Toddlers not staying in bed

[vetgrrl]

My 2.4 son has just learned how to get out of his cot, so bedtime and nights are a nightmare! We have got him a toddler bed, as he kept getting out but could not get back in. Despite putting him back into bed about 20 times with the not talking/firm approach, he has finally fallen asleep on the floor tonight, in the midst of a trashed room.

He has always had frequent night wakings but since 10m old has been able to settle himself and slept well (or so I thought!).

Will he eventually start to sleep in his bed? Do I just leave him to it in his room until he does?

Any advice much appreciated.

We put ds into a bed when he was 2.4 and the first month was fine (I don't think he had twigged that he could get out). Then he started getting out and the fun and games started. We already had a stairgate on his door in case he accidently went wandering in the middle of the night. We tried various interpretations of rapid return but he just thought it was a game and it would take 1-1.5 hours every night.

What worked in the end for us was making sure he went to bed with a couple of toys (whatever he happened to have been into that day). The first night we said 'if you get out of bed we will take toy1 away'. So when he got out of bed we took it away. We then said 'if you get out of bed we will take toy2 away, if you are still in bed when we check back in a few minutes you can have toy1 back'. So when he got out of bed we took toy 2 away. We then told him 'if you are still in bed when we check back in a few minutes you can have toy1 back'. Although he wailed quite loudly he did then stay in bed and got his toy back. The 2nd night we only had to take toy 1 away before then returning it when he stayed in bed. Since then we have rarely had to take a toy away.