2.5 Y/o Son Is All of a Sudden Not Wanting to Go to Bed -

Wow - that was like reading my own experiences 2 or 3 years ago! I had the same problems - which were a different problem every night. We finally found that a cd put on all night would do the job, along with a fan or some sort of white noise. They hear all those funky noises that houses get and their imaginations run wild. oh yeah and we had the night light problem too - we solved that by putting in a dimmer switch - the ceiling like wouldn't put off any shadows like his nightlight did. I know this sounds horrible but we had to start using a lock on his door too - just the little eye/hook latch. We would ALWAYS unlock it before we went to bed. When we finally got the GOING to bed taken care of we then tackled the STAYING in bed. I got the book "The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Preschoolers and Toddlers" and used a bunch of tips in there. You just have to be strong and be ready to take a few nights of barely getting any sleep as you keep bringing him back to his room! You can do it though!

Hi M.,
My name is Jen and I have a three year old and he started doing the same thing at the same age as your son. The only thing that worked for me was not putting him down for a nap and I let him watch his favorite Dora movie in bed. He is out before the movie even gets through the previews. Some times I have to be mean though, and that is ok, we all have done it I am sure. My son hasn't had a nap since, and if he goes to my parents house for the day I have to make sure he doesn't take a nap there either. He did once and it was only for an hour and he was up until 1 am. I would try taking away the nap, he might even go to bed sooner which will give you your nights with your husband. Please let us know how everything works out.

I also have a 2.5 year old and am going through the same thing!!!! For the most part we've stopped nap time. He now has "quiet time" in which he has to sit quietly and watch a movie or Blue's Clues, Dora, etc... For Christmas he got a Storytime Theater. It's a movie projector that plays on the wall or ceiling and they sell several different cartridges to play. The toy company that makes it is based out of Canada so they really haven't started selling them in the States yet, but look for it because it is the best thing at night! We let him watch 2 movies and then it's time for bed. It's helped so much with helping him settle in!!!!

Ladies - to all that have responded a big THANK YOU.

I'm a single mom with absolutely no experience with children. I've been flying blind and my 2.5 yo son seems to be a replica of all of yours!

Thank you for sharing and inadvertently letting me know that we are "perfectly normal"!