My Child won't fall asleep in his bed without me there

Nikki - posted on 01/31/2010

i am in the same situation! my 20 month old daughter is having a rough time with separation anxiety especially at night time. she slept fine before about a week ago, it just hit all of a sudden. we are still sticking to the same bedtime routine, nothing has changed. i feel for you. thank you for posting, it is nice to see that i am not alone here! good luck! :)

Millie - posted on 01/31/2010

Thankyou for all the responses, It has been a real help. I'm going supernanny.

I would have loved to keep him in a crib for longer.. but I've got a 5month old girl who needs it now and my little son is such a monkey who scales the crib .. no problems.

Guess it's all part of growing up :)

Kelly - posted on 01/18/2010

Do you already have him out of a crib? My daughter is almost 18mo and i sure am not ready to have her in a toddler bed. I would put him in a crib and just let him cry it out. I know its hard i usually have to go outside until my daughter falls asleep.

Lizanne - posted on 01/18/2010

omg, Colleen, I think I saw the very same episode of Supernanny!! I did the same technique with my daughter, and it did take a few nights, but it did work!

Call it abandonment issues or testing the boundries, whatever the reason kids do this, it's also a clear jump in their development which is a good thing too, right? ;)

Good luck Millie!

Colleen - posted on 01/18/2010

He's probably just realised he's all alone in there!! Shame. Has he got a nightlight? You have to teach him to stay there without closing the door as a way of keeping him in. You gonna have to go supernanny on him.



Follow your ritual and put him to bed. When he hops out of bed talk to him nicely about falling asleep without you, one more cuddle and back to bed. Next time.. take him back to bed and tuck him in.....no talking. Next time, same thing.....back to bed no talking. Keep doing this until he stays there. May take a few times or may be an all nighter but don't give up! Do this every night until he learns that you're not giving in to him and accepts that he has to fall asleep without you holding his hand.



Another way is like the above only after you put him down you sit at the end of the bed (no hand holding or touching) until he falls asleep. The next night you move to a chair across the room, again no talking or touching. The following night you sit in the doorway. Then the next night you move outside the doorway and into the passage. He may get up to see if you're there still. In that case just tell him "bedtime" and take him back to bed and go back into the passage. Hopefully he'll then fall asleep knowing you're still nearby and be able to do it without checking on you the next night in which case you can get back to your own life!!



When you decide to start a training routine, don't give in for one second or you'll be back to square one. Goodluck and hope something works.