2 1/2 Year Old Won't Stay in His Bed!

My daughter was about the same age when we moved to a new house and she wouldn't stay in her bed. Finally on Dr's advice I did what he said and it worked! The first night you put him back to bed 1 time w/hug and kiss then sit outside his door and send him back to bed each time without opening door or having any more conversation. He will probably cry himself to sleep the first, second and third night but no matter how long it takes you have to stick to it. By the 4th night he'll stay in bed. You think the 4th night will never come but it does.

I'm not sure what to do to solve the problem, but he is only small once and one day he will no longer need or want his mom for comfort. His friends, school, sports will all consume his life and fufill his needs for a while and then he grows up and comes back to the reality of hugs and kisses from mom as an adult, but never to the extent of not caring what the consequences of his behavior is. I recommend cherishing him, holding him tight, reading to him and giving him mommy moments to remember. (Before bed time would be great) You did not say if you work or not, but I suspect that as he has gotten a bit older, he's starting to learn about love and affection and is now starting to crave more attention from you. As did my little boy around this age. Give him all the affection and nurturing that he wants, also make sure his dad does too and is a good role model for him, he will grow up one day to be a daddy and will hopefully use what he was taught at home about love and nurture to be the greatest daddy on Earth.

I started my girls on a schedule very early. I would put them in bed at 7 and let them watch tv until 8. At 8 o'clock I would turn off their tv and make them go to sleep. Now, I just make them go to bed at 8 with no tv and I don't have any trouble getting them to bed, they are usually asleep by 5 or 10 minutes after 8. I love the schedule and all of my friends are jealous that I have them asleep with no problems and at 8 every night, even on weekends. It just takes keeping them on a steady schedule.

Have you tried to put a baby gate in his bedroom door? He may cry at the gate for awhile, but eventually he'll get the clue when he can't leave his room. Whatever you decide to do, just stay consistant and GOOD LUCK:-)

We have recently started making our kids sleep in their own bed. We have had great success, but we do have 3 kids and they sleep together most of the time. Normally we put them down to bed watching a movie of their choice and they fall asleep during it. Maybe you could try putting him down a little earlier with a movie and see if he will fall asleep with that. Kids change and it is hard for us to understand but just be patient and hang in there.

C.,

We just went through the same exact thing with our son! This may sound mean, but it worked:

We bought a plastic doorknob cover so that our son couldn't open his own door. For a week or so he got out of bed, tried opening the door (but couldn't) yelled, screamed and pounded on the door for 20-40 min. and then gave up and went to bed on the floor behind the door. Then my husband would go in before he went to bed and move our son from the floor to his bed, cover him up and leave the door open just a little bit so he could get out in the morning when he woke up. After the first week, he still got out of bed and went to sleep behind the door, but gave up on trying to get out. We did that for several months and then told him that we'd leave the door open just a little bit if he'd stay in his bed and that's what we do now. We leave the door open an inch or so. Once or twice since he's tried to come out. On those occasions we gave him 1 or 2 warnings that if he comes out we'd close the door and then stuck to it so that he'd know we were serious.

It worked great for us...Good luck!

Amy :)

When you put him back in his bed do you talk to him? I was dealing with the same issues with my 3 year old. I found what worked best for us is if when he got out of bed for every single excuse in the book, we'd calmly and matter-of-factly march him right back to his bed, cover him up and walk out the door. Every time he got out we'd do the same exact thing... no eye contact, no talking, no nothing. He is looking for attention and a reason to be with you. Yelling, spanking, threatening, pleading only get you upset and give him attention (even if it is negative). If it is not fun or rewarding to be with you he'll eventually get the message. We started his bed time routine doing the same thing every night. REading books, then sit in rocking chair for no more than 5 minutes, then he then lays in bed while I rub his back for 1 minute. I preface it with "okay, I'll rub your back for 1 minute then it is bedtime". It worked for us. If he has had a rough day, then sometimes it could take a few attempts or a couple more minutes, but for the most part we found it highly successful. The key is though no eye contact and no talking, or emotion.
Hope this helps! Let me know, I'll be anxious to hear!

I agree with Jennifer. I think you should take advantage of this time with him and snuggle as much as you can. He's only two. They grow up so fast and soon he wont want to snuggle at all. Snuggle with him in his bed or in yours or the couch and when he falls asleep, put him in his bed. He will eventually go to sleep on his own in his bed. Mine all did. And I held all of them and I don't regret a moment of that precious time with them!

I have a Nephew & Niece that did the same thing, got out of bed & went to their parents bed. its a Cycle they go thru.

As he grows older, he will want to sleep in his bed.

I would relax, & let him do this.

Have you tried putting him to bed after he goes to sleep in your bed? That might work.

Also, if you have another baby, He will want to stay in his bed, so he can protect the baby in the baby's room.

Try these ideas, & let me know if any works.
Poshall

This calls for harsh measures.....no just kidding! Go ahead and make him a pallet at your door with the pillow and blanket. If he doesn't mind this....slowly take away an item...first teddy bear, then pillow....he'll eventualy decide the bed is the most comfortable place. If this doesn't work, talk to him about being a "big" boy and how "big" boys don't sleep with their momma and get teased about this at school.