Climbs out playpen, won't stay on mat

[permanentvacation]

What do you do with a baby around a year old who technically hasn't yet actually climbed all of the way out of a playpen, but is very close to doing so to the point that you are afraid he will succeed and fall out on his head and harm or kill himself doing so. But he also won't stay on or in the sleeping bag on the floor. He won't let you hold him; not even to rock him to sleep. He won't 'stay put' and take a nap anywhere.

So, what would you do with him at nap time? I don't have an area where he can stay up and play. My daycare is in my living room and the other children are laying down in their sleeping bags sleeping. If I let the baby run around playing in there, he'd crawl on everyone and put/throw/play with toys on top of everyone.

He also does NOT do high chairs! Overall, you literally can NOT make him stay anywhere. He's already broken a playpen and a baby swing by trying to get out of them. He's been here since the end of June; about 2 1/2 months. And he's been like this since the first day!

[laundrymom]

Here he would be given the option of napping on cot or being picked up. What does mom do at home?

[Annalee]

Here he would be given the option of napping on cot or being picked up. What does mom do at home?

Consistently put him back on mat/cot....it may take sitting beside him till he is asleep but with consistency, he will get it!

[jenboo]

Sit next to him and lay him back down and conver him back up. Rinse and repeat.
It could take a week or two of doing this everyday but he will eventually catch on.

It frustrating and makes nap time miserable for a week or two but it will be worth it.

[permanentvacation]

I rinse and repeat for weeks long and he doesn't give in and accept it.

They don't 'do naps' at home. He just plays until he falls out from exhaustion. Which, I know, is the reason that in 2 1/2 months, I can't get him to relax and lay down when I decide that it's nap time. He's used to having free roam until he collapses. Then they put a blanket on him wherever he happens to have crashed out! When he wakes up, he simply crawls out from under the blanket to resume running around playing! He also only sleeps for about 20 minutes. And any little noise wakes him up. Even if I play the music/white noise, he doesn't sleep any better.

[permanentvacation]

I've even tried to do what his mother does; just wait until he falls asleep on the floor while playing. Then I rush to get the other kids' sleeping bags out and tell them to take a nap while the baby is sleeping. But by the time the other kids fall asleep, the baby is awake and wanting to crawl around and play again.

[daycarediva]

I rinse and repeat for weeks long and he doesn't give in and accept it.

They don't 'do naps' at home. He just plays until he falls out from exhaustion. Which, I know, is the reason that in 2 1/2 months, I can't get him to relax and lay down when I decide that it's nap time. He's used to having free roam until he collapses. Then they put a blanket on him wherever he happens to have crashed out! When he wakes up, he simply crawls out from under the blanket to resume running around playing! He also only sleeps for about 20 minutes. And any little noise wakes him up. Even if I play the music/white noise, he doesn't sleep any better.

I've heard of free range chickens, but now it's free range children. I've heard it all!

I could count on one hand the amount of times my own kids fell asleep on the floor/at the high chair. WOW! That's a new record for non parenting at it's finest.

[permanentvacation]

Daycarediva,

:: Yep! Gotta love 'today's parents'.

[permanentvacation]

And, I can only remember 2 times my older daughter fell asleep on the floor or somewhere other than her bed or nap mat. Once when I put her in her bed in her room. She was overly tired and screaming throwing a tantrum. I demanded that she stay in bed and go to sleep because she was TIRED. I left her room and closed her door. She was making quite a noise for a while. Then it was silent. I went to check on her and saw that she had thrown all of her stuffed animals from her toy box all over the floor and she had fallen asleep among them.

The other time was when she was 4 years old and kept insisting that she wasn't tired and therefore did NOT need a nap. Not too long after making that statement, she was dead asleep sitting sideways on my rocking chair with her legs through the side rails and her head on the arm of the chair.

But with this daycare child, it's EVERY DAY! I have wondered if he has ADHD or if it's simply because he wasn't trained to stop playing and calm down while waiting to fall asleep. Since he won't let you hold him and throws a fit if strapped into a high chair, I do wonder if it's ADHD. He literally wants to be free to run non-stop until he crashes.

[KIDZRMYBIZ]

Sleep sacs work for me for those naughty climbers. They just can't get their leg up to hook on the top. Although I have heard of some LOs managing to do so regardless (I'm thinking they must be taller than any of my DCKs).

There was also a thread on here about special footie jammies that have a piece of fabric sewn between them that would make it impossible for them to climb out. Naughty Monkey is the brand name I think?

I'm sure your DCB would probably wail and wail then... Can't help ya there!

I've had long stints of the staying right by them and continually laying them back down again and again and again repeating "Lay down, night night." Get lots of reading in during those times!

[permanentvacation]

I just Googled ADHD in babies. I don't know if he had colic, but he has the other symptoms listed on this website http://www.healthcentral.com/adhd/ra...-278672-5.html

ADHD in Children: Birth Through 12 Months
By Eileen Bailey

....ADHD doesn’t suddenly develop when a child reaches school age, but instead, most research shows a high correlation between genetics and ADHD. We must assume, therefore, that a child with ADHD was born with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Most children, however, are not diagnosed with ADHD until past the age of 6 (although younger children can be diagnosed), once they reach school age and there are demands to pay attention and complete tasks. Even so, some parents of a child with ADHD have noticed differences in their child from birth.

According to ADDResources, some of the signs are:

More squirmy
Less able to cuddle
More impatient
More easily frustrated
Require more attention
Have more colic
Have a more difficult temperament

He also has symptoms that are on this website. http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/...d-to-adhd-risk

I would have never guessed that feeding problems were linked to ADHD. This baby is unbelievably difficult to feed! He refuses almost everything you try to feed him. I try a few times to feed him while he turns his head, hits at me, shakes his head (in a 'no' fashion), etc. After I finally give up, he screams like he's starving to death and WANTED that food. I try to feed him again and the 'game' continues.


Oh, and changing his diaper is pure HE*L! He will NOT stay still at all. You are literally fighting him the entire time!


He has all of the symptoms listed on this website; http://www.livestrong.com/article/12...symptoms-baby/

Wow! Now I truly wonder and pretty much do think that he just might have ADHD.

[permanentvacation]

I tried the footie pajama thing. It worked for one day! The second day, he squirmed his way to being able to get up and started climbing up the side of the playpen in the footie pajamas! I kept trying to use them for a few days, trying to keep laying him back down and telling him to go night night while I was leaning over the play pen all but killing my back to rub his back after he'd wiggle his way to getting up but I finally gave up. It wasn't going to work.

[Francine]

I second a sleep sack!!!

[Unregistered]

I just Googled ADHD in babies. I don't know if he had colic, but he has the other symptoms listed on this website http://www.healthcentral.com/adhd/ra...-278672-5.html

ADHD in Children: Birth Through 12 Months
By Eileen Bailey

....ADHD doesn’t suddenly develop when a child reaches school age, but instead, most research shows a high correlation between genetics and ADHD. We must assume, therefore, that a child with ADHD was born with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Most children, however, are not diagnosed with ADHD until past the age of 6 (although younger children can be diagnosed), once they reach school age and there are demands to pay attention and complete tasks. Even so, some parents of a child with ADHD have noticed differences in their child from birth.

According to ADDResources, some of the signs are:

More squirmy
Less able to cuddle
More impatient
More easily frustrated
Require more attention
Have more colic
Have a more difficult temperament

He also has symptoms that are on this website. http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/...d-to-adhd-risk

I would have never guessed that feeding problems were linked to ADHD. This baby is unbelievably difficult to feed! He refuses almost everything you try to feed him. I try a few times to feed him while he turns his head, hits at me, shakes his head (in a 'no' fashion), etc. After I finally give up, he screams like he's starving to death and WANTED that food. I try to feed him again and the 'game' continues.


Oh, and changing his diaper is pure HE*L! He will NOT stay still at all. You are literally fighting him the entire time!


He has all of the symptoms listed on this website; http://www.livestrong.com/article/12...symptoms-baby/

Wow! Now I truly wonder and pretty much do think that he just might have ADHD.

Not sure on the ADHD but for the feeding. He's a year or almost? He probably wants to feed himself. All of my DCK feed themselves from around 8 mo old. Finger foods and even soft foods like applesauce and yogurt with a spoon. They get messy and make a mess but it teaches them independence.

[Conoad]

I had a boy who did this. Only napped in the car or when he fell down from exhaustion. He was also fed only while he walked around carrying food. It was hard to break. He would wiggle out of high chair straps and stand up. I'd remove him from the chair and he would reach up for food to be handed to him. Nope. Learned quickly to eat you must sit but not without a lot of fit throwing. I put him in a pack and play in a separate room and sat on the floor. Every time he lifted his leg, I would firmly say "no". He cried a lot. Repeated this for about a week and it worked! He slept in the pack and play and then a nap mat successfully. Good luck! That's a rough one.