My Son Won't Stay in Bed!

Have you tried putting one of those toddler bed rails along the open side of the day bed? That worked really well for my son. The rail was so long it ran almost the entire length of his day bed. It kind of kept the bed more "crib" like and helped make him feel more secure. :)

I know exactly how you feel! We did the same thing at about the same time with our son. We eventually put a child safty cover on the door knob so that he couldnt come out and go wandering around the house without our knowledge. HE likes to stink up his diaper after being in bed a while (being quiet so you think hes asleep) and then plays for a while. We usually just leave him be after changing him and tucking him back in, unless he gets loud and then we go remind him he is supposed to be sleeping and tuck him in again. Thats one of those things you cant make them do-sleep. OH, a bedtime routine helped us ALOT. It gave hime time to calm down from the day and get ready for sleep. We would do stories with a cup of milk (so you know his belly is full) and a sleep song and a prayer. It has really helped but still its about 50/50 for getting him right to sleep. Good luck, and keep at it. Jen
P.S. I dont know, I dont have a headbanger, but it acurred to me that they have fabric with sticky on one side for decorating (saw it in a magazine but dont know where or how to get it) and that you could put that up on his bed for a bit of padding, or even just elmers glue fleece or something around the bars (elmers would wash off when you wanted it) dunno, just thinkin.

Hi B.,

I suggest a routine that you don't deviate from, mentioning throughout the routine what you are going to do next with 'and then we are going to bed'.

Also try a clock radio that has nature sounds. Start the sound of his choosing upon initiating the routine.

Our routine goes like this:
Potty, washing of feet and hands (if no bath) with wee bit of splashing in the sink, brushing of teeth, then to bed for prayers and kisses and caresses. There is lots of giggling in between so as not to get too heavy or dreading.

When we first got Joshua into a big bed, he did start to come out. It took only one time of spanking (one swat to the fanny)with love and cuddles and explaining afterwards. After that, all we had to do was threaten. Now he's a veteran and will sometimes tell us he needs to go to bed.

It is my personal opinion that when we get into fight mode, the kids dig in their heels and the situation escalates WAY beyond what is remotely necessary; sometimes losing the point altogether. We are in charge and he will do what we say, that's just that, or there will be unpleasant consequences.

Hope this helps!

My sister in law had this problem also, she took the crib completely down and gave my nephew a big kid bed, however he would not stay in it. He would always come out and they would have to put him back to bed... She finally had to put him back in the crib for a few more months, he just wasn't ready yet to be in his big bed. After a few months when they tried it again he was a lot better and actually enjoyed being a big boy in his own bed instead of the baby crib. I don't know if you tried this or not but it might work to put the crib back together again for a while and try the big kid bed thing again later.

I haven't personally experienced my own kids doing this, but I remember friends who did. They used a gate on their child's bedroom door and let them fall asleep by the gate if they wouldn't stay in their beds. Eventually the child decided it felt better to be in bed than on the floor. If you can take the protesting that would probably occur, it might work!

You really need to choose your battles. Your little boy is perfectly normal in his behavior about bedtime. I truly know how frustrating it can be teaching a child to go to bed and stay in bed, but I promise this will eventually happen for your boy, too. Some children are reluctant to give up the awakening times aventures and, although, they are sleepy and it is bedtime they aren't giving into this transistion. My advise is to simply keep placing him back in bed with verbal instruction until he catches on that you are not giving up until this is accomplished. I had a head banger/howler and he would fall asleep on the floor or sitting up or standing up with his head on the bed. He was so reluctant to go to bed/sleep when small I was sure he'd never manage to just go to bed and go to sleep. I was wrong, joyfully, of course. I also had two "I'm sleepy, I'm going night night!" children, so go figure. Good luck

I had to put a baby gate across my daughter's doorway. She would get out of bed and come to the doorway/gate and we would tell her to go to bed. Sometimes she would, sometimes she would throw a fit and fall asleep on the floor in front of the door, and sometimes she would play with toys and fall asleep playing. Eventually she grew out of the getting up - we would do her bedtime routine and she actually wouldn't get up - it was amazing! We would always place her in bed, if necessary, and remove the gate from her doorway before we went to bed (so if she had a problem during the night she could get us, or wake us in the morning). I think that was also about the time that we started playing a sleepytime CD in her room to distract her from the sounds of us in the rest of the house.
Good luck with your son! I've never had a head banger, but I've seen other children do this - it must be SO frustrating! Keep up your hard work!!! Hopefully it will get easier soon! (I also liked the person who gave advice about a rail...who knows? Might work. :) )