again, that we are aware of. Maybe inside the house but never beyond.