Son Won't Stay in His "Big Boy" Bed!

You could try Supernanny's Stay in Bed Technique. Hugs and kisses goodnight, place child in bed. Leave the room. If they come out of bed, go to them pick them up and say, "It's bedtime darling" and place them back in bed. Say nothing else, even if they try to engage you. If they come out a 2nd time, go to them and say nothing and place them back in bed. If they come out a 3rd time and every time afterwards, say NOTHING, do not engage them or entertain requests for milk, blankies, etc. Simply place them gently back in bed. Consistency and following these simple rules has worked. Its tough not to hug and kiss and get them their final requests, but that only gives them the attention they want. If you don't engage and don't respond, they will eventually get the point and stay in bed and fall asleep. It may take a few nights.

My son started climbing out of his crib at age 2, I personally wasn't ready for my baby to be in a big boy bed. Now that he is, we call him our little track star because he loves to get out of bed at all hours of the night and run around. Our bedroom is downstairs and his is up, so we hear him at 3, 4 or 5 in the morning, running around. He does go back to bed. My point is, we tell him he can get out of bed that is fine, but he can't leave his room, "no out". We shut his door and he will get up and play with his toys, and then eventually go back to bed. We use to go in his room and make him get in bed, but we thought that "this is stupid". Our son finally got the idea, as long as he didn't leave his room, he could play or be out of bed. Yes we have found him on the floor a couple of times, but we just pick him up and put him back in bed, no big deal. I would just start letting your son know that he can get out of bed, but not his room. Just make sure his room is extra child proof :) If he cries, let him cry, don't get him. Let him scream it out, he will quite, I give him a week. It took our son two weeks to figure this out, but like I said, he has just turned 2 when we switched him to a bed. The fact that your son use to sleep just fine tells me he is looking for attention, or just isn't that tired yet. I'm all for letting a kids stay up just as long as they are having quite alone time and aren't being too destructive :) Good luck with it!

Hi H.
I absolutely agree with Renee. We used the same technique and it worked in just a few days (less than a week) for both our boys. They both went into toddlers beds at age two and tried the same thing your son is trying, really it's a case of who is stronger willed, and you have to be.
Try the Supernanny technique and be consistent with it, that's the main thing. It worked great for me!
Good luck.

We put our oldest in a toddler bed at 3, and he did the same thing for 3 nights (we had a child lock on the door handle to prevent him from wandering the house). We bought a CD player for his room, and put music on at nap and bedtimes (but only play it through one time, as screaming/asking for it to be turned on again also became a problem).

But....your son might be a bit too young to understand or "reason with". I'd get a 2nd crib if I were you, for sanity's (and sleep's) sake!
Check out once upon a child or borrow one if you have to - with 2 ages 2 and under, it will be worth it! (FYI - we have 3 cribs in our house, one is converted to a toddler bed)
Enjoy your babies!
Warmly,
B.

Have you tried a bedtime routine without closing his door? We never closed our son's door, even tho we worried about the cat at first. She wanted NOTHING to do with him, so it wasn't any concern.

Ever since before he was born, he has been read to. At bedtime, he receives his story in his bed, hugs and kisses and is tucked in with his favorite stuffed animal.
But we do keep the door open - and that may have been what keeps him in his bed for us. Granted he got up in the night with other things, but I think you may have a stage to deal with if you think you have to keep his door closed with continuing to put him back or just letting him be.

Why are you going back several times?? He knows that you will come, so quit showing up. Have you ever heard of child permanently damage because they slept on the floor a few nights. Don't let a 2 year old run your house and be a parent. I had three children very close together and the quicker you establish a routine and stick to it you'll be better off. Right now your routine is put him in his room and return three more times. Just my thoughts, but you won't have the time or energy for that come January. Good Luck and God Bless you and your family.

My advice would be to go back into the crib. It would be nice if he would just sleep in a bed like a big boy, but reality is that a 2-yr old boy might not be ready. You need your rest now and after baby #2 arrives.

There might just be a crib #2 in your future. And, there are plenty of very nice cribs available at resale stores like Once Upon a Child in many cities and another store I like in Westland called AJ's Attic. Look at Mom2momlist.com for Mom2Mom sales in your area. You could see what these stores have and check online for any product recalls before purchasing.

A cradle might work for #2 until big enough for the crib and then there could be a ceremony for #2 growing into the crib and #1 into his big boy bed?

And, seeing that you are a teacher, if you happen to have a class party coming up soon (i.e. Christmas) then you could just mention the topic of crib vs. bed sleeping and see what your party moms have to say about the topic. Really, we moms are just dying to help you out with something that we have already lived through - and still are living each and every night.

Hope this helps!
D.

I never put my children in a toddler bed until they were successfully able to climb out of their cribs. Ny almost 2 year old is starting to put her leg up when she wants out, but i casually grab her out first (or gently put her back down if it is not time to get up). I would say your little one is not truly ready for the big boy bed just yet (?). Perhaps consider just getting a 2nd crib for baby #2. Your little guy may have a better time understanding the big-boy-bed routine in the months to come. But for now, let him have his crib and spend $150 for the crib for the new baby. After he/she arrives and once your son no longer needs his crib, put one of the cribs on craigslist or donate it to a great charity like PregnancyAid.
The bonus is that you will be thankful in January when your little guy is 'contained' in his crib for naptime. It will give you some calm time with the baby...and nap time for yourself. A big-boy bed is a pretty tough place to confine a child at nap time.