How Can I Get My 2 Yr Old Out of My Bed?

I remember that horrible "toddler bed" phase! My son's room was at the top of the stairs and we were afraid he would "wander" during the night so we ended up putting a gate at his doorway. He hated his toddler bed and would sleep on the floor most nights. It ended up that his whole room looked like a big crib with blankets and pillows all over the floor! Personally, I would try the Supernanny technique of sitting in her room and NOT looking at her or talking to her and GRADUALLY move to the door and out. I would stop letting her fall asleep in your room--it's probably just confusing her and also reinforcing her idea that your bed is the better place to be!
Can you play a book-on-CD in her room or some soft music? Get her a cool night light? Let her pick out her own blankets/sheets?
I feel bad for you--I know this is a horrible phase to live through but whatever you try - CIO, sleep technique, etc you're going to have to be firm and consistent for several (3-5) nights for it to be effective. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi L.,

Baby has separation anxiety.

Check and see how to cope with this.

Good luck. D.

i dont think rewards for things they should be doing is a good thing, but this is tough. i got my 3 yr old out of my bed by just tucking him in and leaving the room. He would call me, assuming i would check on him. But i didnt give in. his reward for sleeping in his own bed for a week? SLUMBER PARTY IN MOM'S ROOM SATURDAY NIGHT!! it worked well and we moved the parties to bi weekly.

I agree with the others-get a real twin bed and jazz it up with her favorite character. Those toddler beds are not comfortable and super easy to get out. Get a bed rail so she doesn't fall out. (We have one that is made from net and super strong and my son has never fallen once)

One more thing...if you don't want her in the bed with you now is the time to do it. When my older son was your daughters age he did the exact same thing with the toddler bed and I just let him stay with us because I was pregnant and too lazy to walk him back. He is now 7 and he JUST started sleeping all night in his own bed. This is a very hard thing to break as they get older.

I know this sounds overly simple, but my almost 2 yr old LOVES trucks. When we switched him to a toddler bed around 18 mos, I was having trouble getting him to stay in bed, but then I bought him a set of truck sheets and he thought it was the coolest thing that ever happened :) He loved his bed after that. Maybe worth a try?

We also made a huge deal out of it being a "big boy bed". Everyone who came over, we asked him very excitedly if he wanted to show them his new big boy bed. He was very proud of it and it was so darn cute.

This is probably going to sound crazy but she may need more room. My daughter did this. One night she asked if she could sleep on the futon.(We slept there a couple of times when she woke in the middle of the night and my husband had to get up at the butt crack of dawn) I let her sleep there and she didn't come in that night. So we let her sleep there for a week to see if it was just that night. She just needed more room. So we bought her a full size bed and let her pick out her bedding. Only times we have problems now is if she is sick. I hope this helps.

I think the crying can be ok but sometimes it takes a while to just continue ignoring. If she wants to come in your room, you can have her sleep on the floor (which is less comfortable).

Good luck!
D.

I had a similar situation, although my almost 2 year old son, learned he could get out his bed (18 mo.), and I'd sleep with him on the couch. He'd go to bed in his own bed, but I'd have to stay in the room until he was asleep. He'd awaken in the middle of night and come get me, that's when I'd sleep on the couch or on some mats in the living room. We then got a twin bed for him, and I automatically would lay with him until he fell asleep, but he still continued to come get me in the middle of the night, so I was not getting good sleep. Two weeks ago we told my son that he needed to start sleeping in his bed all night and go to sleep on his own. I've always read to him, so I've continued to read to him, then tell him it's time for bed, and for him to close his eyes, but I'd check on him in a few minutes. The first night was a two hour process, and for a few nights, he'd still wake up, but would go back to bed easier. He had been a little better each night. I've been told by other people it can take a couple weeks to a month. As we know kids are going to get up from time to time and need you. I have in the last few days let him come in bed with us when he awakens around 4:00-5:00 in the morning, but I need to tell him to go back to bed, because he was sleeping in his bed pretty good. Like I said it has only been two weeks of doing this, but it's a lot better than it was. He was never really in our bed much, but you just have to stick with it, and it's never easy, especially if they kick and scream a lot. Good luck, sorry I rambled on. Him getting up in the night also started when he learned to get out of his crib, and we moved from and apt to a house that we bought, so I don't know if some of it had to do with being scared

We tried everything to get our daughter out of our bed and I'm not sure if any of it worked or she was just ready.We did decorate her rooom with tinkerbell wall stickers and Tickerbell was going to watch her while she slept.We also picked out a special doll at the store that she could only get if she promised to sleep in her own room.Nothing woked immediatly but it seemed when we relaxed about it but still gently coaxed one day she slept through the night in her room and she has been basicly in there ever since of course i have to add that she was closer to 3 when it finally happened Good luck

I'm going to recommend Ferber's book. It is a bit of a "tough love" situation, but if you don't want her sleeping in your bed, the sooner you get this nipped in the bud, the better for everyone. You may have to put a gate up to keep her in her room, and she may spend a few nights sleeping on the floor at the gate (having cried herself to sleep there) but you need to get her to understand that YOU decide where she sleeps, not her.

Good luck. You have a couple tough nights a head of you, but everyone will sleep better once you get this solved!

I like Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution. There is either an entire book or at least a secion devoted to older toddlers like your dauther. She is big on routine, and doing soothing things so your daughter isn't scared.
You didn't say anything about nap time. How is that going?? I'm surprised that she is waking up during the transfer enough to cry to come back into your bed. I'm wondering if she is getting enough sleep through out the entire day. You might need to adjust nap time a bit. but i would still be giving a 2 yr old a nap.
Co sleeping isn't for everyone but That doesn't mean it's a bad thing.
In my personal experience, i slept on my daughters floor until she could handle it. most nights i would wake up or hubby would wake me up and i would finish the night in my bed, sometimes I would have to go back over it all depended. It was rough, but i wasn't willing to do CIO because my daughter was a vomiter and i refused to deal with that at the end of a long day.
The good thing, that i wish someone would have reminded me of, is that usually by age 5 they figure it out and sleep just fine, You just have to work it out in your own way the best you can until then.

I understand your pain and know it well! As odd as this will sound, it worked for us...twice. Get a full size big girl bed. Ours had princess sheets and just a simple quilt on top (no coordinating fancy set) and our sons is cars sheets with plain blue comforter on top. It made all the difference. Neither of my kids would sleep in a toddler bed. My son's is actually a fully stretched out futon so it's lower to the ground than a regular bed. Both kids loved their big kid beds and slept in them immediately. Good luck.