I have a almost 2 year old son who won't go to bed at night. He has been sleeping in a toddler bed since March. He used to just get up after we put him to bed and play in the dark for a little while but then would get back in his bed and go to sleep. Now he has started getting up and playing for hours after we lay him down. He has also learned how to get out of his room. We have put the child proof handles on the door knobs but he has already figured out how to open them. We are scared that he will get up in the middle of the night and go downstairs or get into the bathroom cabinets. All the doors have childproof handles but it doesn't seem to stop him. How do I keep him in bed? Are there any other devices to keep kids from opening doors?
A friend's daughter had a similar problem and they left the door partly open, but put a child gate locked in place in the door way. There was some crying and frustration the first couple of nights, but it solved the problem and soon she stayed in bed and slept through the night again. I think they may have found a taller than normal gate and put it slightly off the ground so she couldn't climb it. She was 2 1/2.
we would put my son back in his bed over and over.he finally got the idea. he was 2 1/2 when he was put in a twin bed from his crib.
maybe he is too young and not ready for a bed and not a crib(?)
i'm with another post. i'm not comfortable with closed doors or locking doors. i still have a monitor in my almost 3year old daughters room (who is still in a crib b/c she is so small and can still fit in one..lol) so if he or she gets up i can hear both of them. we partially close the doors but leave them half open so they know we are always there.
i have heard of doing that, locking the door and letting the kid cry till they fall asleep and some moms would find the child at the door asleep..that would just break my heart too much.
compared to many stories i hear i'm probably pretty darn lucky when it has come to sleep with my two.
i would say if he is too big for a crib and you don't want to try a crib tent( if he is climbing out),, then the gate at the door would be a good safety device that would still give him the feeling you haven't locked him away with out any contact from you.
good luck
Hey A.!
Ihad/have the same problem with my son. The first full night sleep I think he got was on his 3rd birthday. I think part of it was the naps during the day, and the lack of fresh outside air. Even now, and Andrew is 6, if he doesn't get enough outside activity, it is hard to keep him in bed. If I use a TV he stays awake, toys in bed he just plays. Last night even, he woke at 1:30 to potty and at 3 was still up putting puzzels together. I will say a prayer for you, because I know how exhausting it is. If you can find the book The Sleep Fairy, you might try that too, he may be a little young yet, but it seemed to help some with my son at that age.
My oldest son is the last to bed and the first up. He seems to thrive on just five hours of sleep or so. In the morning he gets up a few hours before us, he use to go downstairs and watch tv but now he just goes to the living room on the same level and watches tv. Although he is 7. Maybe you could provide him with a tv in his room so he can watch it in the morning. If you are concerned about not hearing him. Put doorbells on his room doorknob. You know the ones that businesses have to let them know a visitor has entered. They bang around on the door and annoy you...those should wake you up or alert you to the fact that he is up. Does he still take naps during the day? Maybe cut those out or cut back on the length of them so he sleeps longer at night. Sometimes a full belly helps too. A nighttime HEALTHY snack.
You could also you a hook and eye closure at the top of his door on the outside but I think the law would be against that since that is more like locking your child in his room. (But they'll fault you if they find him wandering the neighborhood too.) :-)
wow, I have never closed my childrens doors when they are in bed. My daughter did that for a while but her door was never closed. I know that they recomend that you close there doors for fire saftey but I felt better not having a closed door between us so I could hear her. I agree with the last response with the baby gate. Try that. Just keep putting him back to bed. It will get better as time goes on. Let him pick out things to sleep with. I allowed my daughter to sleep with what ever she wanted to make her feel safe. She is 15 now and still sleeps with a night light(TV) on. Hope this helps you and the best of luck.
Hey there!
How about you try putting a baby gate infront of the door of his room. If the door opens out put a baby gate in, the door and keep the door open. If the door opens in, put the gate as close to the door as you can. I would do it so the door is open and you can see what he is doing. Also, you may want to try getting a longer baby gate and putting it so he can not get out of his room, it just depends on what kind of a room he has. What ever you decide to do, I hope it is resolved quickly. Good luck!
we put a baby gate just outside the door. We actually got the kind you fasten to the wall. The pressure ones, my son would push on and pop it out. He seems excessively strong. :)
Like someone else said. naps were the issue for a while. We now make sure he's not sleeping after 2:30. And getting outside play b/t 3-8 whenever possible. And our son will actually put himself to bed most nights.
I understand the Door handle things, our son had them figured out after only 1 day. what a waste. Plus, we found that after dinner if we prepared him that he'd play for a while then then it would be time to go to bed, he was much more willing to go.
With my kids, their room was on a different level in the house than mine. I was always scared they would get up in the middle of the night and get into something, so I put a baby gate in their doorway and always had a baby monitor in their room. This helped me.
You could always buy a doorknob with a lock on it and put the lock on the outside. It's the same concept as the childproof doorknob handles - trying to keep your child in his room.
