How do you get your 2 year old to sleep through the night?

Kimberly - posted on 07/18/2009

Thank you so much for all your experiences. My daughter started climbing out of her bed at 18 months and when we put her in the big bed she stopped sleeping through the night just like Laura's. I've tried the rocking, I moved a twin bed in her room that I would lie on til she falls asleep and she still wakes several times a night. I walk her back to her room every time. I just keep telling myself that there aren't any 16 year olds that do this so it will end eventually (haha).

Amanda - posted on 07/17/2009

i had these issues with my eldest son who is nearly three - he always needed to be rocked and soothed to sleep and would wake countless times then end up in with me by three / four am!
i fell pregnant again quite quickly and was due when he was about 18 months so by the time i was 38 weeks i was so tired of his night time routine that i just stopped doing it - the first night i ended up on the floor next to the cot! holding his hand - the second i was next to the cot but no contact then the third night onwards i simply went in lay him down said its sleeping time and tucked him in every time he woke after three nights of that we were done! and i have done the same with my youngest he goes to bed awake - i tuck him and give him a kiss say its sleeping time and he goes to sleep! its a tough one but i think if you do what feels right you'll be ok... good luck with it though

Cristina - posted on 07/17/2009

I have let my son sleep in our bed until he falls asleep. Onces he is asleep I will carry him to his bed. What seemed to work for us was soothing music and laying in the floor next to him. Seems that he does not like to be by himself

Ashley - posted on 07/17/2009

My son is 3 now...he still doesnt sleep though the night...it is better now though. I have a hard time letting him cry it out, but that has worked the best. When he was a new born he would only sleep for 30-45 minutes at a time, at a year he was finally sleeping for an hour to an hour and a half he didnt need anything, he just wanted me...now that he is 3 and still wakes up 1-3 times a night!
What I had to do was to let him cry for 5 minutes, then 10, then 20, then 30 then an hour until he finally realized I am no longer playing his game! Let them cry til you cant stand it any longer, DO NOT PICK THEM UP! Pat their backs and walk out! Once they realize you are not running to baby them they will start putting them selves back to sleep! It's rough, but it will eventually work!

Ingrid - posted on 07/17/2009

My kids room share. They sleep through the night most night. At around 18 months they will try out the rules again as they are trying to establish their influence on the environment. It is very common for people to wake at night and toddlers are no exception. Both my kids have a sippy of water in their bed. If they wake up they get cuddled and are put back into their own bed. We have had a door knob cover on the door so they can not sneak out and hurt themselves. I always check on them when they wake up, though I do think that it causes them to wake up more, while sometimes they would go back to sleep on their own.

Laura - posted on 07/17/2009

We are working on that too! My daughter climbed out of her crib at 18 mo so we had to move her to a big girl bed. She slept GREAT until then, and now she comes in our room. We let it slide for a bit as we were all getting rested and she wasn't quite getting the gist. Now she is old enough to stay in there and understands that (and is playing us :)). I am going to pick a long weekend (or resolve myself on workdays) to just keep walking her back to her room. With mine, an added "I'll be back to check on you in a bit" seems to help for a while. Its gonna be a slow process.

Good luck!