Does your toddler give you trouble going to sleep?

Question

what are we gonna do? My 19 month old screams and screams when we put her to bed. Lately we have to stay with her unti she falls asleep or let her stay up until she passes out. Did you go through this, and if so what worked or didnt work.

Answer 1

Your 19 month old has you wrapped around her finger.
Staying with her is exactly what you shouldn't be doing. Let her cry it out.
If she comes out of her room, continually put her back to bed without talking or eye contact. Exhausting, yes. But highly effective.

Answer 2

I had this problem bad! Every night was at least an hour long debacle with two cranky parents and one stubborn baby. She screamed every time we lay her in her bed... and would wake up if sleeping as soon as she hit the mattress. So I read in a book to let her cry it out, but STAY in the room where she can see you, in the dark. comfort her verbally if you must, to let her know you are there and she is safe, but DO NOT make eye contact. And don't keep talking. Just one or two quick reassurances if you think it might help.

She knows what you want her to do... (sleep) and she is fine, but she really wants you to pick her up. Remind yourself : She is FINE. Make sure she is well fed, diapered, and comfy so you can't use those excuses to pick her up.
It's a little bit of torture... but it's worth it. Stay in the room about 6 feet away, far enough out of reach.
It hurt a lot at first but EVERY NIGHT she fell asleep faster. 45 mins, then 30 mins, then 10 ... and I felt like SUPERMOM! And then, as long as I kept up on the bedtime routine, story, milk, teeth brushing, bed ... no problems! ---until you hit toddler age... then it hits the fan again when they get that toddler bed lol

Answer 3

I wish you all the best, this is a tough one. Do remember that the sleepier they get the crankier they get and the harder it is to calm the child down.

Mine used to do this but it was really my fault. I didn't help him stick to a strict schedule. Once I did things worked out much better.
Here are some things that helped:
I actually wrote his daily activities on a poster and whenever it was time for something we looked at the poster. He couldn't read it but for some reason he respected the authority of the poster board -- go figure. Anyway, he remained a good sleeper for the rest of his life which was a little distressing in the teenage years.

Car rides always put him to sleep. Again this was distressing later as he is learning to drive and I am just a tad worried about this now.

Leaving her alone until she passes out works somewhat. It is a little stressful on mom. Letting her stay up with you is a bad idea as this mixes up the child's schedule.

Best of luck, I know you must be tired.

Answer 4

My daughter is 22 months now and still does the same thing and she's been sleeping in her room for months now. It's gotten even worse lately because she's figured out that crying "I need to potty" gets her up the frist time and now she's trying to come up with new excuses to get up. I've had some luck with having her run herself ragged until about an hour before bed and then settling down with something like a small snack and a story and soft music. After that she usually doesn't cry as long. Good luck with your screamer.

Answer 5

My oldest daughter (4) did this around the same age. We made the mistake of catering to her until she fell asleep when she was a baby (rubbing her back, rocking, etc.) and so she never learned to go to sleep on her own. Put her to bed and shut the door- leave her alone, and only make one trip in to check on her. After that, let her cry! It sounds harsh but after about a week she will get used to it. Make her bed time the same every night, and she will adjust.

Answer 6

I didn't have that problem with my son when he was that age, actually, I got very lucky with him. He was sleeping through the night 2 weeks after he come home from the hospital and in bed everynight at 7 without a fuss. I just started having problems with him recently though. Just like everyone else has told you, put her to bed and let her be. It seems to be working with my son. Slowly, but still, it's working.

Answer 7

i am still going through this and my kid is past 4yrs old! Some nights he stays up till past 11pm.

My friends are now telling me that the best window to train them to get to bed on their own and on time is between 18-24 months or as soon as they've been toilet trained and not wet the bed through the night. Set-up their bedrooms nice and cosy and tuck them in even before they actually fall asleep. This helps them learn that mommy need not be around till they're completely asleep and that it is safe to doze off. This whole process will take anytime between 2 weeks to 6 months, so keep practising and don't give in...

So, my advice to you is don't miss your window of opportunity unless you want to wait it out like mine, yikes! If only someone had advised me sooner :(

Answer 8

No. If you establish a good bedtime routine when they are babies this won't happen when they are toddlers. Since it's too late for you there, you'll have to just put her to bed and let her cry.

Answer 9

Give em a nap what i like to do is give mine lots and lots of activties and then with a lil nap in between so that keeps him busy for a while and also try not spoiling em to much because if you like to carry em around i can tell you one thing you will have a screamy baby till they are 5 at least try not spoiling em and naps in the afternoon if you are at work then ask your daycare provider to give em a nap, they really should you think but hmm but I hope it helps and good luck!

Answer 10

my kids did this occasionaly. I let them cry. I made sure nothing was wrong with them and if they still cried I left them alone and they fell asleep