Help!! Toddler will not stay in his bed at night

[user1476867378]

I really need some advice please. Almost 5wks ago now we removed the bars from my 2 year olds cot bed, breaking this down to a toddler bed.

The first 5 nights were great, he slept through, didn't get up once then it all changed!! My son used to be a great sleeper, we never had many nights of him waking up until this point.

Now he goes to bed ok we don't have any struggles there he might sometimes cries for a few minutes then goes to bed himself, but then he wakes every couple of hrs through the night crying and wanting into our bed.
We have tried going back and fourth with him, a sticker chart, being strict, lying next to his bed, we currently have a gate on his door so some nights he cries at the gate then goes back to bed others it takes for myself or my husband to eventually go through to him.

Is there any other methods out there that can be tried?? People tell me they come out of it but doesn't feel that way at the moment.

I was tearing my hair out with my two year old about this, though for us the problem was mainly bedtime rather than waking in the night. We had a gate across the door too. No magic solutions I'm afraid but he is gradually getting better thankfully...

Ps I had no choice but to put him in the big bed at that time (long story) but if I'd had a choice I would have kept him longer in the cot, so if you have the option to put the side back on the cot I personally would do that, and then wait until he's old enough to properly understand the sticker chart - 2 is a bit young for them I think unless yours is a lot better than mine at understanding future rewards.

He either stays in bed or goes back to having a cot. Explain that to him.

Sadly you must harden your heart and ignore his tantrums. Some are more persistent than others. Totally agree with comment above about if he can't be a big boy and sleep in the bed without waking everyone up he will have to go back to his baby cot. I'm afraid you are indulging him by lying alongside him. Just let him stand at the gate and don't go to him. He will get the message. (Eventually)

Have you stick to one method for long enough to see if it actually works? I'm only asking that because you said it's been 5 weeks since he changed beds and that the first week of that he was fine, so in the last 4 weeks you've tried 5 different things.

My advice would be to decide on one plan of action, explain to him what you're going to do and give it perhaps 2-3 weeks before packing it in if it's not successful.

We used a stair gate across dc's doors and more or less left them to it (they weren't screaming the place down though). They had a night light on and some books/quiet toys in their rooms and were allowed to play or read. After about half an hour, they'd go really quiet and either be asleep or on their way to sleep and I'd put them back in bed. After a few weeks, when the novelty wore off, they just started in bed and slept. The same thing applied on a morning too: if they wake before everyone else they have to be very quiet.