Toddler seems terrified of sleep

[loui92]

My LB is 28 months old and until a month ago slept brilliantly often singing or talking to himself until he fell asleep. He is now resisting naps (he still needs them as he falls asleep sitting up if he doesn't go for one - often in the car now ) He has said 'I don't like bedtime anymore.' As soon as I leave the room he screams and won't stop until I return to him. I've managed to get him to sleep by sitting in his doorway and shushing until he falls asleep but he then wakes up anywhere between 11-2 and won't go back to sleep unless I sleep on his floor. I'm on my knees now and struggling to function. Any advice would be amazing!

Bump.

Hi…I can’t help but I have a similar issue here too - my 2.5 yr old had to loose his dummy after a mouth injury and due to trauma and needing to watch him to make sure no more damage was done he was on the sofa with us. The teeth situation is now better but we have persisted with no dummy but he can’t get to that sleepy / going to sleep now bit, and seems terrified of cot too…he will sleep in the car/in the pushchair for his nap or downstairs with us before bed. He will sleep in his cot however throughout the night and we can put him in it once he is at the right point . We don’t want the whole cry/scream before bed thing and that’s what the HV recently advised me -Altho staying with him. Very difficult! Also if he doesn’t nap he wakes up distressed and I can only calm him by rocking standing up and then eventually distracting with tv.

I was told this.
Imagine you're the DC. You are tired and don't know why, but you know you're going to be alone and you don't quite know whether you will wake up alone or not. You wake up alone and you're terrified of how the room looks in the dark.

I think it is a phase. A horrible one. It'll pass. What I did? I worked on the reassurance that DC was safe even if they woke up alone. I lay with them to get them to sleep until they were over six. I can't do with getting up when it is bedtime. Gradually they learn that we don't get up when we are in bed unless we need the loo or are ill. Middle of the night, they got in with us and we worked on reassurance that their bed was the nicest and safest place to sleep.