2 and a half year old screaming at night before bed,do not want to get into bad habbits...

[ffried]

i've moved house about 2 weeks ago and my daughter has adapted ok ish.. but a night its been a nightmare, screaming she says she doesn't want to sleep in her bed (its the same cot its been for ages) she wants to sleep in my bed. tonight my husband did the unthinkable he lay down on the floor with her waited till she fell asleep then put her into bed! we're both into controlled crying but i guess it got too much tonight, of course tomorrow he's working late so i'll be on my own! do i do controlled crying or take the easy option? she used to be amazing put her down said goonight and walk out the door no drama! she is tired she really does need her sleep i have noticed a difference in her more whingy more clingy...i really don't know what to do. advice needed x

Sounds like a nightmare! My DD1 did a similar thing when we moved bedrooms and into a toddler bed. Despite being excited about moving rooms well before DD2 was due, deciding herself she wanted to move, choosing paint etc, after about 3 weeks she woke up in the middle of the night and whimpered/cried and wouldn't go to sleep. We ended up dragging her bed into our room one night at 3am! She had always been a great sleeper and we def didn't want to start any bad habits. In the end we had a chat about it and she felt she was too far away from us. So ended up moving her back to old room (next to ours) and it stopped. I would think the whole house moving thing has unsettled your little one. If it was my DD, I would probably tell her once she went to bed that I would be upstairs and check on her in a little while. Then keep checking every 5 mins or so. She may feel better knowing you are close by. Over a few days she may settle more easily and the 'checking' can slow down? I have used controlled crying and it does work, but considering the big change of moving house, I would be a little reluctant to push it. Hope this helps. x

Hold onto the thought, it will get better especially as she is usually a good sleeper. I know it is horrid when you just want them to go to sleep after a long day. :)

I'd suggest a chat with her about what she doesn't like about her new room, maybe there are shadows or something that are scaring her -

for example at a similar age my own DD became frightened of a moon shaped wall lamp, that she'd always previously been fine with, taking it away soon solved the problem

Maybe look at moving her bed & furniture around to a position SHE chooses, so she feels a little in control of things

& once thats solved a sticker - reward chart to encourage her to go to & stay in her own bed.

& get her a dreamcatcher - hang it in her window to "catch any naughty bad dreams" & make a ritual of "shaking it clean" every night before bed - this worked like a dream when DD had bad dreams - she never complained again

good luck

you guys have been so helpful, thank u so much xxxxx

We have also just moved house 4 weeks ago with our 2.5DD. She started off really well. Loved her new room but is unsettled with new nursery and DH working away 3 days a week.

Last week we had hysterical sobbing when we put her into bed. First night I fell for it and sat on a kitchen chair outside her room reading which she was happy with - so happy she started singing me songs at which point I silently got up and walked out of her sight. Cue more hysterical screaming. I went in gave her a hug and said "stop crying and go to sleep". More hysterical crying then a sudden stop and nothing more. Next night was the same but I didn't sit on the chair, just went back to her once to tell her to stop crying and go to sleep - gave her a kiss - more screaming then sudden stop. Next night - nothing . Now she goes to sleep by herself again and the problem seems to have passed ... for now!

Very tempting to sit with her until she goes to sleep but I think it would be a slippery slope and very difficult to undo.

DD has amazed us with how well she has coped with the move generally. But I am aware that aspects of it have been stressful for her and try to be mindful of that whenever we get some challenging behaviour. I'm sure it will settle in time and the pro's deffinately outweigh the con's. Good luck.