Ninja toddler..

Sooo i don't know if anyone else has had this issue so any advice would be much appreciated. At night after i put my son to bed i leave his door open & the hall light on, when I go upstairs for bed I close his door & turn off the light. If he doesn't wake up then and try to come in my room he will wake up at 3 am flipping out that his door is closed. Lastnight he woke up when I tried to close his door, so I left his & mine open and went to bed. Apparently for as klutzy as my kid is daily he is night stealthy. He got out of bed and walked into my room let's just say i almost pee'd my pants when I turned over one eye open look towards my door and see little eyes staring at me from behind the door humming. I tell him to close my door and come sleep in my bed which usually ends out with him sleeping fine or jabbing my ribs with his tiny toes so I put him back in his bed with no issue. NOT last night, I fell asleep he fell asleep then got up of course in his baby ninja way, and decided it was playtime. Went to the bathroom closet and pulled everything out. There was red tape in a box from when we first moved in, I awake at 4 am to the sound of tape ripping, an elaborate tape master piece from each door knob to my dresser and the walls renovated with wallpaper towels and washcloths. Put him in his room, of course after cutting my red ribbon of tape to his room shut the door and went back to bed. This was scary for me, as I have gates up and locks on anything dangerous he also has no access to any doors to leave the house but a frightening moment. I have to do something to make him more comfortable with his room, I wonder if all those mornings I woke up at 4 or 5 if he had been up all night playing...my child is a ninja and I'm sleep deprived...

I had to do a few things to get my boy to sleep:
1. Take out all of the toys and book in his room. I had to turn my dining room into a playroom so that his room only contains his bed and his clothes. At one point, I even had to take out the clothes to keep him from pretending his shoe was a car.
2. A baby gate on the door is a requirement. Otherwise, he will scare the crap out of me creeping around.
3. When he starts screaming and fussing, IGNORE him. After a few hours, he'll eventually pass out.
4. I do have a night light, but no hall lights or anything else. Don't want him to have too much light to entertain himself.

Thank you so much, you're kid is like mine a nightlight will guide him to some sort of entertainment and he will create something to play with, including peeling wallpaper and making an airplane at 3 am lol. He has clothes in his dresser & that is it, stuffed animals in his bed and his play room is on the third floor, I've tried to ignore him and he pounded on his door so hard one night he had a chaffed knuckle...my friend suggested white noise, he will find a way that can be a project, at any rate I'll keep with a little tough love, continuing to put him back in bed until he gives up. Thank you for letting me I'm not alone with an over active night owl & you're tips. I hope for a full nights rest soon!

Take away toys, and just start bringing him back to his room any time he escapes. By letting him in your bed with you, he is learning that he is rewarded for getting out of bed (I've been there, we had the same issue with my 6 year old and 9 year old).
Repeatedly returning him to his room might be a pain in the butt, and very tiring for a few days, but he'll learn that bedtime means stay in your bed.
We didn't do that with my 9 year old and she still has sleep issues. We did with the 6 year old and he now stays in his bed and usually goes to bed great too.

How old is he? I still keep my toddler in a crib and I have friends who use a crib tent once they figure out how to climb out. I just feel like until they are old enough to really understand why they need to stay in bed and what those boundaries are it's easier.

Thank you everyone for you're advice, ignoring him seems to be working. He is 3 I still have him in his crib, it switches to a toddler bed, I'm waiting a while to switch it since he has a big boy bed at my parents and if he actually falls asleep in it rolls out, wakes up and walks around their house, one night he spent there he got up at 5 am and attempted to make coffee for them, he put the grounds where the water goes pressed start & woke them up lol. I can't cut nap entirely or my darling sweet boy turns into a spawn from another planet, but I have woken him up after an hour, used to be 2 hour naps. We had a great day today no nap but I ran him all over the place, he got tons of fresh air and played for about 3 hours at the park, I'm crossing my fingers that a good meal, warm bath and comfy jammies will have him sleep all night, If i could bottle this kids energy I would!

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tots-Mind-...b-Tent/4726174

If you keep having issues, these are super helpful!

Ha! Thats a great invention, kid will find a way to destroy it in no time, wish I had gotten one when this started!

I had to get a very sturdy gate so my daughter couldn't get out of her room.

When she was two she would scream her head off and wouldn't stay in her bed. I would ignore her and she would pass out on the floor near the gate. She would even equip herself with a pillow and blanket.

When she was 3, she became the master of excuses for reasons to get out of bed. I swear she would pee a little and hold the rest for later so she had an excuse to get out of bed. I started taking her favorite toys away and then eventually she learned she couldn't get away with it.

Now she is 4, and she won't go to sleep without the gate up.

KIDS!!!!

He woke up last night when I went to bed and screamed himself til he threw up, got him cleaned up & put him back to bed he was half awake, closed his door and had no problems...until 5:30 when he was wide awake and starving lol.

We have the same kid. I thought mine was the one one who would cry til he puked. Gabe is an expert at excuse too. After I confirm that all his needs are met, I do just ignore him...even if that means listening to him scream for 3 and a half hours.