Sleeping Question - Riverton,UT

Updated on September 16, 2009
L.J. asks from Riverton, UT
8 answers

My 2 year old is fighting going to sleep EVERY night. He became better not trying to come out of his room so I took off the child-proof handle on his door so he could have that freedom to come out whenever he wakes up (which he LOVES that freedom) but the past week or so he kept coming out of his room and I would have to take him back in, put him in bed and leave telling him if he came out again I would put the "lock" on the door which usually kept him inside his room. It got to a point where he kept coming out and I had to put the lock on the door again. Well, he's done better at not coming out of his room, but now he just gets out of bed and sleeps on the floor right by his bed. I go in there at night and put him back in bed because I'm worried sleeping on the floor will hurt him physically - like bad back or something, but he will not stay in his bed even though I told him I would put the lock BACK on the door, he still gets out of bed. :S ... So my question is should I just let him sleep on the floor and put the lock back on the door like I told him I would? Or keep putting him back in bed after he falls asleep? should I leave the child-lock on or off the door? ... please help! :) Thank you!!

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E.S.

answers from Fort Collins on

Falling asleep on the floor will not injure him. He will be fine. If that's where he falls asleep, let him sleep there. Can he crawl in bed on his own? Eventually he will start to do that. If it makes YOU feel better, then put him in bed when you check on him at night. Don't worry about it though. He will be fine.

As for the lock, if he is coming out of his room when he isn't supposed to...then put it back on. If he knows when it is okay to come out and when it isn't, then take the lock off.

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K.M.

answers from Denver on

My thought is: pick your battles. If he wants to sleep on the floor, I'd let him. I'll bet you any amount of money that if you put a blanket and pillow on the floor for him and tell him goodnight without mentioning anything about sleeping in the bed, that you will find him sleeping in the bed the next morning. It's a power struggle.

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A.C.

answers from Colorado Springs on

My son is such a restless sleeper that there are nights he ends up across the room. I just figure that if he's sleeping peacefully I should let him stay there & sleep rather than interrupt his sleep more by moving him. He's 8 & has been sleeping like this since we took the side off his crib. I've never heard back complaints, most of his complaints are from sleeping on a toy or something.
If you told him that you're putting the lock back on, you need to do so. Consistancy is key!
On the weekends I let my 5 & 8 YOs crash mostly wherever. We have such structure during the week that it's not going to hurt them to sleep on the floor, in their tent, on the couch. Once your little one is in school though, I'd tell him that he needs to be in his bed on school nights & you can talk about him sleeping on the floor on weekend nights.
He'll be okay mama!

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M.H.

answers from Denver on

Our bedtime battles magically disappeared after our then 2.5 year old dropped her afternoon nap. There was a couple of cranky weeks, and an occasional nap (1-2 times a week) for about a month, but bedtime battles disappeared. She now (at 3.25) goes to sleep between 7 and 7:30 and typically sleeps until sometime between 6:30 and 8:00. It was a rough adjustment, but totally worth it.

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M.L.

answers from Colorado Springs on

When you have a two-year-old, you have to pick and choose your battles. Make sure you pick ones you can win! What kind of floor does your son have in his room? If it's concrete, it could get cold. But as long as he sleeps and stays in his room, I wouldn't make a big deal of it.

If you can get him an inexpensive sleeping bag (my granddaughters have "kiddie" sleeping bags and I know they're not pricey), let him move to the floor if he wants to. You could put a blanket or two underneath it if you like. Tell him he has to start out in bed, but if he wants to switch to the sleeping bag during the night, it's all right. When he has outgrown this phase, he may not have outgrown the sleeping bag and he can take it to grandma's house when he goes to visit. It can be a good thing to be used to sleeping other places than one's own familiar bed.

One of my boys went through a floor-sleeping phase when he was ten! He loved it (I can't imagine why). Now he's grown up, and one of HIS daughters went through a stage of wandering around the house in the middle of the night - she said she liked the way everything looked in the dark! :^)

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K.D.

answers from Provo on

Let him sleep on the floor. He is making a decision about his life that you cannot control. After a couple of nights just ask him why he wants to sleep on the floor. Then point out to him that his bed is probably more comfortable. Sleeping in the floor will not hurt him for a few nights. If you really worry about him sleeping on the floor than put him in his bed when he's asleep.

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S.L.

answers from Boise on

My kids LOVE to sleep on the floor every once-in-a-while. But they always want to get back in their bed after a few nights. If you don't want him sleeping on the floor for extended periods of time (I really don't think it would hurt him physically), I'd tell him, "Hey, I've noticed you've been sleeping on the floor the past few nights. How about we make you a little bed on the floor so you can be more comfy?" Then lay down a blanket or sleeping bag and his pillow. It'll be fun! Every night, ask him if he wants to sleep in his bed or on the floor. He'll get tired of it and opt to go back to his bed. But if you give HIM the choice, he won't do it just to fight you about going to bed.

I think putting him back in bed after he falls asleep will teach him that he doesn't have to get in bed. And might make him mad that you're not letting him do what he wants.

We have a baby gate that we put on our active boy's door. He didn't mind at first, but when he got close to age 3, he didnt' like being confined. So we made a deal. He had to stay in his bed after I tucked him in, or I would put the gate back up (it is tension, so it's not hard to take down or put up). He stayed pretty well for a while, then started testing the limits. He only had to have the gate put back up about 5 times over a month to be reminded what he needed to do.

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S.S.

answers from Provo on

L., sleeping on the floor will not hurt him a bit. Try putting his mattress on the floor and let him sleep there. Maybe he is afraid he will fall out of bed. Put a sleeping bag (the flimsy, kiddie kind) on the mattress and tell him he's camping. Get a camp lantern (battery, not fire : ) and let him have that as a night-light.
Threatening him with the lock will get you frustration, as you have seen. Let him camp as long as he stays in his bed and make it fun for him. Battles like you are having end up with both Mom and child the loser!

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