My 2Year Old Will Not Go to Sleep?

he's not out of control - he's completely IN control. all the ladies so far are right as far as a routine and consistency. but when it comes time to actually get in bed and say goodnight - quit fighting him. it will take stamina and dedication (it sounds like you've got it if you're still fighting with him every night for 2 to 4 hours). go to supernanny.com and find her technique for bedtime. it took my son about 3 hours the first night, then about 1 1/2 the next, then about 30 minutes the next...then he was done. and we've never had another problem getting him to bed (he was 2, now he's 4) you stop engaging him. once you put him to bed, that's it. if he gets up, you put him right back in without saying a word. i literally was dizzy, how fast my son was hopping out of bed - he beat me to the door in many cases. it was brutal. but you KEEP putting him back, and you DON'T talk to him. the less you engage him, the faster it will work. you keep your temper, you commit, for your own sanity and for his own good, and you do it. GOOD LUCK. it is not easy.

Be CONSISTENT! DO NOT GIVE IN. Set up a routine EVERY night. 1 hour or so prior to bed time, have "quiet time" read etc. brush teeth, pajamas etc.. The 1st week he will probably scream himself to sleep. I promise it gets better. Our 2 1/2 year old knows the routine to the T now and if we miss a step she reminds us. We do teeth, pajamas, kisses between the stair slats and a kiss blown to daddy. Then we peek out the 2nd story window to tell the dog "goodnight: and fluff the pillow and turn on soft jazz. She blows me a kiss and says "NIGHT!" no fight. It took about 2 weeks to have it down pat. DON'T get discouraged, it will take time. .Good Luck!

I agree that routine is important, but it is even more important that they know it is time to go to bed because YOU said so, not just because THEY think it is time. My son always pushes the limits. When we moved him to his toddler bed it took a lot of work to get him to stay. We just kept putting him back. It is exhausting, but it works. Everytime he would get up, we would calmly put him back. We did ot get mad, we just stayed consistent. After probably 2 weeks, he finally got it and now we never have a problem. Even if we have company over he still goes to bed without a fight. We do let him have a toy and a book in his bed with him so he can wind down a little, but he NEVER is allowed out of his bed. Godd luck! Like so many other things with parenting, this is exhaustin but well worth it.

Hi,

What time do you put him to bed? I had trouble with my kids for a while and then I changed their bedtime to earlier- they go to bed by 7:30pm. It used to be like 8:30 or 9pm. We do the same routine daily and that really helps so they know what is next.

Play
Dinner
Bath
Books
Snuggle time and bedtime by 7:30pm. They sleep longer and are much more rested in the morning on this schedule. Stick to your plan no matter what and your child should adjust within a few days to a couple of weeks. Good luck!

molly

I agree with Liz. We do outside time (making shadows), then find the moon, then bath, teeth, a few stories, let her look at the clock to see that it's 9pm (bedtime), then kiss, hug, give her water and we're done. Kids thrive on routine!

What you do is.... turn off ALL the lights, and anything... then you yourself go and get ready for bed, change into jammies etc., go to your bedroom, tuck yourself in... turn off the lights.
Do not say anything to your son... while doing it, just hum a happy tune or something. Have your Husband do the same thing.
Then, "go" to bed.

Also, at this age of 2 years old, sleep and nap tweaks do happen. It being a phase. It being a result of their changing cognition and imaginations etc.

OR... little boys, needs LOTS of runaround time during the day... preferably in the MORNING and before mid-morning maybe... before lunch... so that they get all their yah-yah's out. Little boys are like young wild horses... and very physically active. This thus will often actually calm them... because they have had their physical needs, met. ie: running around and getting pooped out.

THEN, have him nap after lunch. (if he is still napping).

THEN.... PRIOR to his actual bed-time... you have to PREP him.... so that the actual bedtime does not get.... delayed. Kids need to wind-down and get keyed-down first.... make things dark and quiet, calm. As kids get older, they NEED a wind-down time prior to actual bed time. My kids need about 1/2 hour. Before bed or nap. So I factor that into their actual bed time... so that bedtime does not get later and later..... etc.

For your son, I would actually start pre-bedtime routine... BEFORE 8:00pm. More like 7:00pm.

For me, when I have done the suggestion I wrote above... and would tell my kids "Well Mommy, is going to bed..." and then got myself ready and made the house all dark and everything turned OFF... it got my kids.... to follow suit.

Don't argue with him. Just turn everything off... and dark... and NOTHING on at all. Then go to bed. You do that. Don't lecture him or nag him or anything. Just say nothing... as you get ready. Just say "Mommy is going to bed...."
When I was younger... my Dad did that to me. (I was older than your son), but boy... that sure made me re-think things.

all the best,
Susan

Here are some sleeping tips that might help to get your LO sleeping better/longer:

http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/sleep?utm_campaign=t...