Difficulty with Toddler Sleeping in Own Bedroom

Have you tried the Super Nanny technique of repeatedly putting him back into his bed withouth saying anything to him. It takes a few nights and the first couple can be really really hard, but we used that technique with our 2 year old when we just transitioned him to his big bed last month and now he stays in his room without any trouble.

We went through the same thing with our 4 year old about a year ago. Our family practitioner recommended Sleepless in America. I know some peoples response would be "Not another self-help book" , it is a great book on understand different personalities and how to make sleeping a positive thing. It required a lot of patience and calm energy. It is a much more peaceful style than the just put them in there room and let them scream (which was not effective at our house, after the advice of our peditrician). We are now able to read bedtime stories and he is asleep for the night. Consistent bedtime routine was a huge part of our success. Good Luck.

If he was sleeping in his own bed before the divorce. This may be his way of dealing with the upset in his life or he may just be missing you and want that extra time with you.
So I would try to spend alot of time on bedtime routine read a book sing songs and cuddle and then use the supernanny trick to get him to stay in his bed. Good luck T.

Quiaria,

I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. My suggestion to you... Remember always, you are the mom, you are the adult. Stand firm with what you decide. Tell your 4 year old he/she is a big boy now and he's old enough to sleep in a big boy bed by himself. Reassure him with love, but stand firm. He will scream and fuss, don't let him see you get upset and continue to put him back in his bed. As a reward for sleeping in his own bed, set up a marble jar or sticker chart and when he sleeps through the night in his bed he gets a marble/sticker. When he gets 3, give him a special reward or treat. Then move it up to 5, then 8, then 10 and so on. You can also make the rewards a little bigger as the number gets bigger. This works for other things too. Hope this helps. It worked with our 3 year old who used to climb into our bed 2-3 times a night.

Good luck. Happy sleeping

He may be feeling insecure & may need that time & comfort time with you. You could try to have reading time with him in your bed before lights go out, & then seperate when it is time for the lights to go out.

Hi Q..
I also had a hard time getting my son to sleep in his own bed at that age. It was just the two of us as well. I told him that I needed my privacy once in a while and that he would not always be able to sleep with me. I asked him what he would like me to buy him for his bedroom. He wanted a blacklight believe it or not. I told him I would buy it for him but only if he slept in his own bed for one week. If he made it through the whole week, we would go get it and I would buy him something to go with it that would glow. I also added that after we bought it, he still had to sleep in his own bed and if he didn't, I would take it away. He made it through the whole week just fine. We bought the blacklight and glow in the dark handcuffs( he said he wanted to play cops) of all things and he never slept in my bed again. Maybe if you can find something that he wants to make his bedroom extra special or really cool, he will want to sleep in there. Maybe glow in the dark stars on the ceiling or a special night-light. Just find something he wants really bad and try using it as an incentive. Good luck.

B.

I also have a 4 yr old son who refused to sleep in his own room. When I told him that I would be decorating his room with his favorite cartoon character, it made him feel so special and like a big boy. He now sleeps in his own room (with a catch) if I let him watch his favorite movie while he's in there. It usually puts him to sleep and I turn the tv off and he doesn' budge all night. I know that this might not work for every 4 yr old, but it's worth a try.....