My 2yr old will not go to sleep at night. What to do???

Question

She is 2 and I dont mind her crying herself to sleep but she climbs out of her crib and goes and opens the door herself. Last night she fell out and hit her head and now has a goose egg. I have tried sitting in there till she falls asleep but that takes 2-3 hrs. What to do???

Answer 1

It might be time for a big girl (toddler) bed and some nightly routines. Make a fuss out of the new bed and her favorite sheets, set up a nightly routine such as take bath, brush teeth, read a book then lights out. This way it winds her down and she will start to know that this is the way it is going to be EVERY night so get use to it. I tried the supernanny trick of walking them to bed and after the first time dont even talk to them just put them back in bed. Good Luck with your little girl

Answer 2

I empathize - my son used to have a hard time going to sleep as well when he was a toddler. In the beginning, I would rock him to sleep, which happened fairly quickly. It was a habit that I rather enjoyed, but later realized was making it difficult for him to sleep on his own. I had to go out of town on a business trip, and my wife decided to "cure" him of his need to be held in order to sleep. Unbelievably, it worked. As for the crib, the sides came up rather high, so it prevented him from climbing out. When he did start to do this (around 2 1/2) we got him a regular bed. It was just too risky otherwise.
Here's a solution that's a bit of a catch-22. One prefers to reduce the chance of bed-wetting by limiting liquids, but a little warm milk with vanilla before bed can do wonders. If you're still nursing, this is also an effective technique. Good luck!

Answer 3

She's old enough to understand what you are telling her. At two, I'd be putting her in a small bed, not a crib. It is now in her "big girl" bed because she's not a baby anymore, and she has to stay there. Often that works. I always read my kids a couple of books and kissed them goodnight, turned off the light and left the door open a crack so they wouldn't think they were alone. I never had a problem. If they got out of bed, I put them right back in, a little sterner. Like I said, I never had a problem.

Answer 4

Does she have naps? If so, this could be the problem, she's probably not tired when bedtime comes. Cut the naps down to just one in the afternoon for about two hours, then wake her. This worked for my son.
Be careful with the crib thing. My son was two when he fell out for the first time, and that was going to be the last. We put him in his toddler bed(which I wish we could've waited for) but now he gets out of his bed on his own. Just stand your ground. be tough and tell her it's bedtime.
Don't start sitting with her, she'll get used to it and want it.
Read her a couple stories and say prayers, then kiss her and say good night, or see you in the morning.
Be consistent.

Answer 5

At 2, my daughter had her own room and her own bed. She too never wanted to sleep or stay in her room so I would put her in her room and put up a baby gate at her bedroom door. I would let her stay in her room and play or take a fit (whichever she wanted) but she had to stay in her room at bedtime onward. If she was crying too much, I would come and see her at her door to reassure her that I did not forget about her but it was bedtime and she had to sleep. Eventually she would get so tired that she would just go into her bed herself and fall asleep. I would then take away her baby gate from the door and shut any lights that were still on in her room. If your daughter can climb out of her crib and harm herself, I think it's time to get her something to sleep in closer to the floor.

Answer 6

You could plays games with her about a hour before she sleeps or something and then just before she sleeps, read her a story making sure she is really involved in it, that way she will be exhausted and stories make all children sleep. Also, it might be the setting, maybe the light is too bright in her room. If the contrast between the light on and off is too great it might make her feel anxious or give a too obvious sign that it is time for her to stop everything and sleep.
Good luck.

Answer 7

My 4 year old son used to do that, but at that age he was in a toddler bed, I believe. He would get out of bed and open his door to come downstairs.
We just firmly placed him back into bed, and reinforced the fact that it was bedtime, and he wasn't getting up. He seemed to listen, although he may have cried a few minutes, he eventually fell asleep.

Answer 8

Have you tried reading books, or if you dont mind put on the TV. My son know at 7 after bath time he gets to pick out one book, and one move for quiet time, Buring the move he has to stay in bed with lights out, and when the movie is over its bed time (most of the time he has already fell asleep)

Answer 9

Personally, I would get a toddler bed so you don't have anymore accidents. Also, I have been reading Supernanny and she says to keep putting them back to bed as many times as it takes. Eventually she will go to sleep on her own. You could also get a gate or a child proof door handle for her door. We have a gate on my sons door just so he doesn't go roaming in the middle of the night. Good luck!

Answer 10

Dont give your child drugs under any circumstances!!! I don't wanna read about you in the paper..LOL! What you can try,, because I'm going through something similar myself with my child is introduce a schedule...For example, limited nap time during the day, fill her day will with activities if you can, and give her a bath before bed with some lavender oil in the water(natural relaxer)...And finally,,,buy a toddler bed and a night light before she really hurts herself...Hope this was helpful..