Ideas to Get Toddler to Stay in His Bed

I think you need to decide whether the pallet in your room is staying or going. If he is to sleep in his bed, then get rid of the alternative.

You do realize that, as he gets older (and bigger/physically stronger), it will just get harder to break this habit...? 18-24 months from now, he could be a 4/5 yo and still doing this.  I would also be concerned about the spinal and skeletal support he is getting for the majority of the night; small children grow so quickly and I seem to recall hearing that their mattress should have a certain firmness (not too firm, not too soft).

Of course, having a small child in your bedroom every night takes a hit on your couple time and intimacy with your husband.

And, being that we're in TX also... All the spiders try to get in the house during the hot summer months. Not sure how close he is to the floor and bedroom windows, but i'd want any blankets and whatnot off the floor.

If it doesn't bother you and he seems rested, I'd leave well enough alone. If you do think it's best for the family for him to sleep the night in his own room (i.e you are getting woken up by him), why don't you wait until school is out for the summer then try? That way him waking the older one up won't be a big deal. Super Nanny says to walk them back to bed and tell them "it's bedtime" the first time, then do it silently and without emotion after that. No response is the key. He'll scream and cry but will work eventually as long as you keep it up. Good luck!

If you don't want to use a gate, try using the supernanny technique

The first time he gets up and comes in take him to his room and tell him everything is fine, give him a kiss and tuck him in. The second time he comes in take him back to his room and give him a kiss but say nothing. Everytime after that say nothing, just put him to bed and leave. Not that this is going to eliminate the crying. Gosh I don't know what will do that! She has another technique where she has the mom sit by the bed and move further away every nite. But I think that is more for kiddos who don't go to bed in the first place.

You could look up supernanny.com and see if she has any other tips. She has great advice and I've never seen her use a gate. Although I have seen her let kiddos cry.

My two girls just started sharing a room. We are having another baby and needed the nursery. They actually sleep through the night and sleep until 7 versus 545 but getting them to sleep is a nightmare. Tonight we will be trying different bed times. 730 for the 2 year old, 8 for the 4 year old.

Night time is just not the funnest! I wish you luck! Oh and if you let your son continue to sleep on your floor, he will continue to do it. In my experience through friends. Unfourtunately it is not like peeing their pants! My friends son was 9! This may be an issue that must be forced a little.

Good luck.

My personal opinion is that i would just let him sleep in your room. My Autistic son climbs in my bed every night. He falls asleep in his bed then wakes up anywhere between 11-5am. I am a single mom so it doesn't bother me most of the time but I don't sleep a lot since he moves around a lot, and his knees, elbows are always digging in my back. He has been doing it since he was a baby cause he was a very sick baby so he slept in my bed a lot then he got used to it cause it was his comfort zone but since he turned 5 last week he started sleeping all night in his room:-) I think it's okay unless he is harming someone. I would not push it, it could just make matters worse. I hope this helps.
M.