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Sleepwalking child ... WWYD
  • AloneOverseasAloneOverseas
    Posts: 2,240Member
    To keep this short and to the point, DS6 is a bit of a sleepwalker. Not often, but it's been happening off and on for well over a year. When we send him back to bed he usually goes easily with a few grunts and groans. He does to speak but apparently can hear and process what we say, just doesn't coherently answer us.

    Last night we got a bit concerned. He tried to go outside! It's miracle enough he climbs down from the top bunk and walks across his minefield of a bedroom floor without getting hurt, but if he ever made it outdoors .... No, No, NO!

    This time he tried to open one of the sliding doors. We have bolt locks on the top so thankfully he is too sort to unlock the sliders. And we were still up! However if he went to the front door, he could easily unlock that and be outside without us knowing. We talked about putting a bolt at the top of the door, but if there was an emergency the boys couldn't get out!

    So ... WWYD? Anyone else have a sleepwalking child?
    I love purple; I love cats. Imagine if cats were purple ...
  • AnonUser30
    Posts: 1,916Guest
    We put alarms on her door. If the door gets opened it triggered an audible alarm. Always woke us up, and if it wasn't a seizure making her wander woke her up.
  • Kry
    Posts: 93Member
    I have a butterfly lock on my front door for fear that one of my girls will try to get out in the middle of the night. Have you discussed this with your pedi? I don't think there is a lot that you can do to curtail the actual sleepwalking. :(
  • onetimeonetime
    Posts: 2,012Member
    Devin does this on occasion. We just take precautions like locking doors. We've found that while he is capable of some motor skills and thought process, more complex ones like unlocking dead bolts, he isn't doing.
    Suck it up buttercup!
  • NinLee
    Posts: 729Member
    Perhaps get an alarm for your front door similar to the ones DickSmith stores use on their glass cabinets.

    My DD10 sleepwalks on occasion, but it's always when she needs to pee. I caught her trying to pee in the bathroom cupboard just the other night ... LOL...
  • unforgivenunforgiven
    Posts: 12,700Confessional Manager
    Oh. My. Goodness! I would go with the alarm on the bedroom door, definitely. 

    confessional-manager

    "What looks like torture is a time to rejoice
    What sounds like thunder is a comforting voice
    When what is beautiful looks broken and crushed
    And I say I don't know you
    But you say it's finished"
  • LA_PygmyHerderLA_PygmyHerder
    Posts: 1,239Member
    Ds8 is a sleepwalker. He has been since he could get out of his crib on his own. We put deadbolts on the doors. Those are pretty stiff and take more effort than he's capable of at that point. Also the dogs warn us if someone is moving around the house. Even if it's the kids. Before dogs, we got an alarm system. If the door is opened it'll wake everyone in the house. Still have an alarm system that's movement activated. It's easier than worrying.
  • AloneOverseasAloneOverseas
    Posts: 2,240Member
    Bedroom door is always open a crack and the boys usually do midnight toilet runs, so an alarm on the bedroom door wouldn't work. And our front door only has a deadbolt, both boys can open it easily. Lol

    We are a six cat household. They won't stop anyone! Lol. Not sure what a butterfly lock is ... might need to visit Dick Smith. :)
    I love purple; I love cats. Imagine if cats were purple ...
  • AnonUser30
    Posts: 1,916Guest
    What about alarming the front door?
  • BeerWenchBeerWench
    Posts: 2,820Member
    LivinTheDream said:

    We put alarms on her door. If the door gets opened it triggered an audible alarm. Always woke us up, and if it wasn't a seizure making her wander woke her up.



    Great idea
    :¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:-•** She who leaves a trail of glitter is never forgotten**•-:¦:-•:*'""*:• -:¦:-
  • Kry
    Posts: 93Member
    Apparently, I have always called these the wrong thing: 
    http://www.amazon.com/Door-Flip-Child-Safety-PrimeLine/dp/B001FQZAM6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_3
  • chaosmomchaosmom
    Posts: 3,846Member
    I would def look into an audible alarm on the front door.
  • MyInnerGoddessMyInnerGoddess
    Posts: 1,558Member
    Back in the day I worked in an assisted living home and we used personal alarms on the residents.  It was like a string attached to a  key (of sorts) that plugged into a little plastic alarm box on the side of their bed.  The string was attached to a safety pin and we would pin it to the back of their night clothes.  If they got out of bed in the middle of the night, the alarm would go off as the key came unseated from the alarm.  At least we knew they were on the move.  Might be something you could look into.
    "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them."
    ~ George Bernard Shaw~
  • GrainneGrainne
    Posts: 863Member
    I am a sleep walker :) and I have tried to go out the door on occasion which scared me. It usually happens when I get up to pee and somehow on the way back to bed I get disoriented and go places and have woken up in different places around the house. We have an alarm system on our house. At a place I lived in long ago no alarm system the bathroom was right by the front door and I often woke up to find the door unlocked. I uses to put a long board or broom across the door so that it would fall an wake me up. But alarm system is much better.
  • CrashCrash
    Posts: 8,215Member
    All I can say is, I've had a sleepwalker, but she doesn't try to go outside. She pees in very inappropriate places. So it could be weirder! 

    What you could do is have an keyed lock on your exterior doors that lock with a key at night. Keep the key somewhere like on top of the lintel so it's easily accessible to you, but not to a kid. So if you have a deadbolt that you lock from the inside, your doorknob is a flipped around keyed door.
    See ya in another life, sister!
  • AnonUser30
    Posts: 1,916Guest
    The issue with extra locks could be a fire hazard. If you use too complicated a lock, or keyed locks and remove the keys, if there was a fire you could not get your child out in time. This could be a grave health hazard.
  • MegsueMegsue
    Posts: 1,848Member
    What about a simple hook-and-eye lock on the front door. You can put it up high enough to be out of reach, but they pop out easily in case of an emergency.
  • AloneOverseasAloneOverseas
    Posts: 2,240Member
    Thanks for the ideas! That flip lock looks interesting, @kry. Never heard of them. Of course that one on Amazon says they won't ship it to NZ! Lol. I'll have to see if there is anything like that here ... and see if I can understand how it works.
    I love purple; I love cats. Imagine if cats were purple ...
  • i_am_a_thunderbirdi_am_a_thunderbird
    Posts: 1,684Member
    Alarms for sure.

    I was a sleepwalker as a child and as an adult.

    Once, my parents were in the living room watching television and I wandered right outside into our backyard. We had a pool and the fence was being repaired.

    They found me sitting cross-legged on the grass.

    They put an alarm on my door after that so they could catch me before I got outside again.
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