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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Toddler sleep

7 replies

samoa · 08/02/2012 20:54

Hi,

We have been traveling quite a bit recently and so my 24 dd sleep has been all over the place. Not only that but she has now decided that she no longer wants to sleep in her cot but i a proper bed, so we make the change. BUT the massive problem now is that she will not go to sleep by herself. My dh has to sit in the room with her until she falls asleep. My dh has tried moving closer to the door night by night but it is not working, she has massive tantrums and she has to have the door to her room closed so my husband can't even get out. Sometimes my husband is there for an hour before she sleeps.

What on earth shall we do? What do the rest of you do?

Thanks

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Birnamwood · 08/02/2012 21:03

She's 24? She's a bit old to be needing sleep training!

Sorry, not very helpful :)

I'm sure someone will be along soon with good advice but what I found useful with ds1 when we were having problems, was to have a strict routine and make sure she understands that daddy can't be there all night but he can stay for a little while to read stories but set a timer on your phone so when te alarm goes off she knows it's time to sleep. Tell her that you will both be nearby and if she has a problem to shout but she must try to sleep.

Good luck and I hope you find a resolution soon.

groveromy · 08/02/2012 21:03

We've gone through this a few times. It usually takes a few nights before settling once you get back in routine. If she's old enough to understand, have a routine where you read 2 or 3 books with her, and then say that you'll sit with her for one minute. We have stars on our ceiling, so we used to count the stars together. Let her choose a cuddly toy to stay with her. You can also say that if she doesnt sleep by herself, she will go back into the cot. Leave the door open and a light on outside and let her know you are close by. Our DD loves hearing us talking in the living area outside her bedroom. Different ages will bring different stages...comfort her as much as you need to, in a few years time she won't want either of you in her room as she falls asleep and so maybe enjoy it while it lasts!

Original poster

samoa · 08/02/2012 21:11

Birnamwood I meant 24mths

We have a routine for night time, but it just doesn;t seem to be working. I thought about turning the light on in the hallway and leaving the door a bit open, but she just slams the door shut!

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nannyn · 08/02/2012 21:12

We had the same problem with our DD at roughly the same age. A new duvet cover that she'd picked out & a gro clock solved it in 2 nights. Good luck & don't give up hope.

Iggly · 08/02/2012 21:36

We had this. Maybe shes a bit unsettled. We went with it for a bit then after a while started saying to DS that we were going and he would fall asleep. We said we'd come back when he woke up. We had a few cries of "come back", which we did so he understood that and after a while he started falling asleep fine. He even told me to go on occasion

Original poster

samoa · 09/02/2012 22:53

Ok, now she won't even sleep in her bed. She only wants to sleep on the floor of her bedroom!

OP posts:

groveromy · 10/02/2012 02:55

Be firm with her and tell her she must sleep in her bed. Consistency is key. I usually get my DD to realise she doesn't want to put her nice clean head on the floor as our feet have been there and it's not clean etc...
Good luck!

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