Talk

Flip

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler.

Sleep

Toddler getting out of bed

6 replies

FoxSticks · 28/07/2014 21:54

Our two and a half year old has always been difficult with sleep. We moved her out of her cot in May and she has adapted pretty well to it, once she is asleep she stays there until the morning unless she is unwell. The problem is putting her to bed. She has a dream sheep which we should have probably got rid of ages ago but it was a solid part of her routine. The music plays for about 20 minutes as soon as it finishes she gets out of bed and shouts for us to come and turn it back on. Some nights we would be up there six times before she would fall asleep. Last week we told her that we wouldn't do that anymore and if she wanted the sheep back on she could turn it on herself, she knows how to. We also started a sticker reward chart with four different things on it including not getting up after saying goodnight. She's not managed it yet, and is still getting up and yelling for us. For the last three nights I've called up stairs that I'm not coming up and she needs to go back to bed. She hasn't and has just stayed by the stairgate, she isn't upset and chats away to herself until she falls asleep on the carpet.

Should we persevere with our stance of not going up and reward chart or should we try something different? I just went up there and tonight she'd pulled a towel from the bannister to use as a pillow

OP posts:

Report

caeleth84 · 29/07/2014 09:30

Do you still have the cot and can she get out of it? If she likes her new bed you could try moving the cot back in (if you have space for both). Let her know that if she gets out of the big bed she has to sleep in the little bed. Follow through.

It worked with DS anyway. He really liked his new bed and his new freedom of being able to get up and play with his toys.. I only had to put him in the cot once for him to realize that that wasn't really fun. It did take a bit of screaming once he realized he had to sleep in the cot that one night, but since he couldn't get out of it it worked nicely. (I didn't leave him to scream in the cot btw, picked him up, comforted him and put him back down.) Took a little while, and wasn't very pleasant, but he eventually settled and hasn't climbed out again. We kept the cot in the room for a while and each time we put him to bed just reminded him that if he got up he had to sleep in the little bed.

He does still play in the bed before falling asleep, but at least he's in the right place ;)

Report

FoxSticks · 29/07/2014 10:02

I don't know how she would react to the cot, we took her out as baby number two is due in October and we wanted to get her used to the big bed. She can climb out unless she is in a sleeping bag and I don't have any lightweight ones that will fit her so I'm not sure we can go down that route.

She is due to stay with my MIL on Thursday night and I desperately wanted to get this cracked before then. She's really excited about the thought of staying with Nana and I have tried to sell it as she needs to stay in bed if she wants to sleep at Nanas. She says she understands but then still gets up. Frustrating!

OP posts:

Report

Wolfiefan · 29/07/2014 10:12

When she yells I wouldn't shout back. Just take her back to bed.

Report

caeleth84 · 29/07/2014 10:20

Ah, that's harder then :( Tbh I might go down the route of just putting her back in every time. It'll definitely be hellish for a few days, but I don't know if anything else will work.

Yelling up seems a bit pointless. And I think they're still to young to understand delayed gratification..

Report

Thurlow · 29/07/2014 10:28

A Gro Clock might help - at 2.5 it might take a week or so for her to get it, but basically when the clock is blue then no coming out of the room or shouting for attention?

But personally I would go with putting her back, silently, without interacting with her at all. Easier said than done, of course, but what she needs to learn is bedtime is bedtime and she needs to at the very least stay quietly in her bedroom.

Could you put the stairgate across her door, maybe, so that she can't get out of her room?

Report

FoxSticks · 29/07/2014 10:48

I thought rapid return would be the way to go - I guess I didn't want the pain of traipsing up and down stairs at 7 months! Has to be done though. We do have a gro clock and it's good for the morning but not for going to bed.

Has anyone done rapid return, and how long did it take to crack the problem?