How to Help Your Toddler Stay in Bed

Do you have a 2-4 year old who won't go to bed? Or they want you to stay in the room until they fall asleep? We had this problem with our 2 year old. He would cry if we left the room, sometimes he insisted we sleep in bed with him. He would be up until 11:00 playing head games with us. The steps below only took a week to incorporate, he has been going to sleep on his own for months now and he is asleep by 8:30 pm most nights.

Things You'll Need

  • Lots of patience

Instructions

    • 1

      Set up a routine: Give child a bath 1 hour before lights out, brush teeth, put on some lotion (lavendar is calming!) let them have a little more time after they are dressed for bed to run around the house and do what they want (do not let them watch T.V. unless it is something very calm, Baby Praise is really great)

    • 2

      Turn on a small lamp in their room. Have this lamp only for night time, they need to understand they are not to leave the room without your permission when this lamp is turned on (They can ask to go to the bathroom, this is the ONLY reason they should leave the room).

    • 3

      Spend some time reading stories, talking about the day, ect. This can be about 10 minutes. Then leave the room, telling them they can play with their toys or whatever they want to do for a few more minutes, but they CANNOT leave the room. If they follow you out, put them back in. If you have to walk them back 50 times, do it.

    • 4

      After about 10 minutes, come back in the room, help them into bed, and turn off the light. You can even say, "Goodnight, Mr. Light." (My son loves that). Then tell them a story, sing a few songs, say prayers if wanted. Then leave!

    • 5

      If your child cries, check on him/her every 10 minutes or so. Come only to the door and say "I'm right here, I love you, it's time to go to sleep." Only say that over and over. Say it in a firm but gentle voice. If you really feel bad, you can sit outside the door for the first few nights, but do not go back into the room. If your child comes out of the room, walk them back in and put them back into bed, then leave.

    • 6

      When we did these steps, we had only had to endure maybe two nights of out and out war, a few more nights of protesting, and then presto! Our son got comfortable with the routine, and now he loves it. You can get your toddler to go to bed.

    • 7

      Of course, if your child is sick or has had too much sugar or stimulation, he might need extra time to get to sleep. If a child is sick, especially, he might need extra cuddling time and care. Just make sure as soon as he is well you ease back into the same routine as before.

    • 8

      A cd of calming music also works wonders, perhaps a special cd they only get to listen to at night.

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