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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

Getting 2 Year Old to Stay in Bed

17 replies

Kel2013 · 14/07/2015 12:37

Just turned cotbed im to bed this month and having problems getting my DS to stay in the bed. We have tried ignoring him and putting him straight back in without giving him any attention but he just gets straight back up and turns it on to a game. Took us 2 hours to get him to stay in bed last night. He only stayed in bed after we put him in the naughty step for getting back up. I know it was wrong to do that but it did work!! Anyone got any tips other that the naughty step?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

PosterEh · 14/07/2015 12:39

What worked for us was: toddler-proof room, stairgate on door, ignore.

slightlyconfused85 · 14/07/2015 15:37

Put him back once, explain what you expect of him, childproof his room and ignore. He will soon get bored

odyssey2001 · 14/07/2015 18:12

Gro Clock and stairgate on door.
I don't think a time out in that situation was the wrong way to go either.

RatOnnaStick · 14/07/2015 18:15

We did exactly what PosterEh and slightlyconfused85 did earlier this month. Left him to fall asleep on the floor (on a spare duvet) and/or under the bed. Put him back in bed once he was asleep. Repeated until said toddler got the idea and now a couple of weeks later he is happily climbing into bed and staying there sideways over the pillow sans duvet cover

Persistence and ignoring him is the key.

GreenBoatRedBoat · 14/07/2015 18:26

We have stair gate on door. She generally reads/plays then goes to sleep. Helps if she doesn't nap in day and is tired enough for bed, else it's a nightmare of running about in her room. Sadly this doesn't work in the mornings and she hangs off the stair gate shouting until we go in :-(

Jedi1 · 14/07/2015 20:58

Gate on the door here too.

Ahemily · 15/07/2015 10:43

Groclock combined with a gold star system for staying in bed worked here - five stars in a row and he gets a treat of some kind

Original poster

Kel2013 · 15/07/2015 22:05

Thanks for the replys! We have been more calmer and giving him less attention the past few nights in our reaction to him getting out bed. Still taking about an hour for him to stay on bed. For those of you that use the groclock- At what age did you introduce it? Is age 2 too young?

OP posts:

Ahemily · 16/07/2015 07:32

Hi kel, glad things are improving. My DS was 2.4 when we introduced it and it worked. Good luck!

villainousbroodmare · 19/07/2015 00:08

I saw where someone had taken an ordinary cheap kitchen clock and coloured it in like a pie chart from say 4-6 in red (stay in bed), 6-7 in yellow (play quietly) and 7-8 green for go.

talulahbeige · 19/07/2015 08:50

Ahemily, how old is your little one?

My 2.4 is currently doing this and it's got a little better now we sit in her room till she calms down, lights off and if she sits up we tell her to lie down, If she ignores we lay her down, she soon gets bored and drops off. It also helps if we stay calm and don't show our frustration.
We have a gro clock and she understands the concept but still ignores it!

Ahemily · 19/07/2015 09:05

Hi talulah, everything you've said is so familiar! DS is 3 now - it's taken a while to get here but he does now stay in bed - he knows that if he doesn't, he doesn't get a treat on Friday. As frustrating as it is, we've found the 'carrot' to be much more effective than the 'stick'! Good luck, it does get so much easier

talulahbeige · 19/07/2015 13:43

Thanks ahemily, so you started at a similar age to mine with the reward chart? Just wondering if she's too young yet or wether to give it a go

Original poster

Kel2013 · 19/07/2015 14:11

Im awaiting my gro clock. We have indroduced a sticker chart also. He does get the concept and tells us he is going to stay in bed so he can put a sticker on the chart but still gets up and giggles away when we go up to put him back in bed. He is getting slightly better but im hoping the clock helps.

OP posts:

Ahemily · 20/07/2015 11:18

Hi talulah, DS was around the same age when we started the reward system - not entirely convinced he got it straight a way, but repetition was key (yawn!)

Twinwife · 21/07/2015 07:22

We are in the same situation. Have blackout blind and stairgate at the door. He has had a groclock for a while but it doesn't seem to be working anymore. We were at the stage of sitting in with him for an hour (or two) for him to sleep
Then he hasn't a sleepover at th in laws and slept beautifully.... Tough love now. We started rapid return to bed last night and he screamed the place down, but after 75 returns he suddenly went to sleep, not ideal but we are desperate!

Ahemily · 21/07/2015 11:08

Just remembered, before DS completely mastered the art of staying in bed, I used to tell him I'd be back in 5 minutes to check him, and why didn't he spend the time making up a story in his head to tell me when I returned. Nine times out of ten he'd be asleep by the time I came back - I think it was the knowledge that I was coming back that relaxed him. On the one time out of ten that he didn't nod off, I'd be regaled with a crazy toddler story which was quite amusing. Hope this helps a bit - good luck.

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