Supernanny Bed Time Approach - Does It Work?

I don't like the silent treatment/child crying thing either. My 3 yr old is still really needy at bedtime. We have a routine, and then I lay on the end of his bed. It takes just as long sometimes, but sometimes it's shorter. But it's so much easier. Sometimes he's asleep in 10 minutes, sometimes it takes 45. If it starts taking too long, I read a book or something. I did this with my 4 yr old and he goes to sleep on his own now. Maybe it's a confidence thing?

Yes, it worked for us. It's VERY frustrating, and it might be 3 or 4 very bad nights (for you) but it works.

I didnt try that but What we did was give our daughter her doll and told her its time to be quiet and she can play with her doll only BUT she cannot get out of the bed after 20 minutes of playing just with one item and nothing stimulating and exciting she was out. We told her if she got out of bed or whined then no more dolly.

Good luck and remember DONT give in regardless of the method you use bc then they knoww they can break you down

After watching the families do it on TV, it just seems like a terribly harsh way to do it. I kind've think we ought to foster a nurturing environment for sleep, which is the opposite of having a frantically crying, screaming child who you are basically giving the silent treatment to.

With my oldest, I used to just sit on her bed and read to her until she fell asleep. Sometimes it'd take an hour, sometimes it'd take twenty minutes, some nights I was so exhausted I'd fall asleep on the end of her bed before she did...but she stayed. By the time she was four, she'd stay in bed with no trouble at all.

We have a 15 watt bulb in her room, and let her read books in bed, btw...although I do go in and shut it off 45-60 minutes after bedtime. We leave music on for her all night. She's 6 now.

I have a 16 month old with terrible sleep problems, so I guess I don't have the best advice!! :)

Yes and no. It did work for us, when my son was 2 and he first transitioned to his bed. But I didn't say nothing. I said "Time for bed. Goodnight." or "Time to sleep" or "Not time for play. Time for sleep." and put him back in his bed. Or in your case, point to the bed and tell him to "Go". For us, he was 2, but the first night I think I only told him twice to get in his bed. What has your son done in the past, when he went from a crib to a bed? If this is new behavior, it may be that he's sick and wants you or like you said, he may just not be super-tired b/c he napped. Try a routine of a bath and book or two in his bed before lights out.

Love Jojo! Watch her all the time. I haunt had the guts to try it yet though. Yep my 4 yr old still sleeps in the middle of us! Im interested to see how it goes...good luck mama!

It works! and it only took a couple nights. I followed JoJo's method exactly. It wasn't horrible for her or us, actually. She figured out quickly what the boundaries were (which is kids crave) and we didn't feel bad because we knew we were giving her a life skill that would also save our sanity in the short term.
I would look at his sleep needs too though. both my kids were done with naps by 36 months.

Did it with both of my boys and it wasn't as "dramatic" as it seemed on TV (maybe because we did it when they were young so they didn't have the bad habits the families on TV had??)
With my eldest, the night we transitioned him to his toddler bed (18 months old), we did our whole bedtime routine (straighten up a little, take a bath, lotion, brush teeth, talking or singing softly as we do, story, prayer, hugs/kisses, turn off the light, close the door). He cried, came to the door and we waited 2 minutes, then picked him up, said time to sleep, and closed the door. He opened his door and stood at the gate (we safety gated his room at first) for a few minutes, then laid down and went to sleep in bed. That was the only time we had to do that. For my youngest, he was 19 months old when we moved to the new house and put him in his toddler bed after the normal bedtime routine. He was very proud and laid down right away (we'd been letting him "peek" on his big brother so he knows big boys sleep in real beds). But maybe 10 minutes later, he came to the door. I let him cry 2 minutes, then picked him up, gave him his paci and special blanky, put him in bed and said "Love, it's time for bed". I walked out, closed the door, and that was it. Silence. But when I went to check on him an hour later, he was sleeping on the floor by the door. I picked him up and placed him in bed, and that was all. But we did watch Supernanny and saw that to be firm early on and not give in is actually the nicest and easiest way to start a habit, so it doesn't have to get all weird and dramatic when they're older. My oldest will be 5 in 2 months, and we still don't have issues with him. My youngest has been sleeping in his big boy bed for almost 3 months and does just fine, though we've learned that if we go on a trip, it's harder to get him down to sleep away from his own bed, unless we bring the pack and play (he's still just 1). LOVE Jo Frost's methods.

I did the one where you sit in the room with them and over a few days, slowly sit closer to the door. That worked for us when my son was dependent on me to hold him to fall asleep. He always stayed in bed up until 2 weeks ago because now he is saying he is afraid of the dark (he has always had nightlight on so it's not totally dark). While part of it may be true, I think he just wants me to stay so he can talk, etc. I put him back in bed when he gets up and I try to avoid talking. Luckily he isn't constantly running out of bed. I nip it by telling him what I expect (btw... he is 3) and if he doesn't stay in bed he won't get to do whatever tomorrow and I have a few other tricks I use.there is so much I've done with him to get to this point but I do use the super nanny approach and I got results. I also made sure I followed it to a t otherwise you jeopardize the technique.

No, it didn't work for us. So....We have a child door lock on his door, so he knows he is stuck. He will sometimes yell or sing or run around for an hour, but eventually he goes to sleep. Also, he had a period of not wanting us to leave which we ended promptly by adding a fish nightlight to his room. It wasn't until he was almost 3 that he needed the light.

JoJo's method worked perfectly for my daughter-- the first week, the longest I sat was right at 45 mins that first night, 30 or so for the next 2 nights and less than 20 the rest of those first few days. After that, I'd sit at her doorway off and on for about 7-10mins for 3-4 more wks. (so about 1 month total nights for it to really stick) It wasn't as dramatic as what you see on TV, perhaps because we did this method right when she got her "big girl" bed, just before she was 2. We've begun the process again with her little brother; he climbs out of his crib. He'll be transitioning to his "big boy" bed next week after his 2nd birthday this weekend. I've had to sit by his doorway for about 15min so far before he stays in his crib.

The process works great, but as another mom advised, stick with whatever process you do, be firm and consistent, gentle and patient with yourself and little one. He'll get it. Just food for thought, he may still need those naps most days. My 4yo still takes naps most days, and on the days she doesn't, it's most noticable at night during our bedtime routine.