2 Year Old Won't Stay in Bed - Peyton,CO

My daughter transitioned to a big girl bed and went many months before she started getting out of bed. I happened to be watching the SuperNanny show and this was one of the issues she had the parents do...I tried it and it worked great...very much like what Kristen L said (return him to bed, reduce your talking, ...)

The first time the child gets out of bed after you've tucked him in, carry/place him back in his bed and gently say goodnight and sit a few feet away from his bed, your back to him. 2nd time and thereafter, place him back in his bed, no talking, reduce your eye contact, and with each time you have to put him back in the bed, sit a little further away from his bed, keeping your back to him. Stand firm; there will be crying, maybe some screaming, but he'll get it quicker than you think.

Alright, girlfriend, here's the deal-leo. PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN!! You should only have to do it once or twice. My DD went to a "big girl" bed and only got up two times. I looked her right in the face and calmly said "time for bed" (this is a term we used for months) She almost wont get outta there for nothin'....but then again, I have an almost three year old that wont sleep in the bed with me...no matter how hard I try!!! I want some close, snuggy time and she gets up in the night and goes to her bed!!!! Oh, the humanity!!!!
I guess I gotta have another baby to cuddle!!!

M:)

Sometimes a special drink in bed helped them stay there, but you must give anything special the FIRST time you tuck them in, NOT when they get back out and ask for something, otherwise they will think that they can get out of bed and get a reward.

My kids took binkies, and you could take it away if they get out of bed (usually give warning on first escape from bed that if they get out again it will get taken away), but I really needed them to have that binkie, so I didn't use this one. (I had mine in big-kid beds by 18 months)

Mostly you JUST NEED TO BE CONSISTENT! DON'T let him get drinks, read stories, or anything when he gets out. Try to keep your contact with him minimal. Just say, "You need to go back to bed" then walk him back and put him in bed. Don't re-tuck him in with whatever regular routine you have and give him extra reinforcement for getting out. This difficult stage might last about another week or so, and WILL rear it's head again after he's been sick or big change in routine, but he WILL go to bed and stay there soon :D

I swear that some nights it took over an hour before my kids would stay in their big-kid beds! But it was worth it! Even in the middle of the night, they get one hug then off they go, back to bed by themselves (usually).

My son was in a toddler bed from when he was 1 and now that he is 2, the walking back to bed no longer worked...so now, if he gets out of bed, his music (which he REALLY likes- Imagination Movers!) goes off and if he gets out again, his "friends" come to sit with mommy and daddy for a few minutes...when we come back with them and ask if he wants them back (he's usually crying of course for his "friends" to come back), we tell him he has to stop crying and get back in bed. His response is usually "okay" and he gets back in bed and we rarely have problems beyond that. We do have a gate up at the door which keep him in his room even if he does get up!

I tried many things, lullabies, new night lights, and yes, even threats, all to no avail. I finally had to resort to removing his "loveys" one at a time, as he came downstairs (mind you in the complete dark of the house too!! Crazy kid!) I hated to do that because I was worried it would make night time worse, but he sleeps with a blanket, bear and dinosaur, so we removed them in that order, starting with his favorite, his blanket. The first night he only lost his "night night", the second night he lost everything, and I think the third lost just his blanket and bear. And that broke the cycle after about two months and lots of internet reading! It also works at naptime! Now he'll occasionally regress, begging for a drink or a potty break (which we always give him) but if he comes downstairs and is "fishing" for a reason, he loses his loveys.

Whatever you do, explain it to your child and make sure he understands the consequences. It'll likely take lots of repeating, but then he'll be more in control and see how his choice to leave his bed resulted in your action.

I just keep going in there and putting them to bed. I tell them that they are big now because they get a big bed and that means they need to stay there. We are still having issues with this too, so I can't wait to see some ideas. I have 2 year old twins that we are working on this same thing. I actually just separated them into separate rooms, we will see if that helps (except now my twin daughter is keeping her older sister awake)> Good luck!!!!

my daughter did that and i just closed the door and let her go to bed on her own eventually she just stopped and would go to bed on time