travel sleep arrangements for preschoolers
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Anonymous
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So we're about to switch our almost 3 year old from the crib to a bed. The question is what to do when we travel, particularly to places that are not baby-proofed, like my parents' house. (tons of crap in every room, no baby gates, and no they aren't going to install them.) Up til now we have used a pack and play but it's really too small for him. Should we just put the mattress on the floor? Buy a cot? An inflatable bed with rails? What arrangements have others found useful? I wonder if there's something I'm not thinking of.
At a minimum we will have to clear the dangerous stuff from whatever room we're staying in and get some kind of doorknob protector to keep him from leaving the room, but it would also be good if he's comfortable and motivated to stay in whatever bed we have for him. |
Anonymous
| You are overthinking this. Just put the kid in a bed or the floor or the closet or with you or whatever. My kid slept absolutely anywhere at that age. Enjoy it. |
Anonymous
| We have this issue too. If a bed is available, I just put my 3.5yo in the bed (falling out isn't an issue for us) and clear out anything super dangerous. She has never really gotten into anything before on her own, but also isn't that kind of kid. When a bed isn't available, like at my in-laws, we got a full size blow up bed and either put that in a spare room or she sleeps on the floor in our room. |
Anonymous
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One or both of us always share a bed with our preschooler when traveling. At hotels we push the bed against the wall, or at least the mattress if the bed is already close to the wall, and the preschooler sleeps on the wall side. If we can't do that we line up a chair or two alongside the bed so that she can't easily fall out.
At grandma's house we keep an inflatable toddler mattress that has raised sides, and she sleeps on that. |
Anonymous
| you're overthinking it. The kid is 3 not 1, he will be fine. No need to lock him in a room with nothing when traveling. As long as there isn't a bottle of bleach next to him he will be fine. |
Anonymous
Well, at my parents' house there actually is. My mom keeps months' worth of cosmetics and extra medicine (tylenol and such) in nearly every room. Obviously we will have to clear the rooms before letting him loose. |
Anonymous
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We have used a Regalo travel bed for DD when we travel. She has been using it since she was 2.5 and is now 4.5 and she still fits. I just put a sleeping bag on top of it for her.
A 3yo should not need a babyproofed room. |
Anonymous
So I agree with all the PP you are overthinking this in general but your moms house sounds dangerous. She needs to clean up medicine, etc. before having her grandchild over. If it was me this would be a requirement of a visit bc if your child ingested her bottle of tylenol it would be terrible. |
Anonymous
| Yes, clear the room of things that might kill him, but at 3 not much baby proofing is necessary (especially if you are in the room most of the time he is). At that age, my son slept on a few blankets on the floor of our room (and didn't mind at all). |
Anonymous
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OP is probably overthinking this, however I will say that certain kids are easier about this kind of stuff than others. Our son has always been an exceptionally "busy brained" active kid. Despite having created a perfect-on-paper bedtime routine since he was 2 weeks old (dim the lights, keep it calm before bed, no tv, 20-30 minutes of books) and despite running him ragged every day of his life, he takes 1 to 1.5 hours to fall asleep at night. We recently started using audio books, which keeps him in bed, but prior to that he was up doing a million things during that 1.5 hours (re-arranging stuffed animals, getting water, peeing 5 times, turning on the bathroom light, turning off the bathroom light, adjusting his night light, flipping through books, you name it). No punishment worked to keep him bed. Add to that confusion: He is uncontrollably excited to the extent he gets to share a bed with someone. Like, if you lie quietly beside him while he's upposed to be falling asleep, his body will be roiling with uncontrollable convulsions of excitement. I've stuck it out for 20-30 minutes before I have to leave so I have no idea how long he'd stay up doing this - but probably hours.
Suffice to say, we have NEVER been able to share a hotel room with our son (unless we give him melatonin - which we have historically done the two times we had to share one). We generally avoid all travel with our son because it would be such a disaster. We do visit my parents sometimes, and that works because he loves it there and gets so exhausted that he actually stays in bed at their house. He's still awake for an hour or more, but he doesn't get up and go around the room. Point is that it's not so straight forward for some kids!!! |
Anonymous
| How do you all sleep with toddlers in your room? We tried it with our baby while visiting inlaws and the baby woke up every time we came into the room. She was a mess the next day. We ran a white noise machine, but it wasn't enough apparently. I'm sure this will get worse the older she gets and once our next child comes along. |
Anonymous
| I agree you're overthinking it re: the safety -- no need for baby gates at 3. But, we have had trouble getting our now 3.5yo to sleep on his own in an unfamiliar place (this started around the time he turned 2 and began climbing out of our travel sleep n play). While he sleeps amazingly at home, we get multiple night wake ups when away. So only you know your child and what is easiest in this regard -- we buy an inflatable child bed and put it next to our bed because at least he sleeps. |
Anonymous
| When we stay at my husband's elderly parents' house (Rx everywhere and steep stairs!), we have our daughter sleep on a mattress on the floor in our room. She's currently 5 and has been doing this since age 3. We also travel with our video monitors and use it when she's awake. Our 2 year-old still uses a PNP and I'm not sure what we'll do when she outgrows it - no room for 2 kids on the floor! |
Anonymous
| We use a cot like they use at daycare. |
Anonymous
| Search toddler travel bed on amazon |