2 year olds and Toddler Beds?????

Question

I am having the hardest time trying to get my little girl to lay down and go to bed at night. She is use to sleeping with me...... my fault, I know. But, up until this point, I have been to lazy to get up and put her in her own bed at night. I have another baby due in October and I need to get my little girl to sleep in her toddler bed, by herself. She likes her bed, it's a princess bed, but she just wants me to hold her all night. It's driving me crazy!!! Please help!

She shares a room with her 5 year old sister, which sets a very good example for her, by going right to sleep every night. But I guess that's still not enough for her. LOL! I sing, i dance, i read, i am at the end of my rope............

Answer 1

know it sounds harsh but you need to do controlled crying, particularly now you are pregnant. The last thing you need is 2 children in with you at night. Use a stair gate at her bedroom door, put her to bed, and let her play till she goes to sleep - if she cries / screams, go to her give her a cuddle, tell her you'll be back - leave for 1 minute,then returns if she needs you. do this everyday for about a week, increasing the time you are away from her, and within a week, she should be sleeping alot better. DON'T under ANY circumstances, have her in your bed / give in, as its giving her mixed signals. and then makes it harder. Contact me at [e-mail] for further info

Answer 2

First off let me say you have the right idea. About 30 minutes before bedtime take her to her room. Stay with her there. Make her get in her bed and you sit next to her. Read or tell stories or put on some of her favorite music. When she starts to get sleepy make her lay in the position she usually sleeps in. Pat her back or whatever it is that you do to sooth her. She can and will fall asleep like that. Within two weeks you'll be able to leave the room without her being totally asleep. This is the method I used on my two year old. I admit that he is more difficult than most children. But he now goes to bed without a fight.

Answer 3

My advice which you won't like and it may take about a week to work but it worked for me. I put my son in a bed at the same age and he didn't want to sleep either. He never slepted in the same bed as me he was just scared of the new bed. He kept getting up and running to me and I just kept putting him in his bed I had to do this several times during the night and he cried so much but now he sleeps in his bed and actually likes to. You just have to be consistant. You may lose some sleep by doing it this way but if you keep it up eventually she will figure out that she doesn't have any other choice. Don't give up becuase then she won't believe that you are serious about her sleeping without you. Just be consistant and reasuring and she'll eventually get comfortable enough to do it on her own. Good luck.

Answer 4

This may take a little time but... the first night try sitting with her until she falls asleep in her own bed. Do this for a couple of nights. Next move back a little from her everynight and then wait to leave until she is almost asleep. Eventually, with a little work she will sleep in her own bed by herself. Good Luck!!

Answer 5

Perhaps you could offer to sit in a chair near the bed and stay with her until she falls asleep or something like that. I heard somewhere that it is very important to have a bedtime ritual. Perhaps if you go through a type of ritual, that would help or you could just explain to her that she needs to learn how to sleep in her big girl bed so she can teach her baby brother or sister how to sleep in a big kid bed when it is time for them to learn.

I don't recommend letting her fall asleep in your room and then moving her. One, that can create anxiety and distrust in a toddler to wake up in a different place than where they fell asleep. Second, she isn't learning anything that way. It is better for her to learn how to stay in her room like a big girl. She will get it but you have to be patient.

Good luck to you and congratulations on the new baby.

Answer 6

This is tough. Two of my four went through phases of coming down the hall to cuddle at night when they moved from cribs to beds.

What you do, and it IS exhausting, is get up every single time and take her back to her own bed. Don't let her get snuggled in. No playing, no extended cuddling, no 'rewards' for having gotten out of her bed.

You don't have to pitch a fit or be 'mean' or anything, but make it clear that it isn't OK. This is your bed, this is my bed. YOU need to sleep in YOUR bed. Love you, quick hug, night-night.

This worked well on my two cuddle-bunnies. It took a few days to make the nightly visits stop; within a couple weeks, we didn't even have 'occasional' visits. It's tiring for those first couple days, and depending on your child you might have to endure a temper tantrum or two, but it's worth doing.

Good luck!!!

Answer 7

You need to cut the cord (again!). I know its tiring to get a kid to sleep but you need to be tough about it. Make her sleep in her room all the time, do anything you can to make her stay in there. Put her in her room put up a baby gate in her door. If she cries just let her. Do something like put headphones on so you don't hear her. She wants the comfort of having you there - maybe have her hug a stuffed animal or put something else that is comforting in her bed with her. Set a regular bedtime and don't let her fall asleep with you. Stick to it and be tough. Kids are kids and are learning, you need to be strong and be her parent.

Answer 8

Tell her that you want to sleep with her but because you're having a baby your belly is getting too big for her to sleep with you. Then get her a stuffed animal to kind of "replace" you so that she still has someone to sleep with in her own bed. Hope that helps!

Answer 9

Be strict and close her door, let her cry it won't kill her. But remember, she knows there is a new baby coming and you have to continue to give her attention too. Don't give in but don't get frustrated about it.
My son sleeps in my bed too, but he just wants to sleep in the big bed, he doesn't care if I'm there or not.

Answer 10

We had the same problem with our son. Bet you won't do it with number 2, will you?
Try and find all sorts of "Big Girl" things for her to do in her bed. We got big boy pillow, big boy night light. We even made a big boy spray (some water) for him to spray around his bed to be safe. It took a while but it will come. Just don't be lazy about it.