My 2 1/2 Year Old Fights Bedtime, HELP!!!!

i assume this means he is out of a crib. have you tried putting a baby gate in his door way dso he cant get out of his room without you knowing. and really try and limit the interaction when he does get out of bed. dont even takl to him or scold him just take him back to bed. also, does he still nap? My 2 1/2 year old takes a nap after lunch but then doesnt want to go to bed until about 9:30 at night and gets up at about 8 am. so he may just not need as much sleep and you could maybe try and change his bed time a little.

Sorry i dont have much more to offer.

Good luck.

Once you've gone through the bedtime routine that's it, he gets nothing else. If he comes out of the room YOU WALK HIM BACK WITHOUT A WORD AND LAY HIM BACK DOWN. You will have to do this over and over and over for the first few nights. About 3 nights in he will believe you and just stay in bed. My son does this a couple of time a year to test me. It's very draining, but pretty soon it's over. STICK WITH IT, IT WORKS.

You need to stop him from leaving his bed and room. I saw this on Super Nanny and it worked great for several kids. Station yourself outside his door, soon as he gets up put him back in bed. If you need to, station yourself in his room, don't make eye contact, don't talk - just when he gets up calmy pick him up and put him back in his bed. Ignore any crying and pleading. He'll get the idea. Don't let him play, don't budge - bedtime is 8 pm and that's that. I don't know how long it will take for him to stop getting up but it usually seemed to take one or two nights on the show. I don't have this problem yet with my son (16 months) but I'd certainly try it if I did. Good luck.

We had the same problem with our 2 and a half year old as soon as she learned how to open the door. We finally put a child lock on the inside of their door. Let him cry it out for the first few nights and he'll get used to it. Just make sure you don't go back in. It will completely defeat the purpose. Even if they ACT like they are hurt. It has worked very well. Once our kids have fallen asleep we take the lock off. My older daughter is potty trained and if she has to get up the lock needs to be off. This is what worked for us. Good Luck!

V.,
I have a 6 1/2 year old, who in her toddler days made my nights just as fun as yours is making your nights, this too shall pass, I promise. Toddlers thrive on consistency, this is number one in their books, it provides them with security and a sense of well being. What worked with my daughter, mind you she has a seizure disorder that when she get angry she seizes, was I told her ONE book, ONE song then its lights out ( well not the night light) She had her lovey ( if your child doesn't have a security item I suggest getting him one.) She tried the I am hungry, thirsty, ect. I know I fed her, I know she has had what she needs, its bed time, I didn't engage her in conversation, I just told her its bedtime goodnight.
Now that I am 36 weeks preggo and she is going on 7 she has started this again, and the same thing has been working.
It would be good for you and your son if you establish a routine, stick with it, no deviations for 2 weeks and see if it works, I DO NOT ADVISE spanking that only teaches a child violence is the answer when you don't know what else to do, I also do not advise cutting out naps, a 2 1/2 year old needs a break during the day to re-charge, if it becomes too concerning to you talk to his pediatrician.

Does your son get a nap in the daytime? If so, you might want to cut that out of his schedule.

When my 19 yr. old daughter was young, she'd fight me at naptime. Eventually, she'd fall asleep. At night time, I would have the fight all over again. I just wanted some peace!

When my son came along, I remembered the hassle with my daughter. (he's 13 yrs. old now) I never made him take a nap unless I was going to nap too, then it was cuddle time. Sometimes he would tell me "Mom, I'm going to take a little nap" He's "little" naps turned into big ones. I didn't have the night time problems with him.

I think most kids make excuses at bedtime but then some take it to the extreme.

One thing my kids enjoyed at bed time was music...mellow, not upbeat. I had my favorites & would sing with them. I got a karoake machine a few years ago & up until recently, my son would request that I sing "The Rose" for him every night at bedtime.

Here's another hint....especially when baby sister gets older & they fight in the car over anything & everything. Music. Hopefully you sing & get your kids to sing along too.

I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

G.

Hi V.. I understand your battle and also your need for quiet time in the evening. You mentioned that you just moved and we also had a time change recently. These things could have your little guy a little out of sorts. I realized that with my two boys this past week. I'm putting them to bed at 8:00, but it's really 7:00 as far as they are concerned. We had the same problem you are having with our oldest son. I read that it is good to quietly and without talking walk them back to their bed and tuck them in. It may take many times of doing this, but you train them on what to expect each time and soon they won't bother. Remaining calm and quiet isn't giving him attention for the negative behavior. We also at times have let him stay up with a reading light on looking at books until he falls asleep. It might also be time to phase out a nap if he still takes one. I figured out that kids all get about the same amount of sleep, some just get more at night and some make it up a little during the day. When it came down to it with our older son, he just likes to be close to us. He is seven now and still sometimes brings his covers in and ends up on our floor. We don't let him in our bed, though, and he always goes to sleep in his bed. We've had to find a balance and you'll find your's too. I hope this was helpful.

I'll add a couple of things to what others said below: read "The No-Cry Sleep Solution," I don't remember the author but she has a lot of good ideas. Routine is very important, and let him know and be involved in creating that routine. I made a book for my daughter, showing each step in the bed-time routine, the expected outcome (her going to sleep without crying, and sleeping in her bed all night long), and how happy & proud of her everyone would be when she did it. 2 years later, she still loves this book. Being a single mom with a younger child, if you don't have the ability to stand outside your child's door repeatedly putting him down for hours for a few nights, get a baby doorknob lock and put it on the inside of her door. This takes a bit longer (1-2 weeks vs 1-5 days), but just leave him in there and let him work it out. Check on him as you feel necessary to ensure his safety, but know that this will probably renew his fight so do it sparingly. This worked for my daughter, and once she was 'trained' if something disrupted her schedule or she started to fight, all I had to do was pull out the baby lock; she didn't want it on there, so she would immediately begin to cooperate. Good luck!

I am having the same problem. we have found that it gets better if our son is really tired. Like cutting his nap shorter and letting him play with other kids alot (to help tire him out).