How can I get my 2 year old son to sleep In his own bed, when he just point blank refuses?

Question

He Is still In a cot. I will put him down and he will just scream the roof down. I know he Is ok as when I go back In he Is all smiles. Im at my witts end, he just will not sleep In there. He's on my knee now cuddling up and half asleep. What steps should I take to return him to his normal sleeping habits. How long Is a resonable time to leave him to cry In this situation?

Thanks for all your answers, It has given me some courage. I put him back to bed 15 mins ago and his screams are really shaking my nerves. Im not going to give In (I really hope) . Thanks everyone.

Answer 1

it take a lot of patients when you put.
him down the first time read him a book then say good night and you love him,and say see you in the morning.
leave him for 5mins if he still wont settle go back in and don't talk at all tuck him down and walk out. you may have to do that quite a bit, been there with my son.
good luck

Answer 2

Maybe its time you took him out of the cot and put him into a bed. He is probably feeling like he's locked behind bars. Leave music on in the room & the light on and if no music a clock that ticks. This was they think someone is in the room when there not. My 2 year old has been in a Single Bed for over 1 year now and she sleeps through the night. I put her to bed with the light on & the music and then close the door then when I am ready to go to bed then I go in and turn the light off and the music off. She can still hear the clock ticking and this sounds like a heart beat to little kids. What you should also do is let him Cry for about 5 mins and if not settled then go in and settle him again and then go back out again for 5mins and keep repeating this. Eventually after about the 3rd time he will settle and fall asleep. Hope this has helped you anyway. Good luck as it's not always easy & can get you more upset than the child.

Answer 3

You feel bad, real bad, when you hear your kid screaming and crying and you just want it to stop, so you give in. I don't have kids of my own, but I have several friends that do and had problems like that and what I told them to do, and it worked was to put a tv and dvd player in the room and around bed time go in the room together to watch a movie. Some could just put on the movie and leave and the kid would fall asleep, but a few didn't, so I told them to watch the movie with them for about 10 or 15 minutes when they are getting into tell them you have to go do something real quick and you'll be right back and that worked. Make them like going to bed and going to bed will be no problem
As far as how long to let them cry, they will fall asleep eventually and forget it by morning and after a while the crying will stop

Answer 4

sorry to tell you this but if you are determined to make him sleep on his own in his own bed then you will have to put up with alot of screaming....alot since he has proven that he's not adverse to screaming. What he is looking for is a reaction from you....which you give him by responding to his scream....giving him attention....since he's all smiles when you come in the room then he got what he wanted....daddy's attention.

What you must(should) do it put him to bed, leave him, stand outside the door just to make sure he doesnt get hurt, and wait out the scream....it could take a few minutes, or hours in some cases(been there done that), if he gets out of bed(if he can) the return him without speaking to him at all except to say good nite etc. dont negotiate with him(I know he's two but any talking is negotiating in his head). put him back in bed, go outside the door and wait again. You may have to do this every nite for only 3 or 4 days....sometimes a week or more....but the key is perseverence...dont give in and be flexible about it or he will see that as a win and will try his scream routine whenever he thinks he's got a chance.

He will either cry himself to sleep(I know you dont think so but it will happen...lol) or learn to lay there until he falls asleep, either way he will learn that its bed time and thats where he should remain.

Patience patience patience is all I can tell you. good luck.

Answer 5

We recently moved our son into his own room. What we did is we started having him take naps in his room to get comfortable with his bed. After he was taking naps regularly in there we started to put in bed at night. We would do activities in there after bath like read a book, play a little. We would ware him out and lay him in bed. It took a couple weeks but finally we got him to stay in there! Now he loves it and won't sleep with us anymore. :D The key is getting him comfortable with it and letting him know that just because your not there doesn't mean he is alone. Try allowing him to fall asleep with the lights on so it seems like he's taking a nap. Hope this helps. You can also get great tips at www.associatedcontent.com I write articles there and they have some really good pointers from some experts! Just search in the search box what you are looking for. Hope this helps!

Answer 6

Your son has already learned how to control you. Stop it. You took him out of the crib too early. Put him in his bed, a crib if necessary, and just let him cry it out. Explain to him that he must sleep alone. As long as you know nothing is wrong with him, and because he is already so spoiled you are going to have to just let him cry himself out. It probably won't take more than 2 or 3 nights. If you don't stop this now your son is not going to be a very nice person. Don't teach him that you will obey him if he cries.

Answer 7

I agree with Tashia. If you allow your child to cry and cry, all you are teaching him is that you are not dependable and he can't count on you when he needs you. And you are his hero, so imagine how that must make him feel.

Children need a routine. They adore routines, and if you build Choices into the routines, they think that all the activities are *their* idea. Fancy that.

For instance, after dinner, you wear him out with some good old-fashioned horseplay, either inside or out. He'll be ticked pink. When you come back in, provide a Choice. Would you like your boats in the bath or your dinosaurs? Next part of routine: Bath.

Would you like your blue jammies or your green jammies? Next part of routine: Jammies.

Would you like to read Good Night Moon or How Does a Dinosaur Say Goodnight? Next part of routine: Bedtime story, preferably in a rocking chair.

Would you like to snuggle with your Pooh bear or your Elmo? Next part of routine: Provide the chosen doll with a pile of books, a favorite toy, and lots of kisses. Tell him "You don't have to sleep right now, but you DO have to be quiet." Leave the light on, leave the door open a bit, and walk away. If he starts to cry, give him a Choice: Lights on for books and quiet voice? Or Lights out with a noisy voice? If he cries and cries at this point, he did it to himself. And within a few days, he will get the message.

Once he is used to looking at books before bed, you will just need to peek in periodically. He'll be falling asleep within an hour of his tuck-in time, and all you'll need to do is clean the books etc. out of his bed and snug up the covers. Leave a nightlight on, but turn off the regular light. Leave the door cracked open so you can hear him if he needs you. He will wake up happy and refreshed.

Answer 8

I seen this on Super Nanny (I can't stand the show, but what the hey...).

She had the mother take the boy to his bed. When he refused to stay there, she had to pick him up and set him back in his bed. Over & over again -- all the while he was screaming & crying. Eventually, he fell asleep. She mentioned that it would be a battle, but the longer you wait, the harder it gets.

Answer 9

Im going to give this Q a star because our son is 3 going on 4 and is currently asleep on the sofa.

Answer 10

it will take about 3 days of consistency in not giving in. At 2 he will be fine to cry it out (i don't agree for babies). Once he realises he is not going to win he will cry less and less before bed. But don't slip once and go get him or else he has learnt that he just has to scream longer before you come. Good luck.