We moved into this house when the kids were just over 2 years old.  At the time, they still slept in their cribs.  Right after we moved, we decided to take the one crib wall off and use it as a toddler bed.  That opened up a whole new world for us….and the kids.  

Geetle fell out of bed a few times.  Pookie refused to stay in bed, prefering to dance around the room and jump on the bed.   Most importantly, BAGD and I worried about the kids roaming the house when we were sleeping.  So, we bought one of those simple plastic door know covers, the kind that you have to squeeze in order for the knob to turn and open the door.  We put it on the INSIDE of their bedroom door.  They tried, but they could not open the door.  Now, we felt secure that no matter what, the kids would stay in their room until we let them out in the morning.

Then Geetle potty-trained.  Middle of the night pees became a real threat.  We taught her how to scream “I need to Pee!” and we would come running.   We put a tiny potty in the room.  We hoped for the best.  She did call for us a few times, but mainly, she learned to hold it until morning.   We get up early, so that meant 6:15 or so. 

Then I started working at home, eliminating the morning commute.  At that time, neither kid had a.m. school, so we got in the habit of sleeping until 7:30 or later.  That presented a problem for Geetle and her bladder.   It was time for a decision.

We decided to take off the plastic door knob cover and give the kids their freedom.  We hoped for the best.  We installed chain-locks on the front door and the one leading to our garage, just in case someone got the brilliant idea to ride their bike at 5am. 

 Much to our suprise, things did go fine.  Pookie likes to stay in his room.  When he gets up in the morning, he sits in bed and reads books until I come get him.  And this has given Geetle the opportunity to show us just how grown up she is. 

She understands that she can only come out to use the bathroom or if she is sick.  (once she did come out to look for her stuffed dog)  At least once a night, sometimes at 9pm, sometimes at 4am, sometimes at 7:30am, she will come out.  She will walk directly to the hall bathroom, close the door to our room (”so the light won’t wake Daddy up.”), pee and go right back to bed.  She does not flush.  I asked her why.  She said “people are sleeping.”

I think it was a good idea to lock them in originally, but now they are ready for this new responsibility.  Pookie LOVES to play in the basement and usually runs there as soon as I open the door in the morning.  But he never goes on his own; he seems to understand that the “day” does not start until we come get him.  He wears a pull-up to bed, but when he is ready for his midnight pees, I think we will be able to teach him that he can only come out to use the bathroom. 

Geetle is very proud of herself and tells us every morning whether or not she went in the middle of the night.  We already know, because we hear the doors opening and closing.  But we enjoy her sense of accomplishment and recognize that she is very grown up now.