Getting a 2 year old to go to bed

Ruth - posted on 10/24/2009

i let my 2 yr old daughter watch cartoons in my bedroom; around 8-8:30 pm; she usually falls asleep shortly after that; by 9 the latest; then i either take her into her room; or she stays w/ me; if i fall asleep; she always sleeps thru the nite; & gets up good for me around 7:30 am; for school

Abbie - posted on 10/13/2009

How long do you let him scream? Is there a rountine to let him know its time for bed? Sometimes they cry because they are SO tired. What we did, is we rock with his bottle ( see we all have our battles.... LOL) then I kiss him good night once his bottle is done, oh and bottle and rocking are done in HIS room! Then I put him in bed, at first it would be 20 minutes of screaming, but then he'd sleep, NOW, on a bad night 10 minutes on a good night NONE!



Also What time are you putting him down? We found we were putting our son down too early! So we pushed it back an hour, and the crying is less. But I agree with the MOM that said they are fine and just want you, some will say letting them cry is mean! I personally don't think that if they have all their needs met except Mommy being there. Also one thing we have in our sons room is a FAN that helps as a white noise!

Janice - posted on 10/13/2009

My son is also 2. We make sure the house is not "loud" about 30min before we put him to bed ( dim the lights, turn the tv down or off) He then gets a bath, brushes his teeth, story time, prayers, and singing. Also, in the begining he we would shut the door and even though he has a night light he would cry and cry. So, we leave the door open and he goes to sleep (once he falls asleep we close it part way). He does have his "off" nights. When he doesn't want to go to bed we simply walk him back to his room, put him back in bed and walk out. That way he is not getting the attention he wants and he goes to sleep :)

** We also leave a book in the bed with him and he flips through it till he gets sleepy enough to go to sleep. It prevents him from climbing out of bed and playing with his toys.

Tina - posted on 10/13/2009

w/ my 2 yr old twins it was up and down up and down @ night so I got them a small flashlight and they get to pick a book to take to bed. Now they go to bed w/ their light and they pick the book and off to bed peacefully. It took about 4 nights because they wanted to pick another book but I just told them that they could hv another book tomorrow night, they r sooo excitedover picking out and taking a book they r actually happy little campers @ bedtime...they read their book and roll over to sleep..hope it helps

Peggy - posted on 10/13/2009

Routin is the best thing! The hardest part in not setting the routin but sticking to it. I don't watch a lot of super nany but the few shows that I have seen deals with this problem a lot and it all comes back to routin. What you don't want to do is a lot of over stimulous activities before bed time, but calming ones like a nice warm bath, a last snack and drink (nothing with a bunch of sugar), then some great stories. Decide how many books are going to be read and stick to that number of books each night if you decide to do reading. Don't forget to let them take ownership in their routin by picking out the snacks (you pick a few that they can choose from) as well as the books. Tiring them out is great as long as it is done before you do your calming activities but remember not to get them over tired. Make sure that you and your spouse are doing the same thing as well. It is hard to listen to them scream, but sometimes you have to just do it and give it a week or so. Good luck!

Stephanie - posted on 10/13/2009

Have you tried just letting him scream it out? I know that it is awful, but sometimes they are screaming just to get your attention. When we were trying to break my son of going to sleep with me, my Husband would make us both leave the room for 5 to 10 minutes and let him scream it out. 9 times out of 10, he fell asleep before the 10 minutes were up. We weren't hurting him, we were just teaching him that we are not going to bow to his every command simply because he screams. Food, Diaper Changes, Milk...Yes we will take care of that right away, but when you know that your son is perfectly fine and just fighting sleep...you need to let him know that you are the boss and screaming isn't acceptable. (I know how hard it is to do, but it worked for me.)

Crystal - posted on 10/13/2009

I still have that issue with my 4 year old! We have tried the bedtime story, watching a bed time movie, a playground works the best but recently we have started with 1 monie (30min or less) and then the lights go out! (nothing on) I just lie down with her and say it bed time (you may want to try soothing music too but it kept my daughter up) and I stay there untill she goes to sleep. A small warning though I have fallen asleep severl times doing this with her set your alarm before putting her to bed so someone wakes up! LOL

Nadine - posted on 10/13/2009

I have the same issue. But sometimes, especially now that the weather is getting bad, we go to an indoor playground in the evening for 3 hours and just chase him around. My husband and me take turns. When it's time to go to bed he is so worn out that he wants to go to bed, he even asks for it. Of course it is not a everyday solution but it is nice for those few times it happens