How Do I Get My Toddler Out of My Bed?

I know how you feel! I just went through that with my daughter. What we did was put her on the floor in a sleeping bag. Every week when she would fall asleep we would pull the bag closer to the door. Once she was out the door and realized it when she woke up she ended up sleeping in her room. She does sleep with a night light though! Good luck!

I did the same thing and my son REFUSED to sleep in his own bed so we did it in steps and it worked very good. We got an inexpensive blow up twin mattress and set it next to our bed, he would fall asleep then we would transfer him to his bed, then if he woke up we would bring him back in our room and tell him he could sleep on that bed but not in mommy and daddys because he was too big. He eventually took to sleeping in the bed next to us. Then he wasn't in our bed but got the feeling of sleeping alone. Then he started sleeping longer in his own bed and eventually we took away the side bed and if he woke up we went in and layed with him for a minute. You'll find a way though. Hang in there and don't feel bad for making the decision to co-sleep(or having it made for you) a lot of people do it and those who look down at it would not understand - so just know its okay!

Hi A., my husband and I also made that same mistake but it was with our youngest and last child. He is almost 2 1/2 and a very big mommas boy. I have tried everything but as soon as he realizes where he is at it's right back to our room. I tried sitting next to his bed and rubbing his back until he fell asleep but he never stayed there a full night. It's gotten so bad that my husband is sleeping on the couch and refuses to sleep in our room. We tried to move his bed into our room thinking he would get used to it and then we could put it back in his room but to no avail. He absolutely refuses to sleep in it. I had a friend that tried the cry it out method and it worked. I haven't tried it yet because I hate to hear my baby cry. It could work if you are willing to listen to him cry and go many nights without sleep. If you hear of any other suggestions please let me know. I have a constant kink in my neck that I would love to get rid of!
Best of luck to you.

I loved the advice I received from a friend on this one. My children would say they were "scared" and wanted to sleep with us. Well I figure, they can't be scared every night, and I too was tired of feet in my face! My friend said her parents would allow them to sleep in their room, but not in bed with them. We have wood floors, and this may sound mean, but truely the kids DONT CARE.... We said if they felt like they needed to be close to us they could sleep on the rug on our floor. At first they were on it every night, now they really only use it when they are afraid. Sometimes they wake me up first and I hug them and remind them they can sleep on the rug, and sometiems they dont even wake me, I just find them there in the morning! They are old enough to drag their own pillow and blanket in there. Like I said you may think the floor sounds mean, but I am a much happier momma when I get my needed sleep and we all have better days for it. Hope this helps...

We did the same with our daughter. She's now 2 and we recently moved and she now has her own room, decorated with all her toys and designed especially for a girl. She's taken a liking to Cinderella so we bought her her own Cinderella tv, Cinderella toy box, and one of those small Cinderella couches that pull out to a bed. She has a toddler bed but refuses to sleep on it. We started letting her watch Cinderella in her room at bedtime and before we knew it, she'd be out. We'd turn the tv off as soon as she was deeply asleep and for a while she'd wake in the middle of the night and come into our room but we learned that if we turned the tv off and put a radio on real low, she slept better and wouldn't even wake during the night. She has a nightlite and we don't force her to sleep on the toddler bed but let her sleep on her children's pull out couch. Slowly she's been sleeping in there more and more. I learned that the trick was to make her comfortable in her room, make it hers (and believe me, she knows it's hers because she doesn't think twice of kicking people out of it!) and don't make a big fuss if she wakes and comes into our room. She knows she's welcome but we consistently put her to sleep in her own room any way we can. I think that was the trick with her.

Try getting a picture of you and your husband and letting him sleep with it. Let him be part of the process of picking it out that way he feels like he helped and is not being "pushed" out of bed. If you have to, get a dim nightlight so he can see the picture at night. This worked wonders for my daughter. It made her feel like mom and dad were with her at night instead of being in a big dark room by herself.

Hi A.-
We did that with my 3 yr old. He slept in our bed untill he turned 3. We made a big deal about him getting his own big boy bed, bought him his own sheets that he picked out on his own and even bought him a bubble lamp that he loves. It provides lights for his room and makes bbubble noises for him to sleep all by himself. This worked till about 3-330 he then comes into our room to sleep which is ok cause daddy gets up for work at 430-5am. good luck I know its hard.

I did the same thing! Don't fret about it too much. He will grow out of it. To help things along, make his room HIS. Ask him what he might like as far as blankets, if you can afford a special comforter or sheets that he might like (Spiderman or something). I even let the boys listen to music and have as many books in their bed as they want. I gave them a special flash light that they can look at book with. If you make it their special space, they tend to want to stay there. There will be nights where he wants to be sure it's o.k. to come and see you. Let him do this every once in a while to comfort him, but most of the time, just be sure that he has his own bed time so he can't see you going to sleep and make it a specific/simple routine you can follow every night (bath, brush teeth, potty, bed time story, snuggle time and then to bed). Hope this helps!

I think alot of first time parents have the same problem. I did with my first child too. It took a little while. Its not going to happen in one night. Do you have a toddler bed for him? It will take some couching and fighting and you might be tired at first but it sounds like it will be well worth it. Just try to be stern and tell him to stay in his bed, get a night light and keep the door open and just be understanding since he's not used to sleeping on his own. How I could my first born to go to sleep on his own was having his younger sibling in the room, so I didn't do a real good job on it. In fact they still share a room. Good Luck..