2 Year Old Not Sleeping in Own Bed

Why was he not sleeping in his crib? Was he crawling out, got too big? He's going to have to cry it out by himself unless you can envision him sleeping with you for the next 2 or 3 years. My 28 month old grandson climbs out of his crib so M. and dad got him a top to prevent that from happening. Of course he hated it at first and cried and cried but now he just goes down. I sit for him every day and put him in his crib at my house without the top. So I wait outside the door until he climbs out and then put him back in. Sometimes I have to do this for 1/2 hour, so I keep busy with a Sudoku puzzle and enjoy the time to rest. A little ritual with going to bed helps, and i tell him that after his nap he can play, and when he understands that he often goes to sleep. You don't indicate if your son has a problem with going down for naps (did he wean himself of those already?) So you could try this with him in his bed, "Mommy is not going to stay with you until you fall asleep tonight. You need to fall asleep by yourself. When you wake up in the morning I will be here and we will have fun together." something like that. Of course he will get out of bed but you are waiting right outside the door so you put him back in and tell him not to come out of his room. "I will be with you in the morning, but not until then. Close your eyes and go to sleep." Hope this works. When he wakes up 2-3 hrs later remind him, "I can't be with you now, you have to sleep in your own bed. See you in the morning." Maybe you will loose some sleep for a couple nights, but over the next few years you will more than gain it back when he learns he can sleep without your comforting presence.

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Maybe he's not ready for the toddler bed. Maybe try telling him that if he's not going to stay in his own bed, that he's going to have to go back into his crib.
Or try giving him something of yours to sleep with, like a small blanket or pajamas that have your smell - that worked for our daughter at one point. Or see if he wants a couple stuffed animals to sleep with. Our daughter also went through a short faze when she wanted to sleep on the floor, so we got her a sleeping bag and then surrounded her with her stuffed animals (she said that they helped keep her safe in the night - whatever was going to help her sleep I was willing to do, BESIDES letting her sleep with us - that is never a good habit to start!) We have also used a CD of lullabies before - it would give her something to 'concentrate' on while falling asleep. If nothing else worked, we would just let her cry it out - sometimes she would cry for an hour. It was hard to listen to, but sometimes there is no other choice. They have to learn that they have their own bed and that is where they have to sleep. Good Luck!

Your first mistake was putting him in your bed, just by talking with some of my girlfriends they have done the same thing and they still have their child in their bed and she is 5!!! I know it is hard but you need to let him cry so that he will learn to make himself content, he will. You could go in and reassusre him that he is fine and maybe he has a favorite stuffed toy you could give him when he is scared. You really need to get him out of your bed now or he will be sharing it with you for a long time. Place a child gate at his doorway so he can't get out and hurt himself. Good luck and be strong you will be glad you did!!!
R.

I had the same problem with my daughter. It was a nightmare! I ended up foolishly allowing her to sleep in my bed which lasted for about 4 years! I really dread the next transition from crib to bed with my youngest. I'm thinking of letting her sleep in the crib until she's about 7 :)
Good luck and please let us know how you resolve this issue. I need all the wisdom possible!

I have never had this problem but my sister did and she did not stop it and became a big problem. My brother in law ended up having to sleep with there son in his bed till is was in 5th grade.
When our son moved into is toddler be we let him take all this stuffed animals and put them anywhere he wanted on his bed. He made like a fortress of teddy bears, and other stuffed animals. His huge moose was the guard. It was pretty cute but it worked because my husband said we were not having the some problem as my sister did.

Just ask your son it there anything that would help him feel safe when mommy and daddy are not in the room.

I think the most important thing to remember is that almost everyone has trouble putting their little ones to bed so don't feel like it is just you. One thing that helps with our 3 yr old daughter (besides the night light & many stuffed animals) is that we taped a few special pictures of Mommy & Daddy right above her toddler bed on the wall. When she cries that she's lonely or misses us, we point to our pictures & tell her that we are watching over her. We tried putting them in a little plastic photo album but she kept losing it aroudn the house. She likes that she can look up and see us right away. It's such a little thing but really seems to help! Good luck.

Is the crib still in the room. I'd maybe put him back in there for a while... or completely child proof the room and put a gate in the doorway so his room is like one big crib with the toddler bed in it. We had this happen with our first when he was a year and a half (we needed the crib for his baby brother we were expecting). When he started to not sleep in his bed after about a week, we went back to the crib until the new baby was a couple months old and outgrowing the bassinet. We then took the mattress out of the crib, left it in his room for a bit so he wouldn't feel so much like we were taking it for the baby and so that it "wouldn't be comfortable without a mattress". We put the gate in the door and the transition at THAT time went smooth. My second son is now 2.5 and we are transitioning to the toddler bed. It's been a week and no lapse YET. He's obsessed with sports and has sport pillows and blanket on his toddler bed, so he calls it his basketball bed though it is the racecar shape. He chooses each night to sleep in the basketball bed and I think stays in there because he chose it. Stays there for 12 hours til I go get him or his brother gets him in the morning. For naps, I still have him in the crib because he still resists his naps though he needs them. That's what's helped for us to avoid us becoming a crutch for them to fall asleep by staying in there with them...best wishes to you!!

I would try putting him back in the crib. My third child just turned two as well and is nowhere near ready to graduate to a bed. We tried to move our older son to a bed at 20 months and he ended up getting hurt climbing on things in his room. My rule of thumb is when they start to climb out of the crib, it's time to move them to a bed. The longer you can keep them in the crib, the safer it is for them, and the more piece of mind you'll have. I'm not sure why he was not sleeping in the crib, but it sounds like he is no longer sleeping through the night in the bed either, so trying the crib again couldn't hurt at this point.

Yep, Us too. We talked up the big girl bed with our 21/2 yr old (at the time) and she went to bed like a champ for the first week or so (even door closed in a new room). Then the "cuddle with me for a little bit" started. The little bit turned out to be almost all night. Finally we had to just say no and deal with the drama. Slowly we've worked out compromises. I now wait in my bedroom with my lamp on and her door open (she is right accross the hall) till she falls asleep. It took months of going in, saying no to sleeping with her and one more book, but singing yet another "Rock-a-bye baby" etc.. but it has gotten much better. I do let her sleep with me/us if it is early morning...out of pure exhaustion. I guess I would suggest staying firm in whatever you are willing to do, knowing it may become a habbit. Good luck. Seems like this is pretty normal! :}