Won't Stay in His Crib.......

We moved our daughter to her toddler bed at about the same age. We just leave the door shut and she can't get out of her room to bug us. I don't go in there - sometimes she plays a little before she sleeps but lately she has started to actually go to sleep right away. She does not wake up in the middle of the night at all unless she is sick now. I think because she knows I'm not going in there so it's pointless. We have a moniter still in her room so we can tell if she is in trouble by her cries. Having been through this before with my son it wasn't much of a challenge this time around. Keep the door closed and if you do go in the check on him put him back in bed - tell him good night and don't give him anything to drink or eat. Otherwise he will think you will give him something and call for you.

We do put Ashley to bed with a sippy cup of water....only water. She never really drinks it but this way there is no reason for her to call us back in the room for a drink.

Hope that helps. My son is 10 and daughter is 2.

Hi S.,

I think when you get the bed and he starts using it, you should do the silent return to sleep thing, where you don't say anything, you just walk them back to bed. I've heard from several people that doing it usually works after two nights or so - it's a lot of work, but it will pay off.

I don't think he really needs something to drink and eat when he wakes up - he may be using that as an excuse to prolong his middle of the night excursions. But, that's just my opinion - I don't think a sippy cup of water would hurt, but when you start potty training you'll probably not want him to have it.

Good luck and let us know how it works out!

C.

S.,
I think it sounds like you're doing the right thing. Just keep it up. Just keep the time as boring as possible or he'll think it's fun to get mommy up. I wouldn't do a snack. I agree that a water sippy is ok. I want my kids to feel secure that Mom and Dad are available, so I wouldn't restrain/keep my kids in their room. It just takes time to train them when it is appropriate to get up. It may be long and hard, but necessary. FYI- some kids get the hang of the big bed transition pretty fast, but it seems that with first borns it often takes longer. Be prepared...it took a month for my first to stay in the big bed. The second took one night. It just depends on the kid. Keep up the good work.

Some friends did the SuperNanny thing, which I think someone else described. Silently return him to his bed. Just keep doing it as many times as it takes.

We put a door knob cover on the inside of our 21-month-old son's door. He pitched a pretty big fit the first time he tried to get out and ended up sleeping on the floor (I tried to check on him and couldn't open the door because he was laying against it), but hasn't had a problem since. In fact, he's figured out that he can make his big sister (age 3) mad by shutting the door when she's in there playing with his toys.

My 3 year old recently started sleep walking. We put a baby gate across her room to keep her safe and it has worked great! I would suggest gating his room, that way if he gets out of bed, he stays in his room. There are some extra tall ones out there, as well as some with smooth fronts so they are difficult to climb over. I would not worry about water in a sippy cup at night-- they say no to milk & juice so their teeth don't rot. I would give him the water, personally! Congratulations on your new little one!
A.