should i lock the door?

why do you need to lock the door? why can't you just close the door? that's what i do and my son is just fine

Get gates and put them where you don't want him to go. Chances are if hes sleeping now he'll sleep then too. But kids are a lot smarter than you think if he does wake up he'll probably end up at your bedroom door. Good luck.

You can if it lock from the outside. You'll get a lot of gruff about fire safety, etc. But it works and at this age, they won't do much anyhow. I have a really tall baby gate that dd can't climb over yet. I put that in her doorway. She hates for the door to be closed, so that's helped us alot. You can also put a baby proof thing on the door so your child can't get out if you are just unsure about "locking" it. Same outcome.

my boys been in toddler beds since they were 15months. they love there big boy beds. What we do is shut the door and put the baby monitor on. It works fine. in the morning "I am lucky they sleep in" but they knock on the door when they are ready to get out. Yes if they cry i go in there its great. they love it.

I think we used a baby gate with my son's room. My husband found a really tall one at baby r us I think that he couldn't climb over. That way I could easily get into his room, and he could see out so he didn't feel trapped. That's my recommendation.

I would recommend using a baby gate that way your child is not locked in their room. We moved out little one to a toddler bed when he was 19 months old and we close his bedroom door when we first put him down and then when I go to bed I open his door a little bit and put the gate up in the hallway that way the only place he can go if he wakes up is our bedroom. This has worked really well for us so far and it's been about 3 months. Good Luck.

Locking bedroom doors is a major fire hazard. If your son wakes up in the dark, he will probably be too freaked out to get into trouble.

I had a baby gate that I unlocked and leaned loosely against her door frame. Whenever she tried to get out of her room at night it would fall with a hellacious crash! It was plastic and wouldn't have hurt her even if it had fallen ON her, but it sure made a lot of noise. She learned to stay in her room if she happened to wake up before I went in there, which wasn't very often.

If you opt to lock it, I'd suggest replacing the door knob. Get a new bedroom door knob that will let you have the push button lock on the outside. Simpy turning the knob will unlock the door - no extra step or extra time in an emergency.

Using a child proof door knob cover on his side of the door is another option but it's pretty much the same as locking him in.

You can also put up a baby gate but many toddlers learn to open them. You can start with that and cross that bridge when (and if) it comes.

You can also buy a door alarm. Usually sold for people staying in hotels - they set off an alarm if someone turns the door knob.

Don't worry about the fire hazard for HIM by locking him in any way. Most kids do not wake to fire alarms - and if they do, they are most likely to hide, not come seeking you. And do you really want to be searching the whole house for him?

I'd also suggest that no matter what you choose to do, that you keep his door closed at night. If there is a fire, a closed door is the first line of defense to keep him safe until he is rescued. A closed door keeps out smoke (the number one killer in a fire) and it slows down the fire. An open door, even just a gap, doesn't.