"Ideas on How to Keep Him in Bed"

I am in the exact situation. My daughter had to switch to a big girl bed because she just kept climbing out of the crib. Now, in order to get her to go to bed, I have to cuddle with her until she falls asleep. If I don't, she'll be in and out of bed 4 or 5 times before going to sleep, if she does at all before I give in and lay down with her.

This is a tough one! SuperNanny has the answer. Using this technique is not easy. You may have less time and be overly tired because of your long hours at work, school and studies. I think the persistence would pay off in just a week if you can manage it. In the long run it would be worth it.

The first time he gets out of bed put him back in and tell him something like this is your bed now and it's time to go to sleep. The second time out of bed shorten it to bed,sleep. The third time and every time thereafter just put him back in bed. Start out with patience but if he continues to get out of bed be as firm as necessary to get him back in bed.

Nanny was dealing with out of control children but yet it only took the mother a couple of hours or so of doing this the first night. The length of time it took the next few nights became increasingly shorter and within a few days the toddler had learned the lesson. The mother was persistent and consistent sticking with this plan each night and every night in a row.

This is similar to what my daughter did with her son except that she was not consistent or persistent and it took several weeks. Some nights she ignored him and other nights she lectured him so that the process became "attention seeking" and a "battle of wills."

I do think the no nonsense approach in a consistent way would work. It does take patience and the ability to consistently not talk with the toddler. The mothers on SuperNanny had the back up of Nanny. She stayed in the house and coached the mother, the first night, helping her to maintain her cool.

I find it is easier for me maintain my cool when I know that I have a back up. Perhaps a friend could do that for you. Be available, even if only by phone, for you to talk with if you feel yourself getting angry and will start lecturing. You could stop the process long enough to make the call and then go back to it.

At first I didn't understand the no talking rule but then I realized that by not talking the focus is on the staying in bed. The process becomes training with less of a chance of lecturing. And the toddler or child does not get "side tracked" with the words.

I like what Marda had to say. I would have added a swat (not spanking) in there by the 2nd or 3rd time but if it works this way without one, then great! Persistence is the key here. Not giving in and lying down with them either. They know they can eventually break you down.

19 months isn't too young for a twin bed. Most of mine were there by 12 months.

I did the same thing at 20 mos. old as I have a newborn coming at the end of the month. This tooks weeks, but he's more compliant. I leave his bedroom door open and put a baby gate in the doorway so he can see light. I leave the blinds up halfway so he can get some light in the room and I have a nightlight. Once we've brushed his teeth and I've read him a story, I let him know it's time to go to sleep and I turn the lights off and leave the room. He does get out a tries to play with his toys (in the dark) for 10-15 minutes, but then climbs back in bed and falls asleep. I let him play in his room so we don't have to fight (that was driving me crazy). When he's asleep, I take the gate down and shut the door to just a crack and make sure he's in bed with covers on. Like I said, it took weeks, but it's much better. Naptime is a whole different challange as he'll play with his toys for an hour or so. Eventually he conks out though. Best of luck!

I had to put my toddler into a regular size bed early because I had another baby to go into his old crib. There is also a railing on his bed, but to keep him in his room I put up a gate at his door. That way he could only wander around his room. Recently I tried taking down the gate and he goes all over the house, so I put the gate back up. He is now 2 1/2 and I'm not sure what else to do myself to keep him in his room w/out a gate.

My daughter started sleeping in her bed when she was about 18 months old. About a month before I put her in the bed I started putting all of her stuffed animals on the toddler bed. She would go and sit on it because she wanted to be with her stuffed animals. When she was 18 months I put her new bed set on it and got her really excited. I let her get pretty tired that night and then put her to sleep in it. She's been sleeping in it ever since without problem. I only recently started having a little problem with nap times. Don't have a problem there either anymore because I would give her a swat if she got out of bed and she stopped doing it... :)

My own daughter is almost 23, and I can't even imagine her taking on the responsibility for a nearly two year old! You go girl!

You have a tough one with the toddler bed. The only thing I can think of is that toddlers are easily "tricked" by short-term prevention efforts. So what you might do is TEMPORARILY put the bed against as many walls as you can (no escape) and then surround the bed with objects that he can't climb over, around, under, or push out of the way. It won't take long until he thinks he's "trapped" just like a crib. That's how circus folks keep elephants "chained" to an area by only one foot.

One or two safe, soft sleepy toys and a favorite blanket are popular with the little ones I take care of. They lose them if they put up a fuss, but that's rare.

Hope these ideas are hepful to you ~ Nanny V.

With my boys I gave them a toy to play with for a while to make them stay in the bed. That worked. I also set up a strict bedtime routine that my youngest, now 8 1/2, still follows today.

My sister put a door handle lock on the door and let her son play until he got tired. It's kind of a pain but it worked. He learned after a while, with reasurances often, that when he was in his room at night, it was time to sleep. Good luck!!! I know how frustrating it can be. Both of my boys were really hard to get to sleep.

Usually I let my son get so tired that he'll just fall asleep on his own or sometimes my husband or I have to lay down with him to let him know it's "ok" for him to fall asleep, or try staying at the doorway and keeping an eye on him, that way he knows you're there and he's not all alone. I hope these help!

We have a bedtime routine that includes a cup of milk and stories before lights out and a goodnight song. The routine really helps with the calming down and getting ready to sleep. We read the stories on his bed so he is already there. My son often gets up and plays in his room but eventually goes to sleep, usually in his bed. Occationally daddy has to tuck him in from off the floor though. We use a "safey knob" to keep him in his room. Also, one of the nighttime projectors work great for helping to stay in bed and sleep (look at a goodwill or thrift store for great discounts).
Some times they just dont want to sleep and you cant force them. Just wait them out.

we used a dog door to keep him in his room. if he was crying or throwing a temper I ignored him. Within a couple of weeks Ben was staying in bed with little difficulty.

I am in the same boat as you....I am glad that you asked this question. We just bought our son a twin size bed. There is no reason for a toddler bed especially when they are in it for only about 6 mos. I will do the best I can to be persistant and consistant. Thank you for asking again. Good question.