I have a very head strong daughter who is only 2 years old but when she gets an idea in her head she holds onto like a pit bull. She sleeps in a big girl bed, but lately has decided it's funny to get up and have mommy or daddy march her back to bed. We've tried the super nanny method and just about everything else. We have had some limited success, but at a price. If we experience success at bedtime, we pay for it around 2 or 3 in the morning, when she decides to initiate the game again. We are at our wits end. Please help!!!!!!!
Thank you so much to everyone! We've been having trouble for weeks with this problem and had tried everything. Two nights ago I set up the gate as was suggested, and made sure she could not open it. She threw a major fit about it, but when we didn't react, she went to sleep and slept through the night. The next night, she got out of bed, saw the gate, and put herself back to bed. Again, she slept through the night. She was well rested in the morning and very happy. I am optomistic that we've had our breakthrough. We're pretty regimented with routines throughout the day and night, and were truly at a loss. Thank you very much for all your help and input, it gave us what we needed to achieve the break through. We are grateful. Thanks!
How about trying a rewards system. Give her a sticker chart and give her one sticker for every night that she goes to bed and stays in bed. At the end of x amount of stickers (we did it with 10, but you may want to try fewer or more...) she gets a small toy or a treat or something of her choice. Maybe this will work? I feel for you!
HI S. it sounds like she's the one in control instead of mommy and daddy, discipline will work. Supper nanny is great, but because it is televised they are not going to show discipline. We had this issue when our first born son, my husband who was a very good discipinarian told hem he needed to stay in his bed unless he had to go potty or didn't feel good, and if he did not obey he was going to get a swat, well the next nigh he got up and came in so my husband took him back to his room gave him two good swats, and problem was solved, parents today, well most of them don't hargwbelieve in discipline, and then wonder why they have the same behaveor issues over and over, children need to be respected and loved, but at the same time they need to know who's in charge .
BABY GATE!! My 2 year old twin sons share a room because they want to be together. I have a baby gate at their door so they can open it and know that they can see out...leaves out anxiety issues...but they cannot get out...which allows us to get some sleep. They, too, wake in the middle of the night and play, play, play. They used to open the door and SCREAM at the top of their lungs...which kept the whole (my husband and I) up all night! I finally tried the stop light from One Step Ahead. When the light is red, play in your room quietly, when the light turns green, mommy will get you out :) My boys are true boys and up hard core in the middle of the night. After 4 or 5 nights of them yelling out the door (fan on, pillow over my head, tv on, to block out then noise!!!) they FINALLY GOT IT!! It really was hard, but I had no choice, I needed to SLEEP!
Hope this helps!
Good Luck!
Completely babyproof her room and put up a gate. Hopefully she won't climb over it. If that worries you, try switching out her bedroom doom for a half door. Tell her that she can get up, but she has to stay in her room, quietly, because the rest of the house is asleep.
My 3 year old daughter has a horrible time getting to sleep and staying asleep. We let her take a few toys or a book to bed. I ask her to wait and play quietly. I tell her that I will check on her to see if she is OK or if she can't get to sleep. When I check on her, I offer her a sip of water and ask her if she needs to go potty or if she needs anything else. I think that she doesn't get up because she knows that if she calls me (with a reasonable request) I will come and that I will also be checking on her if she is not able to go to sleep right away. Encouraging her to "wait" for awhile to see if she can get to sleep on her own has been the greatest word we ever knew.
I have just tried to recognize that for this child, getting to sleep is a really hard job. I am trying to be patient and know that as she grows up, this problem will just melt away.
You don't say what kind of bedtime routine you have or if you work and only see her early in the morning and again at dinner.
Bedtime routine is essential to getting a child ready to go to sleep on time. A warm bath helps a child get sleepy.
Reading, singing with or to her when she gets into bed. Hugs and kisses and then to bed.
I put a great deal of effort into our evenings and gave my whole attention to the children. I never had trouble getting them to go to bed.
I'm never surprised when children don't want to sleep by themselves at a young age - they don't in other cultures. It's a survival thing. We sleep with our children until they want their own space. What is nicer than sleeping with your own child? I love it!
I would go back to the Joe Frost method and prove to her that you are willing to walk her back as many times (without yelling, talking, lecturing etc) as she is willing to get up. Outlast her! Prove that you are patient enough and this game will get old to her and she will not get the result (getting you upset or prolonging the bed time routine) she's after. It's exhausting but be consistant and I believe you'll see your results in a week or less. Good luck!
My son was the same way. It was so frustrating! We thought about the gate, but he is a big guy and knew he would pummel through it. We used the safety covers for the door knob. They are inexpensive, $5 for two, and work great. The first time I put them on, we went through our bed time ritual, then I closed the door. He tried to open it and found he couldn't. He cried for a min or two then went back to bed and fell asleep. When I know he was asleep, I would open his door. I never left his door closed through the night. It has worked like a charm, by the 3rd night he didn't even try to open the door. It's been a couple of months and I don't have to use them anymore, he knows he needs to stay in his bed. Give it a try, I was really surprised it worked. He fought so much, and yes the super nanny way just became a game to him...so frustrating.
Good luck!
Hate to say this, but try to figure out a way to lock her in her room. We did this with our son, and it worked great. We did this for a couple of months and now he stays in bed all night.....and has no problems going to bed.
While we were going through this.....I would tell him continually throughout the day that when we go to bed, we stay in bed all night..... I tried to pump him up on the idea all day long
Have you tried putting up a gate? My daughter is much the same way - I have found her asleep on our couch downstairs, on the floor in the rec room, and my personal favorite - asleep lying up three stairs. We now put a baby gate up at night and nap. I know that she could escape if she wanted to, but I don't think she wants to use that much effort and I think she kind of likes the security of having that barrier up. And we keep it up all night to avoid those 2 am "trips" down the hall.
