Is it wrong to lock my toddler in their room at night? They escape the crib and open their door and just go to the fridge and make a mess nearly every night…I am unsure what to do at this point
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There are many reasons I would not lock the door. I used a baby gate.
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What if there’s an emergency?
Absolutely do not lock them in their room
I cannot even explain my concerns here
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No do not lock!! You need to Figure out why not sleeping? Sounds like they are not sleeping because they are hungry. Why does one go to the fridge , because they are hungry!!! Are they eating plenty?? Give them a good fulling/protein snack before bed. Warm milk. Every few months kids go through different sleeping patterns, even us adults do. If I’m hungry I can’t sleep either, I go to the fridge as well. Try feeding them. How old ?? You will get this as teenagers, they eat also!!
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Fire hazard for sure.
Use a baby gate. Or a fridge lock.
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You should absolutely NOT lock the door .
Try to do other things, a high gate is a good idea, you can even put like a alarm in the door that will alert you when they open it , maybe the sound of it will scare them and they will not open the door ,lock the fridge and any other cabinet that has snacks , if they can’t get them they may stop going to the kitchen, also make sure they are not hungry when you put them in bed .
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Gaby gates, alarms etc. But again, you need to find out why they are getting up, how much sleep are they getting, not getting, what time are they going to bed? What time are they doing this? Do you not hear your toddler making a mess? So much missing & finding out why, then just want to luck in the room??
Lock the fridge and not the child’s door!! Locking the door to a child’s bedroom is like child abuse, would you like it if someone did it you??
If an emergency happens like the house is burning down etc are you going to tell the fire or the robbers “Wait, hold up, I just need to unlock my child’s bedroom door quickly”
Maybe your child is not eating enough and this is why they keep doing what they are doing!
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If they can escape their crib then it’s time for a toddler bed 
…. try a tall baby gate instead of locking them in their room, that’s not safe 
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This is a difficult one. I’ve been there. It’s a no-win situation. If you lock baby in their room there’s no escape if there’s an emergency like fire. But it’s more likely for them to find dangers in the home while you’re asleep. I had a child fill the bathtub with hot water because he wanted to play with his boats. Luckily I wake up to noise & caught him before he got in the tub. I ended up putting a door alarm on the door. It made an awful sound of the door was opened. It made me aware he was leaving his room. It also scared him from opening the door. So it eventually trained him not to do it.
For those saying to use a baby gate. He’s climbing out of his crib. He can climb over a baby gate.
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Please do not lock your child’s door. Get a lock for the fridge instead!
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You can’t lock them in their room that is a big no.
Fortunately I never had to deal with that but I’m not understanding the huge difference between a gate that their also not supposed be able to climbed over and locking the door? I like the alarm idea and that makes sense but seriously if a gate supposed to stop (even if there’s a emergency) what’s the difference of locking the door assuming there’s a baby monitor tho also like most people have anyway
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Locks on other doors. Not bedroom. Never a good one for Social Services 
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No lock on door ever . What if there was a fire and you could not get to the child in time .
What we used is a bell on the child’s door on the top where he cannot reach it when he opens that door you can hear the Bell and that means that you should get up and figure out what he needs . If he is up in the fridge that just means he’s hungry maybe cut up some apples and put it on his nightstand or some crackers with a small glass of water or put a baby gate in front of his door or put a lock on your fridge door but never in your life like a child in the room he’s in as it can cause a lot of damage if a child can’t get out and there’s a fire
I personally as a child I would be scared to have a locked door or I could not get out and then I would panic and start screaming and yelling and crying
DO NOT PUT A LOCK ON YOUR CHILD’S DOOR AND NO CIRCUMSTANCES YOU SHOULD DO THAT FIGURE OUT WHAT HE NEEDS BEFORE BED OR MAKE SURE HE HAS A SNACK IN HIS BED
And use a baby gate or a bell on top of his door and get up and figure out what he wants
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If you lock their door you need someome to call social services. Horrible parenting.
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Um yes its horrible & dangerous. Use a baby gate
Do not lock the door! I get the frustration, but lock the fridge and cupboards instead. You can also install an alarm on your toddlers door so you wake up when they open their door.
Good luck!
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I’ve read a few and some of these comments are shocking and cruel. Apparently, not every child is the same and some would truly give Houdini run for his money. I had such a brother - climb out, over and figured out shit that would blow your mind. We also had a family daycare and a swimming pool ( California) - we were required to have a 4’ fence with a self latching gate - we had a 8’ with a lock 
on gate - key was in box high and a way from gate - all windows and doors going outside had beeping alarms. We had a different sounding one on my brothers door. Even if mom were to have put a lock on his door - he’d go out window- if they want to get out they will - it’s called primary critical thinking skills - don’t deny them because those skills will help out big time when they mature 
I think a baby gate would be more appropriate. I get the struggle though. I’ve had 6 youngins and the last is on the spectrum with a history of elopement. YOU want your babies safe at any cost, but locking a child in any room where I am from is against the law and an invite for CPS. They do have taller baby gates that install and opened and close like a door with a latch. I would go with one of those if you can. Another idea that’s maybe a little out there is to install a laser light in the door way…if they cross it the line is broken and an alert sounds. My uncle had one for the driveway. The only other solution i can think of is to put child locks on everything. Best of luck to you & keep your babies safe.
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You can’t lock the door. If there is a fire or whatever and it’s found out or they say anything. Jt wj be child abuse, endangering a child ect. Lock the fridge, set rules/punishment. The kid is little they will learn.
When my boy was little he would get up in the middle of the night and throw all of my makeup in the toilet or some such… We put a screen door on his room and did lock it on the outside… they would probably arrest me for that now!
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if they can escape a crib, that is dangerous. Time for a toddler bed/big kid bed.
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locking the door is a major fire hazard please don’t do that.
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there are many baby gate and fridge safety lock options. (We go for the baby gate in the kitchen doorway)
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Maybe…instead of locking the baby’s door….you place a child safety lock on the fridge!!! Or even a tie
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I never had to do that with mine but I wouldn’t lock my kid in their room just put locks on cabinets and the fridge.
Use a child handle on the inside of the door. Goes over the knob so they can’t open it.
I did lock my kids door. I turned the door handle around and locked it from the outside and it only took three days. My nervous mama woke up, literally every hour to check it, but after three days, I was able to shut the door and not lock it and didn’t have an issue afterwards
You can put an alarm or lock on the fridge. There’s also alarms for in doorways. You put the sensor on the ceiling at the doorway ( they are attached with Velcro strips and are easily removable without leaving marks ) and when your child walks through the doorway or opens the door it will sound a chiming noise to portable monitor like a baby monitor works. The portable handset can be turned off when your child doesn’t need to be monitored leaving their room.
Locking the door can be a safety hazard if there was a fire
I would definitely put a alarm on the door!!!
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I had an issue with my little guy and making kitchen messes for awhile
I got a baby proofing strap for my fridge and cabinet locks for my cabinets and we did that until he outgrew the habit
U most definitely can put a child lock on the inside door knob and shut the door. Essentially “locking” them in. I did this with my twins. Baby proofed room, video baby monitor, and door knob child lock on inside. Shut em in. It’s 100% safer. Ask a firefighter.
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Btw. The fire department recommends sleeping with door shut. Kids panic and usually hide in a fire. They r safer in a room where the fire department can find them.
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I’m guessing if the child can crawl out of a crib they can crawl over a baby gate. I definitely wouldn’t lock the door in case of an emergency. But you can lock the fridge. And get a cover for the inside of the door knob so they can’t open it. It’s extremely dangerous for your child to be crawling out of a crib every night. After one or two times of them doing that you should be getting them a toddler bed, get a little bedside table, leave a soft snack they cannot choke on, For example, applesauce, or a pudding, Something that is not hazardous to eat alone That they cannot choke on, leave that in the room. Maybe they are just hungry at night and looking for a snack. Even if they make a little bit of a mess in their bedroom, at least it’s contained and it’s not the whole fridge.
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You can buy fridge locks.put locks on the other doors except your bedroom and his. That way he had to either stay in bed or go to your room.
Put this on the inside of the child’s door knob. And shut the door. It’s fine. It’s not illegal or abuse. Use a video child monitor if u need to watch. You’re welcome
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Lock the room is a no no for safety reasons
Yes because what if there’s a fire. Try a baby gate.
I myself have had double gates on top each other have closed door not locked but put lock on outside door so they won’t lock themselves inside.
Put a substantial gate across the door
I always used a baby gate for their room while little.
I think locking the door could be a little traumatic, and if there is an emergency it’s just not worth it.
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I’m relatively sure ita illegL. And yes but a baby gate.
It’s safer for them if you lock the door, actually.
I know someone who put a wooden screen door on his child’s room.
Door alarm or leave door open and put up a baby gate that’s what we always did
My sons room has a Dutch door. When he was younger, the bottom had a baby safety cover on the inside door knob so he couldn’t open the door and we had a baby gate leading into the main living area so he couldn’t get into anything or to the door in the event we didn’t hear him get up.
Why not try a baby proof knob cover over the doorknob
….thats what we did! They have to squeeze both sides to get it open…
Get a body alarm,it goes off when the leave the room or a bed alarm