Does Your Child Stay in His Big Boy Bed?

We put it a swinging baby gate at my sons door and it took a couple months of him screaming about it but he will now go right to bed no problems ....he even shuts his gate on his own as if it was a door. (his door is always open so if he REALLY needs something he can tell us but other then that he gos to bed and we wont mess with him till morning.) We stil keep the gate there so he wont come get us in the middle of the night instead he will go right back to bed, he will only yell for us if something is wrong.

Well, I am an early morning riser. So 5 am is time to get up or at least be planning on it. When our kids were young we let them climb into bed with us then. We could cuddle for awhile before we had to start the day.

Suzi

S.-

Just wanted to comment because I have a similar yet different issue and am not sure how to resolve it also. My daughter sleeps in a toddler bed (for about three or four months now) and 2 weeks ago, I started telling her after the lights were out that I would be back to check on her. It worked for 2 weeks - some whimpering but then she would fall asleep (this comes after being rocked to asleep or almost asleep for all of her life). I was floored at how easily she transitioned! Then two nights ago, it all changed! Even when she was tired (like the last two nights) she SCREAMED when I left the room. I have heard of the Supernanny approach but can't just keep putting her back into bed and leaving because she won't calm down unless I rub her back and sit in her room. When I attempt to leave, she was up and screaming and crying again. I did leave her in her room for a few minutes to see if she'd calm down but she didn't and was standing right by her door when I went back in! She doesn't even usually get out of bed in the mornings - she'll cry and we'll go in and get her or tell her to come into bed with us. I don't know at 2 how to explain to them that they have to stay in their beds? I have discussed this with my mother (who always put my sister down to fall asleep on her own, never co-slept, etc) and she said that as my sister got older, she required more attention and nurturing as she got older and sometimes it resorted to my mom or dad laying down with her in her bed in order to help her fall asleep. I can't do that as my daughter sleeps in a toddler bed, but that may be a temporary suggestion for you. My daughter also told me last night "It's scary in there" and pointed to the hallway which was dark. I asked "Why is it scary?" and she said "It's dark in there" (she does not sleep with a night light. So I put one in the bathroom in the hallway so the hallway isn't dark and one in her room but she can't fall asleep with the night light in her room because she's used to the dark and just looks at the light! I did notice the past two nights that I put her to bed 1/2-1 hour earlier than normal (because she was tired) so I am going to put her to bed at her 'normal' time and see what happens. She used to go to bed at 6:30-7 and sleep until 6 or 6:30 but now she doesn't go to sleep until 7:30-8 and gets up at the same time (sometimes later if it's on the weekends). Maybe he's just requiring less sleep at night? Does he still nap 2x a day? Maybe he just needs one nap or possibly a shorter nap. I have learned that children's sleeping habits are the hardest to deal with (in my opinion!!).

We thought we were so lucky when our guy stayed in his bed all night the first 2 nights, but the 3rd night he learned that he could come find us! What has worked for us is to put a baby gate in his doorway (just a cheap $10 one). I think it's easier for them to stay in bed when they know that it isn't an option to come find you. After the habit was established we could stop using the gate, but we still keep it handy for when he needs to check his boundaries again. (At one point we also reversed the lock to his room, which is really tough love.) Good luck!

Well we put a baby gate in the door way so our daughter can't roam the house. She is very much miss independant and will get into anything without making a sound. lots of times i will put her in bed around 7:30 but she wont go to sleep till 9:30ish. she plays quietly with her toys most of the time. she eventually either crawls back into her bed or falls asleep on the floor. most of the time we put her in bed if she falls asleep on the floor unless her room is warm then we let her sleep on the floor where it is cooler. how she sleeps so well on hardwood floors I don't know. She is like her dad on that can fall asleep anywhere.

we let her watch a movie in bed with sometimes a snack and a drink. sometimes she falls asleep and other times she is drowsy but still awake. it all depends on your schedule since our daughter really isnt on a schedule.

Ours is a pro-staller, too - isn't it amazing how their little minds figure that out so quickly! :) We've been very lucky - our 2 yr old daughter is very good about staying in her bed. One thing you might consider trying would be putting the bed rails on even though you don't really need them with the mattress on the floor. I think that helped our daughter transition from the enclosed crib to a more partially open bed. She's been in her big girl bed for three months and has only gotten out of bed twice (that I know of). We got the mesh bed rails that have straps that go under the mattress and connect. We used them while the mattress was on the floor, too, even though she didn't really need them. Although, the two times she's fallen out of the bed have been off the end instead of the sides, poor baby! We just put cushions and blankets on the floor at the end of the bed. Good luck!

I would make sure there isnt anything in his room he could really hurt himself with, put a gate in front of his door, and tell him he can get up early but he has to stay in his bedroom. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I read that once you put them down if they get up you return them to their bed and dont stay or talk you leave then each time they get up you do the same no talking dont stick around.

When we changed our son to a big boy bed at 18 months (he was getting out of his crib) we put his bed together from the beginning and we bought one of those rail/guard things that slips under the mattress and provides a rail on the side of the bed so they do not fall out. You probably want to invest in one of these to really ease your mind. We did the same thing as far as him napping in the bed at first. Then we just did his regular night routine and it worked just okay at first, where he woudl get up and come into our room and we would simply carry him back to bed. Eventually I guess he realized there wasn't much point getting out of bed if he just had to get right back in. He'll get used to it, an his new freedom and things will get back to normal soon. It sounds like you are doing everythign right to me.

My son is 2 and a half... He has done really well with his big boy bed. Here is our routine, Maybe it will offer you suggestions: We do bath (with nightime lotion afterwards), read a book with him in bed and a small light on (so it's kind of dark in there already to help him settle in), and put on the classical station on a small clock radio. We tell him it's time to go to sleep, tuck him in and give him his kisses. Then I leave and close his door completely. This has worked really well and I think the music helps him to fall asleep really quick. We were recently having problems with him getting up and the music was our savior! Hope this post helps... S.

We had a very simialr situation with our 18 month-old daughter. She did good in the toddler bed at first, but it slowly got worse and worse. It ended up where it was taking an at least an hour to get her down and she was waking up several times a night sometimes for hours at a time, then still getting up at 5:30. No body was getting ANY sleep. We tried the suppernanny technique, but it was a game to her. She would just keep coming back out with a big smile on her face. We ened up putting a baby gate in her doorway. I was originally opposed to the idea, but I was at my wit's end. Now, i think it was the best thing we could have done. We had to let her cry it out again. We used the Feber Method, where you slowly increase the amount of time that you let them cry. I had to physically put her back into bed each time, and eventually she just stayed. It worked wonders!!! Now she only crys for a few minutes if that. She is asleep by 8:30 and isn't up again until after 7. WE are all much happier people. The most important thing is to be consistent though. I knew that if I gave in once to the crying (it was REALLY hard not to) she would cry longer and harder in the future, hoping that I would rescue her again. Godd luck with your little guy. It will pass.