Looking for Advice on Sleeping Problems in 2 Year Old

We just went through something similar with our 2.5 year old. He wouldn't go to sleep at night (sometimes). We finally figured out that it was his naps. He had been outgrowing his naps (sometimes taking an afternoon nap, sometimes not, even when we laid him down) for a while. He was sleeping at night when he didn't take a nap, and staying up to the point of exhaustion when he did take a nap. We quit laying him down for a nap, and now he goes right to sleep every night. Sometimes he falls asleep at his old nap time, right where he is playing, and then I just let him sleep for an hour or so, there where he fell asleep (I know that sounds bad, but he's a light sleeper and would wake up and not be able to go back to sleep if I tried to move him). It seems to be working. Maybe your son is too old for a regular nap, too. Hope this helps!

We had similar issues. I suggest telling him before bed that if he gets up then he doesn't get to play with his favorite toy the next day (or some such thing that means a lot to him). Talk to him before bed about being an obedient boy and being quiet, staying in bed and so on. Then tell him that he can make the choice to either obey and be able to play with his favorite toy or he can make the choice to disobey and not get his favorite toy the next day. Then you must stick to that no matter how upset he gets. Kids understand more then we think they do. And, putting it in the context that it is HIS choice helps him understand that good choices brings good consequences, bad choices brings bad consequences and the choice is up to him.

Does he have bad dreams at night? If so, you may want to tell him before bed that there are no monsters (or whatever scares him). Sing a favorite song or read a book before bed.

Letting him cry is the best method. It stinks hearing your baby cry, however, he is learning very quickly if he cries long enough you will come in to him. Start a chart so every morning he earns a smiley face if he stayed in his bed without crying and at the end of each week take him to the dollar store, target or wherever and get a surprise. Do this for at least a month or so and he will have the habit down pat. He is more then old enough to get himself back to sleep and believe it or not, kids form habits of waking if they get the right response. After a month he will sleep all night long without waking after the reward of you coming in goes away. It is hard, not fun and do it over a weekend maybe so if he does get disruptive you all can make up for it with naps!! My kids at 3 and 6 still go through phases of waking and I do my best just to get them back to bed without much interference for me. He could be teething or getting his two year molars or eye teeth, both of which bothered my kids and made my son super clingy. Try a dose of tylenol or teething tablets before bed if that seems to be the problem.

I don't know if this will work for you but my son is 2 and he is still in his crib because he would get out of bed if he wasn't. But i think he has nightmares because he doesn't always sleep through the night. Lately when he is having trouble falling asleep or when he wakes in the night, I ask him if he wants to turn over and i will rub his back. I rub his had and stroke his hair and the side of his face and stay until he goes back to sleep. Last night he didn't quite fall back to sleep, he sat up when i was leaving and i told him i needed to get a tissue and he laid back down assuming i would come back and he went back to sleep. I do on occasion tell him i need to go potty or get a drink when i am leaving his room and he's still awake and it usually works. But every child is different so i don't know if it will work for you.
I hope this has helped and good luck.

rayday

I saw SuperNanny have the kid's parent sit in the room, not paying any attention to the kid unless he gets out of bed (then they wouldn't say anything just put the kid back in bed), and wait for the kid to go to sleep. Each night she'd tell the parent to move closer and closer to the door and then finally all of the way out of the room. It took about a week but then the kid was staying in bed and going to sleep on his own. He felt safe knowing mom or dad was nearby as he relearned to go to sleep on his own. SuperNanny stressed not making any eye contact with the child (he needed his parents presence but not his parents attention) and gradually moving out of the door each night. I would try that if I were you. I had to do something similar with my oldest who was less than two when kicked out of crib and put in a toddler bed. (I thought she was big enough but boy, we had problems too! With my second I kept her in her crib until two and a half and she did much better. I'm not sure a cry-it-out would work very well with a 2 year old who can get out of bed.

First off, small children have no real gauge of how to manipulate their parents...which means that negative reinforcement(time out or no play time) and letting them cry it out just creates a bigger rift in the parent/child bond. At your son's age, he's learning to be independent but still needs the comforting touch of his parents. If he's having nightmares, let him sleep in your bed if it helps him sleep thru the night. Another thing you might want to try is giving him a mini-massage before bed. It gives him that contact he might be craving from you but will also help relax him for a night of sleep. A good book to read is The Fussy Baby Book. It's helped me so much.
Good luck and God bless

Does he have a lovey or blanket or something? Does he have a night light? Soothing music? Is he warm or cool enough? We discovered that our son was cold --- we added another blanket to bed and put socks on him. As long as he's sleeping in his room, I don't think it matters whether he's sleeping in the bed or on the floor. We told our son he was not allowed to leave his room at night or he'd go in timeout. Sometimes, in the morning, we found him asleep in front of the door. He may have reached an age in which he's afraid. We had a lavendar spray that was "magic". We sprayed pillows and other things around the room. I told my son that monsters only liked stinky things. So things that smelled good scared them away. It got to be a fun game at night spraying the magic spray. Also, make sure you have a bedtime routine. Part of that routine should be reading. Also, talking about the day. Sometimes kids can't sort out events that happened during the day. They wake up at night trying to sort things out. If you talk it out before he goes to bed, he can be at peace. For example, we say, what was your favorite thing about today? It helps your child to think about happy things before he goes to bed.