How to Get 21 Month Olds to Sleep in Their Bed

Do you need them to stop sleeping in the crib? The reason I ask is that I tried the same thing when my son was 2 1/2 and had the exact same problem--nighttime sleep fine, but no nap at all, and he though it was so funny to get out of his bed at nap time. By the 3rd day of not taking a nap--I was scared he would drop his nap completely. When I brought this up to my other mom friends they said "does he sleep in the crib fine?" "yes." "Does he try to get out of the crib?" "No" "Then why are you trying to make him sleep in a bed if you don't have to?"
So I put his crib back up and he was fine.
We got him a big boy bed at 3, put it in his room for a couple of months and then transitioned him to that without any problems.
So if they are sleeping in their cribs fine and you don't have another one on the way needed the crib--just keep them there--you may be just causing problems where you don't need to.

In my opinion I think that when you go away on vacation you want as much peace as possible. I would DEFINITELY bring the play pen with me and I would not try and force them to sleep on a BIG BOY bed yet. This may cause you more stress in the long run. Keep it safe and peaceful for the sake of a good trip. ;)

K.,

I have a 31 month old son who is still sleeping in his crib and his pack n' play. My son, Robbie, has watched his 4 year old cousin climb in and out of Robbie's pack n' play but Robbie still hasn't tried to climb out of the pack n' play. Robbie is only 20th percentile in height so he is a bit short, and frankly, I don't think he could climb out of the crib even if he tried!!! He is going to stay in the crib (and pack n' play on trips) until he is at least 3 or successfully climbs out. I have also read that toddlers can't understand the concept of stay in bed until at least 3 years old.

You don't mention why you are trying to avoid pack n'plays for holiday travel or your travel plans. Here are some ideas:

If staying in a hotel: just use what the hotel provides, it is almost always free!

If staying with friends/relatives: see if they can either borrow these items to use while there or pick them up cheaply on craigslist, garage sales, etc.

If driving: pack them if the above won't work.

If flying: seriously consider the cost of checking two pack n' plays as luggage each way versus just buying either super cheap new ones or used ones as above.

We have to go to the DC area every winter to visit family and we have gotten almost everything off of craigslist from pack n' play to highchair, booster chair, stroller, and coats/winter clothes.

Good luck!!! C.

Put the sides back on the cribs. They obviously aren't ready for a toddler bed. We had the same issue with my Grandson. He kept falling asleep on the floor, wouldn't nap and it gets worse instead of better. We put the crib back together and now he is sleeping fine. If they aren't climbing out of the crib leave them alone.

My son began climbing early (walked early too) and I was scared to leave him in his crib past about 18 months. He climbed out of the one at my moms and fell on the floor once, and that was the last time he used that one. Once I saw him do it at home, that was the end of that one too. I tried taking off the side (ours was "convertable" too) and came to the conclusion that the "convertable feature" was just another way to charge more for the crib, as my son wouldn't sleep in it, like yours. So I just disassembled the whole thing and put the mattress on the floor. I never bought a toddler bed for him. It was a struggle getting him to go to sleep b/c he would not stay unless I layed down on the floor in his room with him. When his sister was "on the way" just after his second birthday, we started shopping for a regular bed for him. Once he had a "real" bed (set up in a "new" room also -- his baby sister was getting the "nursery") he never really had a problem staying in the bed. I used a few techniques to encourage it and discourage getting up, but it just wasn't the problem that it had been before. I think b/c he was older. He was around 32 months or so, and after a story and prayers I would lie down on the bed with him in the dark, sing him the lullabye I have always sung him and agreed to lie there for "2 minute"... then I would count to 120 in my head and say "okay, it's time for you to go to sleep now".. then give him a last hug and kiss, get up, "re-tuck" the covers and leave.
If they are not climbing out of the crib I would let them stay in it as long as possible and just deal with the pack n' plays or put them on the floor only when traveling...
BTW, the best investment I made AFTER getting them out of the crib, was bedrails. They are much easier to pack for travel, and help give them that "closed in" feeling, in addition to keeping them from accidently rolling out. And I think they are a visible reinforcement that they should not be getting out of the bed.
Good luck..
Many blessings to all of you!

Funny, I recently went through this and still am, sort of, with my son. At first, we started with his bed and his sister's bed pushed together until he got used to the boundries or his own bed. Now we have about a foot between the beds and he gets out all the time. There are few times I actually don't have to pick him up and put him back to bed. We never put the rails back on his crib because he was climbing out and we didn't feel safe about the possiblity that he could fall out. He will eventually get used to ALWAYS falling asleep in his bed, but for now, there are no toys in their room and a baby gate across the door keeps him safely in side (tho, we may soon have to double that up).

I wouldn't worry too much about them climbing out of bed, just make sure that whereever you stay, you get down on their level and BABYPROOF the room before you go to sleep.

Hi K.,
They say to try to keep your child in the crib until they are able to crawl out by themselves. Our son will be three in Dec. and he is still in the crib. Also we have a 4 yr old that rolls of of his toddler bed, so we just layed the mattress on the floor ( if I'd known that before I just would have gotten a twin mattress )and put a king size pillow on the floor next to it. He does wake up in the middle of the night and comes and sleeps on our bedroom floor, which I keep padded and ready for him with pillows and blankets. We are tired of trying to fight him in sleeping in his own bed when he wakes up, but our room is on the third floor, his on the second and I think this is the time they're really scared of monsters and the dark, so we let him. We just don't let him fall asleep there. On occasion I will, cause I am too tired, and we also have a 4 mnth. But anyway, that's my thought. Good luck, L. Z.

I say if you want to avoid the struggle, put them back in the crib and deal with the Pack N Plays. I tried to switch my older to a toddler bed at 18 months when he climbed out of the crib for the first time, and it was a constant struggle for over a YEAR to get him to stay put and nap in his room and stay in bed at night. He still will not sleep in a bed, and only sleeps on the floor in his room. Live and learn...Now my younger is 21 months and I have been reading up and come to find out that really they are not able grasp the concept of staying in bed until they are closer to age three. They just don't have the impulse control yet. They think, "I want to get out of bed, and I can," so...they get out of bed. Yes, you can train them to stay put, but it is tough. Better to keep them in the crib as long as possible. I'm prepared for the day when my 21mo finally realizes he can climb out, but my plan for that is to correct the behavior, not change his bed...we'll see.

I switch my now 22 month old to a bed when he was 15 months, he used to sleep on the floor and sometimes still does, we just pick him up and put him to bed..just stick at it and they will get the hang of it, I'm sure it's harder with two, he was taking two naps when I switched him and I gave up on the morning nap as he would take me ages to get him to sleep, I would just keep him really busy and active all morning and after lunch he was ready to sleep..I also bought some black out curtains which block out most of the light..

I would just wait. They are still pretty young. I would wait til around 2 years old to 2 1/2 years old before making these kind of changes. Especially when you will be traveling soon. The fewer transitions they have to go through at this age, the better. Traveling will be a big enough adjustment for your whole family. If you really want to start it soon, maybe just wait til the first of the year, so you can focus on it. The less stress during this time of year, the better.

Take Care,
T.
Mom of 4

Hi, K.. Well, since they are not even 2 years old, they might not be able to comprehend what you want them to do... or if they understand it, they might not be able to resist doing what they want to do, since they have very limited attention spans at this age.

It's not a big problem, actually, for kids to sleep on the floor as long as it's clean. Lots of kids at that age just fall asleep wherever they get tired, and thousands of parents have to pick them up and put them into bed. It's not an unusual thing at all.

I think you might have to carry that playpen along with you on the trip, just to be safe. If you're in a strange place, you definitely don't want to risk one or both of the kids possibly getting out of the hotel room and getting lost. You need to be extra cautious on vacation, so I think you should give up on the idea that you can leave the playpen at home.

It sounds like they are really good sleepers, in spite of the fact that they like the floor better than their beds. That's a huge blessing. It sounds like they soothe each other to sleep instead of trying to keep each other awake, another blessing. If it were me, I wouldn't change a thing.

One thing to consider: maybe they prefer the floor because it is more solid. Maybe the bed is too soft, and they don't like it, but they don't have the words to tell you this. Also, maybe they are a little afraid of falling out of the crib because one side is off. I might suggest a youth bed with a firm mattress which is low to the ground. There are these rails you can get for the open side of the bed which keep the child from falling out but do not block him in on other sides, so he is free to get in and out of bed to go to the bathroom, etc.

I hope everything works out just fine for all of you.

Peace,
Syl

Maybe they are not tired during this scheduled nap time. Every day can vary with children...so if they are genuinely not tired, I wouldn't force it. You could perhaps instill "quiet time" instead of enforcing a nap from them. Encourage them to go to their room and make them understand that "quiet time" means quiet...no noise. Maybe they will fall asleep...maybe they will just lie their quietly. As for letting them sleep on the floor issue: If that is where they are comfortable, then let them sleep on the floor. My sister, when she was a baby, crawled out of her bed every night (I know, because we shared a room) and she fell asleep on the carpeted floor. She loved it but my mom hated it because she felt it was such an uncomfortable place for a baby to sleep.

You could also get some room darkening curtains for their room. That could help with the light coming in.

My daughter did the same thing when I switched her from crib to toddler bed. I let her fall asleep on the floor and moved her into the bed for almost two months before she finally stayed in the bed on her own. It's just a part of exploring the new "freedom" and as long as the bedroom is safe there should be no problem letting them adjust on their own.

Me personally think you are doing it too early..........Keep them in their cribs as long as you can. Otherwise if you really want to do it continue what you are doing and eventually they will be ok....with my daughter we skipped the toddler bed and went right to a twin but to get her used to the idea and to be safe we used a twin air mattress on the floor for 2 months and then she went right to the twin bed with a guard on it just fine

Hi K. - lots of good advice already. I had the same problem regarding the "napping" I did buy a blackout shade for their room, it helped. Later on when my oldest learned to "stack up stuff" to reach the light switch I also had to pull the cut off switch for the ceiling light/fan to stop her putting on the light. She soon got the message.
Good Luck

M. F

My now 13 year old slept on the floor for almost 3 months...when I first started doing that - they are too young to suffer back problems, or anything from doing it, so don't worry...I ended up just giving him a pillow on the floor and a pillow in the bed...after a while he slept in the bed...

I would suggest getting a blackout roller blind for the window to block out the light and just be consistent with nap time and they will get used to it very soon...

My sister and I are very close in age even though we are not twins and my mum said that when we first started sleeping in a bed we used to sleep on the floor too - eventually we ended up in the same bed and after a month or so we would go into our own (except during a thunderstorm...LOL!!!)

Don't worry just keep at it and before you know it... =)

It is not too early to be transfering to toddler beds. Mine was in one shortly after turning one. I too had a convertable crib and took the side off. I found he wouldn't sleep in it like this. I went out and got him an actual toddler bed and he slept in it the first night. I'm not sure what it is about the side not being on the crib, but mine didn't like it either. Good Luck