Training a toddler to stay in their new bed

[momee]

I just read some posts on transitioning a toddler to a bed if they're climbing out.

 

Now is the time to be moving her out of the crib though and I need some help on how to get her to stay in that new bed. It sounds like a nightmare that I thankfully forgot about with my others.

 

I see many, many restless quiet times and many spankings, help~~~~this one is a willful cutie pie!

[Ottakee]

If they are young, why not try a crib tent instead? Keeps the child safely IN the crib and eliminates the needs for restless nights and the spankings.

[momee]

I don't think it does this

"Keeps the child safely IN " because this little sweetie is a very skilled escape artist and I'd hate to think she's endanger herself by messing with it and I thought she was sound asleep, kwim?

 

Thanks for the thought though.

 

She's definitely ready to move out of her crib. It's inevitable. As much as I'd like her 9 yo sister in one, they do have to eventually move out :(

[2squared]

I put a child safety thing on the inside door knob so my precious toddlers can't get out on their own. We go through the nap/bedtime routine, I tuck them in, and then I close the door. They can't get out, and they quickly succumb to the program. My #3 always fell asleep in his bed after playing for a few mintues, but my #4 chooses to sleep on the floor at times. If she likes the floor, I like the floor. :001_smile: After they fall asleep, I crack open the door so they can get out when they wake up.

 

It might sound kinda cruel, but it's really the same thing as trapping them in a crib.

[Mrs Mungo]

I just put them back to bed. No talking, no spanking, no scolding, no attention, nothing to draw it out, nothing. Place them back in the bed until they give up. It's hard short-term, but it works best long-term.

[lynn]

I just put them back to bed. No talking, no spanking, no scolding, no attention, nothing to draw it out, nothing. Place them back in the bed until they give up. It's hard short-term, but it works best long-term.

 

:iagree: this worked for my dd. It's tiring, but it only took about a week for her to understand she needed to stay in her bed and go to sleep.

[gpsings]

We used the sleeplady shuffle in 'Goodnight Sleep tight'

We co-slept with each of our kids for the first year, transitioning them all to toddler beds around 1 year old. This method was extremely useful, and can be implemented in around 1-2 weeks.

HTH!

Edited September 29, 2010 by gpsings

[K&Rs Mom]

I just put them back to bed. No talking, no spanking, no scolding, no attention, nothing to draw it out, nothing. Place them back in the bed until they give up. It's hard short-term, but it works best long-term.

 

Yep. It may take 50 trips in a night, but it only takes a few nights. Once they get the hang of it, a nightlight on a timer is great - for us it was a little star from the dollar store, and they were allowed to come get us when the star turned off. Sticker charts worked for my older, but not the younger: stay in bed all night to get a sticker, ten or fifteen stickers wins a trip to the dollar store.

[RoughCollie]

I just put them back to bed. No talking, no spanking, no scolding, no attention, nothing to draw it out, nothing. Place them back in the bed until they give up. It's hard short-term, but it works best long-term.

 

:iagree: That worked for me. I sat in the hallway for several nights, with a good book to read, until the popping out of bed stopped.

 

For awhile, they tried getting up to go to the bathroom or to get a drink. I paid a nickel every night to the children who used the bathroom and got a drink before they went to bed. After they were asleep, they seldom woke up, so it worked great. I did suffer minor embarrassment when the boys announced to anyone who would listen that they were paid a nickel for peeing.

[gingersmom]

I just read some posts on transitioning a toddler to a bed if they're climbing out.

 

Now is the time to be moving her out of the crib though and I need some help on how to get her to stay in that new bed. It sounds like a nightmare that I thankfully forgot about with my others.

 

I see many, many restless quiet times and many spankings, help~~~~this one is a willful cutie pie!

 

If I spanked my son every time he got out of the bed he would be black and blue.

 

I slept in his bed with him till he was 2 and he slept in my bed till he was 3.

[Melissa in Australia]

I used a star chart. every night they stayed in bed the whole night they get a star. after a specified amount of stars ( about equivalent to a month) they would get to go to the toy shop and pick out a special toy. I would try to keep the whole thing very positive, what a big girl you are now etc. we might even have a look in the toy shop on what is available, just to sort of help with the motivation.

[mnemom]

Mine was very willful and switched to a big bed early (18 months). I basically sat in her room and read until she fell asleep for a few weeks. Then I would read until she was *almost* asleep then go out. I stayed for less and less time until she was used to it. It took a long time (several months), and I don't know if you have the time or stamina for it, but it did establish good sleep habits with her. She is now 5 and is an great sleeper.

[mnemom]

I have also read of a method where you give them 2 "tickets" to come out of their room each night. They could be actual tickets or small stuffed animals or whatever. They know that is how many times they can come out and once they have no more tickets it is time to sleep. Might work depending on age and personality.

[Beach Mom]

I just put them back to bed. No talking, no spanking, no scolding, no attention, nothing to draw it out, nothing. Place them back in the bed until they give up. It's hard short-term, but it works best long-term.

This worked for my very stubborn youngest. The first night it seemed like we put him back 100 times, the second night maybe 50, but by the 4th night I guess it just wasn't fun anymore and he has been a terrific sleeper ever since.

 

Those first nights, a glass of wine or a book helps the process pass by faster.

[MeaganS]

:bigear: I'm listening to the ideas too. My recently turned 2-year-old was sleeping in her bed very well until a week or two ago. She hasn't ever gone right to sleep. She usually sits and plays for 2 hours or so (Bedtime at 7, but she really enjoys just playing in there by herself for a few hours), but recently she's been climbing out to get books and come and find us. We've just been putting her right back or telling her to go back and that works ok.

[cougarmom4]

I just put them back to bed. No talking, no spanking, no scolding, no attention, nothing to draw it out, nothing. Place them back in the bed until they give up. It's hard short-term, but it works best long-term.

 

This has worked well for us, too. The key, however, is to remain totally unemotional while you're taking them back to bed--seriously no talking or explaining. That is the key and that is the hardest part for me!

[ktgrok]

It depends why she is getting out of bed. If she is scared to be alone, then sit by the bed in a chair and read a book with a book light the first few nights, not talking to her at all. Gradually start leaving the room for a few minutes at a time, until you are only sitting for a few minutes before leaving, and just checking in every so often. That is what worked for my son with virtually no stress or tears.

[ktgrok]

That's almost exactly what we did, but because he was older it only took about a week. He had coslept before then. It's so funny, everyone says that if you let them sleep with you it will be soooo hard to transition them to their own bed. but I found that it was easier, because he was old enough to understand what I was telling him.

 

Mine was very willful and switched to a big bed early (18 months). I basically sat in her room and read until she fell asleep for a few weeks. Then I would read until she was *almost* asleep then go out. I stayed for less and less time until she was used to it. It took a long time (several months), and I don't know if you have the time or stamina for it, but it did establish good sleep habits with her. She is now 5 and is an great sleeper.

[SBP]

It really depends on the child, but what worked with my DD was setting up a toddler bed in the same room with the crib. We bought some cute "big girl" bedding for it (don't remember what now, but something she liked) and told her that if she got out of bed, we'd have to move her back to the crib. She got out of bed once, and we picked up the mattress and popped it back in the crib, and she had to sleep in the crib that night instead of her cute big girl bed. That was all it took. I don't think she ever got out of bed again.

 

But as a toddler she was highly motivated to be a "big girl" - potty trained in about a day, learned to read at 3 - pretty much anything her brother was doing, she felt strongly that she should be doing as well. So the threat of the crib worked for her. I doubt it would have for my son at the same age.

 

Good luck :)

 

SBP

[Oak Knoll Mom]

:iagree: That worked for me. I sat in the hallway for several nights, with a good book to read, until the popping out of bed stopped.

 

Same here. As soon as I heard his little feet hit the floor, I went and picked him up and popped him back into bed. No talking, no interaction. Took a few days, but he learned.