How Do You Break Your Toddlers Bad Habits Without Losing Your Mind??

Why not buy him a new "Chair" that can take the place of his beloved swing??? Take him shopping with you and let him have a choice in what it is. There are some adorable child sized chairs out there that are not to expensive. Maybe one with a cartoon character or sesame street character on it.Or could you have him just cuddle up with you or Dad on the sofa to watch his Elmo? As for the napping in his chair...that is going to be a different matter altogether...I can forsee some real struggles with this!!! It may be that he is going to just give up his naps without his chair...but it was going to happen soon anyway so...don't fight that too hard. Could you talk him into just laying in his bed with some books to look at, and see if he doesn't fall asleep on his own at naptime?
One other thing that I want to mention...even though you didn't ask about this. My youngest daughter paid a horrible price for my putting her to bed with a bottle when she was a baby. She developed "bottle mouth"...and had cavities in her front baby teeth that actually traveled down the root to the permanent teeth!!! I would not recommend allowing a child to have a bottle in bed at night. It keeps the milk/formula in contact with their teeth all night long as they wake and comfort themselves with the bottle. I Wonder if you could just let her have water in her bottle in the crib? I know...another battle to fight!!!

A new chair that is for his age would be great. One of those soft foam ones that flip out to little beds or even an inexpensive rocking chair maybe??

Even if it is a issue in the begging, I'd warn him with a day count down. 3 days till we don't have the baby chair any more, 2 days till we don't have the baby chair any more and the night he goes to bed, get it out of the house before he wakes in the morning!! It may be an issue for him but remind him he is a big boy and that was meant for babies. He should be better within a few days about the whole thing. Kids are more resilient than we think sometimes.

Good luck!
S.

I didn't make it thru your post or read the others. I do not see this as a bad habit. I nearly always have to read at least a few pages before I go to sleep. Is that a bad habit? Whatever works seems OK to me.

If swinging and watching elmo helps him get to sleep, provide a larger swing. You can make a swing with rope, a pressure bar used for chin ups put in the door way and a sturdy piece of plastic or wood. Or you can make a wooden frame.

Or get him a child size rocking chair and teach him how to rock.

As to sitting in swing for naps. It works. Transition him to a rocking chair.

You said that the earlier transitions from pacifiers, bottles worked. So transition him from the swing.

Actually, I finished reading your post and it sounds to me that the swing is still safe for him to use. So why don't you just let him use it? I am very confused. Doesn't sound like he has any bad habits. Sounds like he's a normal kid who has found something that is comfortable for him but it doesn't fit in with what you think he should be doing. Let go of the should and let him use what works.

When it's close to the time that the swing is too small, begin transitioning him to something else that is similar; that provides him with the same sense of comfort and security.

I think that you are a smart mama to have let him continue to use the swing. So stop blaming yourself. Life would be easier for a lot of people if they would focus on what works. You are doing fine!

I am not sure I see a problem. Maybe he is more comfortable in the swing and it helps him regulate to be able to go to sleep. It seems he just likes it and if he fits in it , then why not let him do it? Sometimes our bodies will tell us what we need as far as sensory imput and maybe he needs that before bed. Most of us have a routine before bed to get us ready. This seems very easy and not something I would take away from him. He is so young so I am assuming his crying is a way of telling you he may need that.
L.

You've written "obviously he is getting too old and too big to be getting in a baby swing every night," but I'm having trouble understanding why that is so obvious. Is it because he's actually getting too big to fit into it? It sounds like he still finds it comfortable. You mention that it's well made, so apparently his safety is not at risk. So I guess I'm wondering whether your reluctance to let him keep up this comforting ritual is based on some physical fact, or the idea of a "baby" swing, or the idea that it's a bad habit. I really wish you could explain why you find it a "bad" habit.

If all moms of sleep-resistant babies could find such a sure-fire, and relatively harmless, way to help their little ones unwind for sleep, I'll bet they'd jump at it. Your little guy is unwound and ready for sleep after half an hour in his comfortable chair, so much so that you can even put him in bed awake. That would sound nearly miraculous for lots of weary moms of poor sleepers. Since I don't understand what your objection is (maybe you have a really good one), I'd say let him keep the swing ritual until he can't comfortably fit in it any longer. An older child is usually easier to reason with, not harder.

I'm actually more interested in his watching canned entertainment before bed. Are you certain that at least part of the lure of the swing isn't that he also gets to watch Elmo? There's a fair amount of research into brain patterns that suggests TV is stimulating, addictive, and counterproductive to good sleep. If he's only getting half an hour a day, and his sleep is normal, there's apparently no real harm being done. But I'd be watching for a growing need or demand from him for more screen time, and the onset of sleep difficulties or nightmares, just in case.

If you are committed to getting him out of the swing, how about not making it a cold-turkey double loss for him all at once, since sudden losses can throw a toddler's sleep AND behavioral patterns off. Try allowing the swing but cutting off the tube, for example. Maybe you could read a book or play music for him while he swings. If he makes that adjustment for a week or two, try reducing the swing time by 5 minutes a week. You might be able to ease him out of this routine with relatively little stress for either of you.

Finally, look at what Dr. Harvey Karp does with toddler wants and demands in a series of interviews regarding his book The Happiest Toddler on the Block. He empathizes with demanding, crying, whining or tantruming children, emoting right alongside them, until they recognize he understands their expressed desires. This is very calming, and then the parent can introduce alternatives that the child can better hear. I have found it to work well with a number of small children I occasionally work with. Start with this video, then check out other related ones and see whether this helps you and your son:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ1428uYs2g&NR=1&f...

Honestly, why not just get a toddler/childs swing chair? Ikea has some that bolt into the ceiling... as do several other stores.

As an adult I LOVE sleeping in a boat. The rocking motion is the most amazing thing. If I could sleep on a boat 7/365 I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Anyhow... the child's swing chair would work for the next 6 years or so... at any point he may just tire of it on his own... or if not, you'll actually be able to have a reasoned discussion with your 8yo that's just not possible with a 2 year old.

I am not sure why it is wrong.
You can replace the swing by a toddler rocking chair (my son loves his Fisher price bouncer-rocker). Then, you can put the little one to bed while he enjoys the chair.
I don't know which method you tried to wean him from the bottle and from the pacifier, but, as it was successful, you may try the same?

Have you tried finding a child-size rocking chair for him to use instead? He obviously likes the motion of the swing, so maybe if he had a rocking chair to sit in, it would be a more appropriate piece of furniture that still gives him the save movement.

You say he uses the chair like an old man uses his recliner, have you thought about just getting him a more age appropriate recliner to transition to? My daughter's swing transitioned into a toddler rocking chair and she still uses it. A lot of furniture stores have the toddler recliners that your son could still nap in until you are ready to fight that battle.

Hope that helps.

My 2 year old daughter started wanting to go in the door bouncer again when we brought it back out for our 6 month old. I didn't want to let her do it at first, but she is still meets the weight limits and she really enjoys it. I decided to just get over it for now, there are enough other things to worry about. I figure she will either tire of it or become too big and not want to use it anymore on her own. I can see the frustration with nap time as it might be uncomfortable for him to sleep in it. But, again, if that is the reason stress how comfortable the bed is. If he still wants to sleep in the chair, then that is his decision.

Get a child sized rocker or recliner. He simply has to understand he's too big, if he is. But like the other mom said, is he too big to get in? If it's really getting dangerous, by all means throw out the chair. If not, it sounds like a routine that's working.

Is there a way you can take a screw out so that the chair sits on the ground? That way maybe when he asks to sit in it you can tell him its broken?
Or better yet, just be honest with him- tell him he's getting too big to sit in the chair, but you'd love it if he sat on the couch like mommy and daddy do, or even in your lap for a little bit.
:)

Wow-this is a tough one. He is in control already . Taking the chair out of the house is a good call. Could you change to CD's with a CDplayer and Veggie Tales music or something like that. Maybe read 1-2 books, sing one song, have prayers and then to bed. At that gae only 2-3 nights of crying ought to clear this up. And we do believe in discipline to obey when put to bed to stay. You do whatever you believe in, but you are the Mom and in charge.

I would suggest maybe getting him his own little recliner or another type of comfy kids chair to replace the swing. That way he still has a chair to sit in and watch his tv before bed that is a little more age appropriate.

How about trying those fold out foam kids "couches" they sell at Target, Walmart and Toys R Us? They have themes (like Cars, Spiderman, etc.) and cost around $40. He could sit on it like a couch or he can fold it out and lie down on it. My daughter is five years old and has had one for about two years now. She loves it and it doesn't take up a lot of room. You could tell him it is his "big boy" chair!!

Here's a link:
http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3250686

Good Luck!

What about getting him a bean bag chair or a little recliner? (They do sell toddler sized recliners!) Then tell him he's too big for the swing, it's really for babies, but he can use his new big boy chair! My 2 year old has fallen asleep in his big sister's bean bag chair on occassion, so I know it's comfy! He also likes to sit in it and watch TV while I'm working. Just a suggestion! Don't beat yourself up, sounds like you have a really good handle on everything.

Have you tried buying him a small rocking chair or one of those little chairs that are rounded and they sit right in it and there feet can stll touch the floor.Only a suggestion. Good luck

Remove the swing from the house and replace it with a mini recliner