2 Yr. Old with HORRIBLE Sleep Habits

If you still have the crib you might as well try going back to it, maybe she seemed ready but is suddenly scared of the big girl bed. Changes like this are huge to a toddler. My daughter is 2.5 and still in a crib. She'll be switching to a bed soon only because we need the crib for the baby (we'll see how that goes!) I don't think there's anything wrong with keeping her in a crib a little longer if that's what she wants. She probably just misses the comfort of four walls around her when she sleeps. I bet another few months will be all she needs. Sounds like a hassle but might be worth it to get some sleep.

We tried putting our son (2yo) into a big boy bed because any sitter we've had or the daycare he goes to, he sleeps in a big boy bed... At home? FOUGHT every second!

We put him back in his crib and no more problems. Willingly goes to bed and lays right down to go to sleep. Tells me night night, blows kisses, and lays right down.

My now 7yo daughter... Was in a twin bed by this age... She always hated her crib. Every kid is different.

She has said & told you, what is bothering her:
She is 'scared'
She does not like her big girl bed.

Digression (putting her back in her crib)... sometimes is useful, until a child is better about the transition.
My son, was in his crib even at 3 years old. Then one day he told us he's done with his crib and wanted to be in a bed. So then we put him in a bed. He was fine.
My son LOVED his crib and slept so well in it.
When "he" was ready for a bed... he did so, just fine.
With no transition problems.

Also, at 2 years old.... sleep tweaks commonly happens. AND, they do get 'fears' at night... which is developmental based. Their cognition is changing. From this age on up, they do get night time 'fears.' And their imaginations are changing.

She is obviously also over-tired. Which makes it harder for kids to fall asleep. And, some over-tired kids, even get more 'hyper' the more tired they are. Thus they cannot wind-down well nor fall asleep well and cannot sleep well and wake more.

Or, have her sleep on the floor.
She does not have to be IN her 'bed' per say. Just as long as she gets sleep. My daughter did that at that age. It was a phase. No biggie. She got sleep that way.

By the way, the brand "Animal Parade" which makes good natural kids vitamins, has something called "Warm Milk" which helps calm and soothe children before bedtime. Its a chewable. Places like Whole Foods has it.
It has good reviews. I used that for my daughter.

Also before bed, like 1 hour before bed.... make EVERYTHING dark and quiet, and boring. Just keep 1 dim light on. Also give her verbal head's up that bedtime is soon, and now it is 'wind-down' time. Kids need to be told, BEFORE hand, what is coming up. So that they can transition. BEFORE bedtime. Not 'at' bedtime.
Your daughter, seems to need to 'wind-down' first... before bed. Not 'at' bed time.

all the best,
Susan

My now four year old has always been an amazing sleeper which is such a relief from the other two. Needless to say the transition to the big bed did come with some trials. We had a baby at the same time so he also changed rooms. He does not do change well so we started to struggle a bit with his napping, bed time, and getting up in the middle of the night. Ultimately, I figured out he was just feeling insecure with the new room and how open his bed was in comparison to a crib. I went and got some temporary side bumpers for the bed (you can get them from Target or Walmart). It gave him that security back and he was fine. I ended up keeping them on his bed for about a year then he was ready to take them off.

HI--
A child at this age isn't old enough to have the brain development level to "manipulate" you. She is truly scared--a developmental thing that happens at this age when they realize how big and scary the world can be and that they have no control over it. Figure out why she is scared. I love the idea of putting side bumpers on the bed. Or maybe a special stuffed animal that is especially designed to "keep her safe". And putting her back in her crib wouldn't be digressing--it would be what works for her. You have to do what works. Eventually she'll get older and be fine in a big girl bed. Help her through the transition and she'll outgrow it when she's ready--and then they'll be some new thing to deal with :-)
J.

Don't worry you're not going to traumatize her by making her go to bed. I think what's happening is she has created a pattern and she knows she can control you into giving her what she wants. It's not good for either one of you to not sleep through the night so you need to figure how what to do.

I suggest a couple things. First, maybe she doesn't need naps anymore. Maybe she's getting too much sleep during the day and so that's why she doesn't want to sleep at night. Try cutting naps out for a day or two and see if it makes a difference. I know she sounds young to stop napping, but that's what we had to do with our one son.

The other thing I would do is tell her that you will get rid of the rocking chair if she can't follow the rules. Carefully explain the "rules" of what she is expected to do each night and that she needs to stay in bed. Then, if she can follow the rules she can be rocked at bedtime only.

Good luck!

Maybe she is ready to quit napping. Cut out naps and push bedtime 30-60 minutes earlier. See if it helps.