How do I get my 2 year old to sleep in his own bed, all night??

Anita - posted on 03/06/2009

Go cold turkey on this one. He is contoling you and is the boss. you have got to switch this around. When they are screeming at you just remember it will pay off in the long run to be tough. Take care of his every need but don't let him in bed with you. its ok to have boundries and they have got to learn them sometime. My husband sometimes would say to me when I just wanted to give in and let them sleep with us " you are giving in for you not them, if you really cared about them you would not have "to much"mercy". It might make your heart break to hear them cry when you tell them no go back to sleep with out mommy but its OK.

They will learn independants, self control, obedience, and you might find that after a while they don't wake up as much in the night because there is no reason to. Mommy will just say no.

Kate - posted on 03/06/2009

When my little boy wakes up in the night he just wants me to sit with him till he goes off to sleep again. I have a bean bag in his room so that if I am there a long time aIcan get comfy. Now it just takes a few minutes for him to go back off.

Debra - posted on 03/06/2009

Our little one was allergic to milk and so he was really poorly for the first 2 months of his life and spent nights in my arms. And for space reasons he was sleeping in our room till he was 2, waking up at least 3 times a night and most nights ending up in our bed. when he finally got his own bedroom we bought a racing car bed and made a big fuss about it being a big boys room. It was the best thing that ever happened, he oges to bed no prblems and chats to his teddies and sleeps through the night. If he does wake up upset and we are in are nightware we get in bed and spend the night with him but this might only happen once a month. Now the only time he sleeps in our bed is if he is ill. we have now had 5 months of really good sleep. hope this helps

Lisa - posted on 03/05/2009

Sorry don't have any advice on how to help. I wasn't any good at letting my son cry. I think he will grow out of it soon. Mine did that (would cry for me and not let me put him down until he was completely asleep). Now he seems to be doing well at sleeping through the night.

Jennifer - posted on 03/05/2009

First, make some resolutions and stick to them. If you can tell he doesn't need something (mother's have a wonderful intuition and can tell between different cries) don't go to him. Also, NEVER reward him by taking him to bed with you. You may lose a little bit of sleep this way, but it is worth it. Also, for children in toddler beds, put all the toys away so they can't get to it, leave them with a soft stuffed animal or a book if you'd like and lock the door. You don't want your wandering child to get hurt. And again, don't reward the child by allowing them in your bed. It will ruin all of your hard work to get them to stay in their bed.

Charnissa - posted on 03/05/2009

I have the same problem with my daughter who is 2 1/2 years old. only she is in a toddler bed(Crawled out of the crib w/rail up). She has now gotten to the point of not waking us up. she just crawls right up on the bed. we take her back to her room. a few hours later she is in ours again.

If you get any good advice please pass them on to me. good luck to you