My son will be 2 next week and we have started to use his big boy race car bed. For the past 2 days hes actually done great! Lat night he fell asleep on his own without me being in there with him. The problem is nap time. I can't get him to stay in bed! I took EVERYTHING out of his room, no toys, nothing, yet he somehow finds a way to amuse himself for hours. He's happy, but still very much needs his naps or he crashes by 6 pm. He eventually does fall asleep, but on the floor, and wakes up after 20 minutes because he is uncomfortable. I tried to move him to his bed once, but he woke right up and thought it was play time.... He is Autistic, so I'm not sure if "traditional" methods would work with him? Any advice?
I kept my oldest in a crib as long as possible - until she was just too tall for her crib! Unless your son is climbing out of his crib or there was some other reason for moving him, I might re-think the big boy bed for now...
My stepdaughter bought a little foam couch that folds out into a bed - it's not a furniture item but a toy-type item that you can buy at places like Target or Toys R Us. Her 2 kids always napped there because she told them it was quiet time and they sat in their fold-our couches with a book and usually dropped off to sleep. They didn't resist because it wasn't a bed. They used their couches in front of the tv too, so it wasn't just associated with sleep. I don't know if this will work for your son because sometimes autistic kids don't deal well with transition, but it's a small investment and something you might use anyway. They come in different designs & character themes. One kid had Dora the Explorer, and I forget what the other one had. Maybe your son would want to pick one out that he likes?
Good luck.
We used a particular cd with each child - one was classical music, with another child we used a Spencer Lewis music cd. The rule was, "You don't have to go to sleep, but you need to lay quiet in your bed until the cd is over." 99% of the time, he fell asleep. I think it was the "you don't HAVE to go to sleep" that encouraged him to follow through with the rest of the directive.
HTH!
I'm not sure whether there's a real need to get your son into a "big boy" bed at this particular time, but I also had trouble with naptime when I transitioned my oldest son into a bed (because his little brother needed the crib) when he was 2. I ended up letting him nap in the crib but sleep in the bed at night. I put my younger son to nap in a Pack and Play in my bedroom. My older son is now 3 1/2 and still naps in the crib. I haven't actually tried putting him in his bed at naptime recently, but I'm pretty sure he'd just play and not nap. So, if something like this is an option for you, you could opt to make the transition to the bed a little more gradual and just exempt naps for now.
