28 Month Old Won't Sleep in His Toddler Bed! Help!

I've been there. We got to the point where we will lay w/ her and read until she falls asleep. However, we have friends that would put him back in bed, and then be "there" sitting in bed, then at the door, then in the hall - so he know he wasnt' alone... and kept putting him back in. Took forever, but was a bit softer approach. I couldnt' do either, so she is in with us by 4am - at 3 years old. I've made the choice to "enjoy" it while I can. We each have to do what's right. Hope you find a solution for you guys - no sleep is no fun!

Stop putting him in your bed..........be very serious and let him know that he needs to sleep in his.......you might lay down with him until he falls asleep in HIS bed, but do not allow him in yours anymore......if you have to, put a gate up at his door..........

Tell him he is getting to be a big boy and he needs to sleep in his big boy room.......you may end up with some crying or yelling, but he will figure it out......does he nap in his big bed? Make sure you have toys in there that he can play with in the mornings and that his room is very safe.....explain to him that your bed isn't big enough because he is getting to be such a BIG boy and that he has to sleep there.......you might also try putting up glow in the dark shapes on his walls and ceiling......kids like those.

Maybe some soft music playing in his room would help as well at night....

He'll figure it out, hopefully before you drop from exhaustion! Take care and good luck.

Unfortunently it will prob. be hard and a little heart breaking but nip it in the bud. My oldest would protest his new bed too and we did the suppernanny way
http://www.supernanny.com/Advice/-/Your-toddler/-/Toddler...

I worked with in a couple of days. work and patience yes, but results did happen.

Good Luck.

There is a book called "Good night sleep tight" by Kim West, that could really help you with this situation, it helped me so much I can't even tell you. The idea is to let your child know that you are there for them whiling teaching them how to go to sleep on there own with that security she tells you how to create that security. I highly recommend this book. Read the first three chapters then go to the section on your child's age.
Good Luck.
It helps my kids to know that I am close by, and my son likes me to tell him I will check on him in a while. I do check on him then the next day say you looked so peaceful sleeping when I checked on you or something like that then they know you kept your word.

We just moved DS (26 mos) to a toddler bed, and dealt with the same. He wouldn't stay in there.
We knew there was no way we were ever taking him into our bed (for the reason you described), so we just reversed the door handle and locked him in.
Sounds cruel, I know, but at no point did we just let him scream for hours on end.
The first few nights were hard. We were in there a lot laying on the floor, sneaking out, doing it again...
We'd lock the door, and when we heard him get out and jiggle the handle, we'd go in there. It's been a week, and he now understands that when the door ist locked, it's time for 'night night', and generally will go back to bed on his own. Some nights he cries and we go in and put him back down (no talking, no interaction). Some times he doesn't make a peep. But overall, the locked door is how we got him to associate sleep and staying in bed.
I posted on this not too long ago and got flamed for "lazy parenting". Do what you are comfortable with and what you know your child will respond to. But you have to break the habit now, and it may require some crying. :(

I had the same problem. I put a good sturdy gate the my sons bedroom and shut him in a night so that he had to stay in his room. He would fall asleep at the gate in the floor most nights and I would move him to his bed. He gradually started sleeping in the bed instead of the floor. I turned the baby monitor off in our room ( I could hear his complaints just fine without) and let him cry it out. Our pediatrician promised that the crying and complaining would stop after a week and that it would not hurt him to sleep in the floor or cry for hours. That first week was horrible to our ears and my mommy heart, but my husband made me stick to it (Mens hearts must be made of steel). The more you give in the longer it will take to stop the fussing. Keep that in mind every time you think of giving in. I have followed that advise with both of my boys and it all worked out. My daughter went straight to the toddler bed. I'm not sure what I did different if anything. Maybe it's just that she is a girl and completely and total different than my boys. She is putting me through issues that my boys never did though so I guess I still have lots of learning to do.

My daughter would get out of bed, I would put her back, she would get out again. This went on and on for hours sometimes. So what I did (I saw this on Super Nanny) is sit in her room on the floor, my back to her w/ my head down, no talking to each other until she would fall asleep. She always stayed in her bed and wouldn't get up. She would try to talk to me but I just had to ignore her. I did this for about a week and it worked like a charm! A friend of mine recently tried this on her 2 yr old son and it worked for her too. Good luck!

My daughter just turned 2 and i have a hard time getting her to stay in her bed. She has a gate at her door, so she can't get out and i usually find her asleep in the rocking chair. I know you are so exhausted and giving up and bringing him to bed with you, but now he knows that if he whines and cries enough, he will get what he wants. I understand being exhausted and just wanting sleep so doing whatever you need to get it. However, once you give in, he wins, and will continue to do fight you. When we first did the toddler bed, my daughter would get out and come to her gate and cry and cry and i kept putting her back in her bed. It took about a week or so, but she stopped crying when i put her in. She cries more when daddy puts her to bed because she knows he will give in to her. I agree with nancy. Get some ear plugs or put a gate up or the door knob cover. Let him cry, let him fall asleep on the floor. Just don't give in to him.

I say put up a gate so he can not get out of his room. You will hear his scream and cry but that is better than him coming in your bed. it will be awhile since he thinks he can be in your bed. I would keep reinforcing that he has his own place to sleep.... my sister in law put up colored Xmas lights in the room to decorate it and that helped her toddler transition...not sure if it will work for you but its worth a try.

If he won't stay in his bed, get a knob cover so he can't get out of his room, and buy some earplugs for everyone else. You created this by taking the easy way out---now you have to fix it, which is harder and takes more time---something to think about the next time you want to solve a problem.