We have many sleep issues, but 1 that we would currently like to deal with is: when we put our son to bed we cover him up and say goodnight. Within a few minutes he is screaming out for us to fix his blanket. He wants recovered because he has either rolled over or pulled his blankets off. He will do this on average about 10x or more over the course of an hour or more. It drives us crazy.
Ive explained to him that I will do it one time and I am not coming back to fix it. And Ive let him scream and after a few minutes he quits. But Ive only gotten lucky w/ that a couple of times. Ive also tried telling him that after he goes to sleep then we will cover him.
So my question is: since he is old enough (2yrs and 3months) to understand what I am saying, should we just cover and say the "one time" spill and Dont respond to him and let him scream it out til he decides he is done or "passes out"??? Or should we just answer him when he screams and tell him we arent going to cover him up anymore???
Any other ideas?
Oh and I tried a bigger blanket so that when he rolls he is still covered, but he has gotten use to this one blanket and doesnt want the new one.
Thanks for all the advice. I think he would feel stuffy in the sleeping bag altho that was a great idea.
I did put his fav. train blanket over his mattress to lie on so he had that w/ him and then we did use the bigger fleece blanket that he previously refused. I explained to him that it was bigger cuz he was a bigger boy and that it would stay on him if he wanted to roll over.
Then I went thru the normal explanation of how we will only put his blanket on him 1 time, no more, so dont wiggle around or call for us.....
So last night he gave us heck, we went in a couple times. And tonight he is laying peacefully w/ NO blanket at all. I am debating on going in and offering to cover him up and tell him it was nice of him to NOT scream for it. Just trying to get what he needs before he has a chance to scream about it. If that makes sense. We will see how it goes..........
wow, that must be driving you crazy ! I have a great solution, put him in one of these sleeping sacks, like infants, they make them bigger as well, I had my daughter in them until 3, if she needed to get up, she could unzip the bottom, or call me !maybe a regular sleeping bag would do, I know Pottery barn has nice cotton ones, that are as big as a single bed, so he doesn't have to sleep in a polyester one !hope this helps, good luck
Have you thought about teaching him how to cover himself up with the blanket? Otherwise, I like the sleeping bag idea. Good luck.
I would let him scream until he passes out. After a few nights, he'll get that you are NOT coming in again...
Have you tried a kid's size sleeping bag? A friend of mine did this with her son with the same issues and it worked wonders. Good luck.
I would suggest covering him the the favorite and then using one of the stiffer, baby/toddler bed comforters over the top of this. He can roll around all he likes under one of those without taking it with him and he'll stay covered. That way he has his favorite blankie for snuggling under the cover of the larger stiffer and more immobile comforter. Just don't tuck in the comforter around his body so he can't actually roll over on it.
Would he accept a sleeping bag as a blanket? That's what worked best for our son for a while. He loved the design of the sleeping bag and he liked the cozy feeling and the fact that he never ended up without covers. For us it solved the problem without having to insist that he just deal with what was clearly uncomfortable for him and kept us from going in repeatedly which was not acceptable to us.
Good luck
I think at 2 years old he should be able to get it that he needs to go to bed. Put the blanket on him and let it go. He's not hungry, his needs are met. We're not talking about a fear factore, we're talking about control in my opinion. Maybe give him a limit of how many times you go in and do something like check on him and sit for 1 minute or something like that and then that's it. He'll get the picture eventually. Sometimes parenting can seem really cold but, you probably know that since you have two others. You also know that this too will pass and you'll figure out. :)
A.
If you tell him you aren't going to go back but then you do it sends the wrong message. He thinks that if he screams long enough mommy and daddy will come in and do what he wants. Some people don't like to let their children cry but it really will work. My son is kind of the same way. When he doesn't want to go to sleep he will keep calling out for me or my husband to come give him kisses. i know it seems mean to deny my child kisses but I kiss him when we do the bedtime routine and tuck him in. If you ignore it he will realize you mean business and stop repeatedly calling for you and cover himself up.
Yes, let him scream it out. It should only take about 3 days for him to stop screaming completeley. If he is NON STOP crying for more than an hour, and I mean no breaks in crying period then maybe you need to think of a differnt way but he should be fine after 3-4 days
Have you tried the Halo Sleep Sack? They make them in toddler sizes now with places to stick feet through so your child can wear the blanket and still walk. You can also pull it down over the feet for sleeping so your child's feet won't get cold while sleeping. The sack zips up and your child wears it, so no dealing with blankets falling off or anything.
You can buy them online at Babies R Us: www.babiesrus.com, I haven't seen them in stores.
i'd say get him one of the sleep sacks for toddlers, which is big enough for them and has little holes to poke out their feet, but the blanket never comes off since they're zipped in it. or better yet, turn the blanket that he loves into a little sack with a zipper that he can sleep in.
I am a big fan of doing it once and that's it. He is doing this to get your attention and if you go in more than once he will continue the behavior. Do it once and that's it. He will learn to do without or cover himself. You said that it did stop when you did it once. I would continue. It may take him a week to get the point but he wll learn.
kristi i truly feel that kids get to the point they know how to test us. be firm that you will kiss him good night and 1 time to return or no time but be firm. have you ever watched nanny 911 with jo jo. she always says the child has got to learn that sleep time is just that. not play time and crazy time for mom and dad
Maybe you could just sit in his room and read to him while he goes to sleep and then fix his blanket as needed. It sounds like more time and work but it will probably take less time in the long run because he will be getting the evening attention he wants without screaming. It could be a great time to build some peaceful memories as you read and watch him drift off to sleep. I read to all my kids before bed at night and then go in with my 4yr. if she is still awake and read her an extra story in her bed. She just needs a little extra mommy time to fall asleep.
I watch Supernanny a lot for ideas. I don't even think you should go back in the room or ween(sp) yourself from doing so. I never really had issues b/c my daughter does not like covers at all....lol Good luck.
It's the perfect time of year to purchase a kid size sleeping bag. You might even be able to find a free one on freecycle.org. My son attached to his for naps. Just make it special for him - it may take a few times to get him used to his big boy bag- but eventually the covers won't fall off!
It's funny because my daughter did the same thing around the same age. I remained firm, fixed it once and when she started to scream went in and firmly stated "ENOUGH!, time to sleep" closed the door, grabbed a glass of wine and went on the deck. It's tough and she tried our patience, but eventually she learned that ploy wouldn't work.
If you repeatedely tell them no, but turn around and give in, they learn bad behavior gets them what they want. It's not easy, but you can win, you are the adult.
Good luck!!
