Help! Toddler Is Suddenly Not Wanting Dad to Put Her to Bed!

You and dad both put her to bed together for now.

Yes try putting your daughter to bed by Both of you reading to her or whatever her bed time routine is. Then say who do you want to put you to bed tomorrow night? And if She says again the mother you can replys it is Daddy's Turn. I have put you to bed now X times in a row and Daddy has not had His turn in awhile.... My wife is the one who travels and our daughter prefered of course Mommy putting her to bed. So what we sometimes did is Mom would call at bed time to wish Her Daughter to good nights sleep and even sometimes read to her over the phone. Then she let Daddy tuck her in. But over time She let Daddy do it without Moms help. It goes back and forth now we take turns. And our child now 10 years old usually goes along with that.

This is pretty normal for toddlers, and may even be more of a coincidence than you realize. Definitely don't force the issue, you'll make it worse. I like the idea of asking her who will put her to bed, keeps daddy as an option but not a threat.

In the mean time, set up activities for just the two of them other than bedtime. A book in the morning, tea party during the day, just quick little bonding times whenever his schedule allows. This keeps them close. It was so hard for my husband, he felt so rejected! And it made me sad, too, when she would just cry and cry for me. But the less pressure you put on her, the quicker she will pass through this phase.

Toddlers do this sort of thing so well. Ask them why and they won't be able to tell you (even though you may get an answer). Try not to take it personally. It usually doesn't mean that either of you have done anything wrong.

Since your daughter is fine with Daddy the rest of the time, why not go along with this change for a bit? You might even ask, with a good sense of humor, "Who puts you to bed tonight, Daddy or Mommy?" She may want Mama a while longer. But mention the option! Sooner or later Daddy will be OK for bedtime duty again.

Well you have been putting her to bed for thepast week, maybe she got use to it and is afraid of change? Its probably just a phase. maybe both of you can put her to bed at the same time for a bit then ease back into daddy putting her to bed? Tell hubby not to take it to personal though. My 4 y/o was a big time daddy's boy when daddy was around i didn't exist and my 2 y/o was a momma's boy always attached to me. Now it seems they have traded spots. I don't existwmy 2 y/o when he is around and my 4 year old has been attached to me instead of daddy. Don't worry to much about it.

2-1/2 is prime time for asserting independence and control over situations and her own body. Right now it's bedtime personnel, in two months it'll be something else. Assure your husband he should not take it personally. Honestly, I'd say stick to your guns. Be patient, be gentle, but stick to your guns. In a way, the best thing you can do for her is to assure her that you absolutely trust her dad to care for her as you would. Give her some choices about other things (the red jammies or the green jammies? which story to read? which animals to snuggle with?) but I think which parent cares for her needs to be your choice, not hers. She'll protest for a while, but she'll get over it. To sweeten the deal and help her get over the hump he could pick up a new special story book for them to read, or if she listens to music while she goes to sleep, he could make her a mix cd or something. Something that can be a surprise, but that she has to wait through dad putting her to bed before she receives the surprise. Good luck, this can be a tough time, I know, but it's all just part of her learning how to be an independent person. Your patient and gentle firmness will help her learn that.