how do you stop them getting out of bed a zillion times?

[deaconblue]

ds used to go straight to sleep in his toddler bed (he's 2 ). since arrival of dd ( a month ago) he gets out of bed every few minutes for up to an hour each evening. still gets up at crack of blardy dawn too. have tried rapid return but have been doing it every night for a month and no noticable improvement. any other methods?

only up to an hour? lucky you.

DS went to bed for last time at 10.20 the other night and I'd been trying since 8 to get him to stay. he also used to go straight to sleep.

im hoping its a phase and hoping for miracle answers from this thread too !

Threaten to put him back in a cot!!!!

I'm so mean, but it worked for us!

don't believe you.
no talking put back to bed - every time
no nonsense

works

I agree, you've just got to persevere. No discussions, just straight back to bed. Exhausting, I know, but if you crack it now, it will be easier for you in long run.

Stair gate option good too- you will have to be prepared to leave him standing at it. My son often fell asleep on floor with face pressed up against gate when first in his cotbed.

Sit outside his room and say in very firm voice 'bed' when you hear him start to get up. It'll save the trip up and down the stairs!

Good luck

velcro pj's

velcro sheets

velcro duvet

can't get of bed!

Hahaha, superloopy. I like your thinking.

A bungee string attached to bed?

WE really have stuck to it, although I admit to the occasional shouting of "bed" rather than silence. Currnetly we take it in turns to stand outside his door and escort him back. Discussed stair gate with dh but then we wouldn't be able to shut ds' door and at the moment we need to so that dd doesn't wake him up in the night (she's 5 weeks old and is about to go in cot so can't even use that as a threat)
So you all reckon just keep with it, keep putting him back and he'll finally get hte message???

oops that WE sounds very shouty, just crap typing though

What does he actually want? Do you think it's linked to being jealous that 5week old is allowed to stay 'up' with mummy?

We had dd doing a really weirdy screamy tantrummy "NO SLEEP" thing (after months of going to sleep beautifully). After a couple of nights of boring 'time for bed' stuff - we let her choose JUST FOR TONIGHT if she wanted to sleep in her bed or our bed (she chose ours), next night she was fine, and she has been fine since.

So maybe give him a bit of control back over something - can he choose whether to go to bed now or in half an hour? Or whether you stay with him or go away?

Am fully expecting all sorts of bedtime weirdness when ds arrives in a month and tbh am just gonna go with the flow - and if she wants to sleep with me, she can.

It's hard to know when you need to stick to boundaries and when you need to cut some slack but if you really have tried and it's still not working after a month, I'd try a different method for a bit. No point flogging a dead horse as they say...

We put DS1 back in a cot for about 3 months at this stage. He didn't actually mind that much. When we put him back in the bed for the second time it was fine.

He is now very well trained and good at staying in bed. DS2, now, that's another story....

Stay in the room with him quietly putting things away while he drops off to sleep

Or sit by his bed so he can reach out and touch you (you can be reading a book) while he falls asleep

Or sod it, climb in and have a hug while he drops off.

Or it's possible that you are putting him to bed before he is tired, in which case major rumpus with Daddy and then some of the stay with and reassure ideas might work.

For some reason he's needing a bit more reassurance and love at sleep time than he used to. It won't last for ever, so make it a special time which both the parent and he enjoy.

poor old ds. Dh tried sticking really precisely to rapid return tonight and didn't speak or make eye contact. an hour later when I go up to take over ds has been repeatedly saying "daddy poo" for an hour (dh thought it was a ruse to get up again!). Mammoth turd in nappy, no wonder he wasn't asleep!

We had the same problem with our ds at around the same age, although this was well before the arrival of our latest addition. I think he just liked the fact that he could get out of bed whenever he liked, and it went on for HOURS.

In the end, having tried rapid return, ignoring, sitting with him etc etc, we resorted to the suggestion in Christopher Green's Toddler Taming book, and tied his door handle so it could only open a couple of inches. We stood outside and said 'time for bed' so he knew we hadn't abandoned him. Did the trick. I did feel like the most evil mother in the world, but we were getting desperate. We would have used a stair gate instead only it wouldn't fit to the door frame.

Please don't anyone call social services.

lol my sister did a similar trick with her ds only she used to wedge a broom handle under the door handle. He used to say "don't broom me mummy, don't broom me".

Even to this day, if ds is playing up at bedtime we threaten him with "the rope" which usually does the trick. Good job no one can hear...