“Our 9-month-old baby is 25 pounds and walking. In the middle of the night when he wakes, he will sometimes want to stand, crawl, etc. and I fear for his safety (he has already fallen out of bed once when I was in a deep sleep). I am losing so much sleep because of this. Other than bedrails and mattress close to the floor, what can my husband and I do to make this more safe of an environment for him.”
Yes, it is very scary to watch your toddler walk off the edge of a high adult bed. The only way to prevent this is to lower your bed. Bed rails or pillows will not do the trick. I am constantly telling parents to get rid of the bed frame for the first year or so and just sleep on the mattress. You should also start teaching your baby to slide off the bed feet first, on his belly – just like he goes down the stairs. It usually doesn’t take long for him to figure this out if you show him a few times.
Dr. Jim