So we made the mistake of taking off my son's side of his bed before I think he was ready. Now his naps are horrible and he is waking up really early. He does go to bed without any problem.
The problem is he refuses to sleep in his crib/bed. He wants to sleep on the floor. We let him and then move him into bed later but sometimes he wakes up and wants to sleep on the floor.
He has a new blanket and pillow but will not use them. He also has a new stuffed animal.
Anyone have this issue? Did it go away? How horrible is it that he is sleeping on the floor? Any suggestions?
Thank you for all of your positive support. He is save as we have a gate up and all that is in his room is his furniture which is tied to the walls. We had thought of putting the mattress on the floor, but worried about him hurting himself on the crib without a mattress. We will just wait and see how it goes. Thanks again.
Not terrible. Kids can sleep comfortably in places/positions we adults can't. Many other countries routinely sleep on the floor. Can't fall out of bed when you are already on the floor. Don't worry it will pass.
Not horrible. I went through a stage in middle school where I slept on the floor of my room for almost a year. My mother worried for a while, then helped me make up a pallet on the floor. I moved back to the bed when I was ready. Does he sleep in his room? Is his floor clean and free from hazards (like animals that might step on him, or bugs)? If so, I personally would just let him sleep on the floor for now.
My oldest son had a problem sleeping in his bed also. He would end up on the couch sometime in the night. We started letting him sleep on the floor and make the decision when he went to bed whether he wanted to lay on his blankets on the floor or his bed. Eventually he chose his bed because he said it was more comfy. I've learned with my oldest that he likes to be the one to decide on the change.... he doesn't want to be forced into anything. Hope this helps!!
Yeah, I agree, not horrible. Let him do it...I mean if he's sleeping in his own room and not waking you up...then it's all good, right?! I would also agree that he'll probably grow out of it eventually and move back to the bed. You could also try putting the mattress on the floor and see if he'll go for that.
My son slept on the floor the first few nights in his new bed, than he decided he liked the bed better.
Hi V. :-)
I'm sensing a lot of "newness" going around. New blanket, new pillow, new bed, new stuffed animal.... children.. and adults! have an innate need to feel safe, and all of these changes at once may be too much for your son. He may feel scared about "falling out of bed" now that the rail is gone and sees the floor as a safe place to me.
You might consider putting the railing back up, as you have already heard your gut telling you... no worries there, I doubt your son will be wanting railings when he gets a lot older (and usually kids show they are ready by climbing out themselves) OR.. you might put the mattress on the floor as Tori H suggested with his old blanket and familiar stuffed animals.
Many cultures sleep on the floor or on bamboo mats, it's just like camping! There are a lot of ways to go with this one, just follow your gut. Put the side up again and see what happens :-)
hugs,
A. R.N., Energy Medicine Practitioner
.
My daughter did the same thing after we moved her to a toddler bed. We didn't make a big deal of it and she stopped after a couple of weeks or so.
You can always put the side back on right? I would have kept her in her crib for a while longer but we got the recall on it and out she went.
My youngest would clean his closet out and sleep on the floor there. The one time I did try to move him he stayed up for the rest of the night so I just let him sleep in there. Once I caught him sleeping in his toy box
My son wanted to sleep on the floor during transition from crib to toddler bed. It did not help that we traveled around that time and he actually did sleep on a mattress on the floor during the travels. He wanted to continue that and refused to sleep in his crib when we came home.
What I did was to make a bed for him on the floor using a comforter. Then we brought out the "big blue bear" toddler bed from the storage and put it together with him. He was so excited! It took a couple of nights to settle in but he got used to his bed pretty quickly.
So I would recommend putting the mattress on the floor for a few nights, and then getting him excited about the big boy bed. Maybe *he* can pick up some new sheets? And it would be nice to have something familiar in the bed too, like his old stuffed animals...
Both my boys went through phases where they wanted to sleep on the floor. I thought it was weird with my oldest. He did it for about 6 months. The middle decided he wanted to start sleeping on the floor when he was about 3. I was all for it by this point because if he had a night time accident, I didn't have to worry about the mattress - it was much easier to clean the carpet ;-) Again, it lasted around 4 months but is now back to sleeping in the bed. I never move them to the bed after they were asleep either. If they wanted to sleep on the floor, I just didn't see the big issue - anything as long as they went to sleep. It's probably just a phase.
Before cribs and beds there were early cavemen with floors. Heck if I know how that worked out but in many countries I suspect even today, people sleep on floors a lot. Oh mygoodness read all about the mothers who don't get sleep. If he sleeps anywhere let him. This too shall pass. By the way, I am an old adult and in the past two weeks slept on two different floors. I'm fine, just kind of older that's all.
My son slept on the floor for MONTHS when we moved him from crib to toddler bed. His bedroom is carpeted and warm enough so we just let him do it. We put him in his bed every night but casually left another blanket on the floor and he would move to the floor near the door. We kept moving his bed closer to the door (where he was sleeping) and eventually it solved itself. Remember, there are children all over the world who sleep on the floor or a thin mat and they have no back problems or sleep problems because of it and they would be happy to have the carpet and blankets he has!
My son is 5 (his sensory processing dysfunction may be a factor playing in) and he is back to sleeping on the floor, but I moved his mattress to the floor and he's doing fine with that currently. He says he doesn't like his bed. We have red, yellow, and blue car beds, along with a regular Oak bed we got handed down to us hoping THAT would entice him to sleep in a bed....he wants a green bed. If I KNEW it would work, I'd consider painting a bed green! But he's moved around where he sleeps and we have a place that works for now, on his mattress on the floor next to the door in his brothers room. Makes it rather cozy in there with the 3 beds (counting the mattress and the bedframe in there since they are now separated - we moved him into a room with his brother when it began almost a year ago that he didn't want to sleep in his bed anymore), but it works for now. All I can say is I hear ya on it being an annoying issue, but choose your battles and consider it a success that all are getting sleep. In the beginning of our "I don't like my bed" stage, bedtimes were exhausting. Now that he is content with sleeping on the floor, bed times are generally smooth. So my suggestion would be to try the mattress on the floor if you want to (it helps us with keeping him on the waterproof mattress pad for occassional potty accidents) and just ride it out. Have your boundaries where you want them...like our son is allowed to choose where he sleeps but it needs to be upstairs on his side of the house (by/in the kid's rooms, not parent's room) Best wishes to ya, hopefully it's a short stage for your son to go through.
My 2-1/2 year old son does this. Like others-- he started once we took him out of the crib and moved him to a toddler bed. He sleeps on the floor, with only his pillow and blanket. I've tried to put another blanket under him, but he just moves it. I asked my pediatrician if I should be worried, and he said it was a faze and that there was nothing to worry about-the floor wouldn't hurt their back. Currently, it's been 4 months he's been on the floor-- hoping he moves to his bed at some point ;-)
Good luck!
