2 Year Old in My Bed

if you are a stay at home mom, it might also help to start with naps in her bed.

This is one area that I was really careful not to start when my daughter was younger but what I would recommend is to choose a night that you don't have to get up early the next morning and you will just need to put your foot down and bring her back to bed every time that she comes to your room. If she crys then let her tire herself out. It shouldn't take forever but it could take awhile. And don't think that you're a bad parent or give in because you think this is going to damage her! You are teaching her that mommy has her room and she has her own room. Be strong!

I really don't have a strong opinion about kids coming to crawl in bed with us. They started sleeping in their toddler bed when they were a toddler, 12-24 months during the day, eventually in the nights, and then moved to a twin when they were big enough to climb off without issues. I have a 6yr. old in my bed right now and if I took her back to her bed she'd stay alseep. But I really don't mind her being there occassionaly. We never made a big deal out of it and about 1 time every couple of months she just wants to sleep with us. Although the other night I had a husband, a 3 yr.old, a 6 yr. old and myself all sleeping in a Queen.

I agree with Mel. I didn't do this with my daughter at a young age and we are still dealing with it at 4 1/2. Actually, we DID deal with it when she was one but then gave up while potty training cause she would go potty and then come to our bed. I know it's hard, but it is definately easier to deal with at this age than to still have an older child in your bed. If you have cable try to catch a Supernanny episode where she explains the spereation technique. That seems to work good, but it is still hard on the mom.

Try having her sleep on the floor of your room.
Put a cot there, or a sleeping bag or floor futon.
Tell her she can sleep there. Near you, in the room, but not in your bed.
Then gradually, she can transition to her own room.
Does she have her own bed or room?

For us, this is what worked.

All the best,
Susan

Elizabeth Pantly has a wonderful book all about toddlers and sleep. She discusses this very thing! I will give you a link to her site. What worked for us was a toddler bed in our room. That way, our son was out of our bed, but still felt safe and secure. Eventually, we'll move him to his own room.

http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/books/0071444912.php

I agrree w/ Susan. This is what we did (at age 2) and it did work.
GL!