My Toddler Is So Hard to Get to Bed!

I'm more of a 'teach instead of punish' type parent, so here goes:

No more threats, mama. Every time he gets out of bed, take him back to bed. No talking, no attention, no anger. Your face stays emotionally-neutral. Your body is relaxed. You do not talk to him. You do not make eye contact with him. He gets *zero* reaction from you, just a trip back to bed.

Be prepared that teaching requires patience. When I did this with my son, I planned my evening around it and walked him calmly and silently back to bed about four times. I actually took a book into the hallway with me and camped out outside his door, so the minute he popped out, I was putting him back to bed. (This way, I didn't feel like my evening was interrupted. It was simply a 'teaching' time.)

The second night, he tried it a couple times.
By night three, he tried it once.
No real problems after that.

Your son is younger, and you may have a few 'teaching nights' in store for you. Just remember, if you lay this groundwork now and stay calm, it will stop being a game for him. There's no payoff because there's no attention or emotional response from you. It gets boring for them after a while. They learn- "I get up, I get put back in bed".

Good luck-- and wishing you plenty of patience!

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Start your routine early enough in the evening that he can wind down. Get quiet with gentle play, a book, a bath. Be consistent in your routine. If he gets up, put him back to bed. Don't talk or threaten or cajole. Just put him back to bed without comment. Even if it takes 50 times. The next night might be 48 and so forth. He's seeing if he can wear you down or get your attention. So don't give it to him.

Well what is the exact issue...does he play in his room, hop around, come out of the room?? I think if he's staying in his room and he's quiet, I would leave him be and not worry about it. Eventually he will realize that he is tired and will crawl in bed. Now, if he's just constantly running out of his room, that's a whole other story!! We did the Supernanny method with my daughter and it did work, but it took a while and it was very, very hard on me emotionally and mentally. I'm a stickler though and once I start something I don't give up and I'm pretty consistent. If you can't be consistent, don't do it.

We bought my son a toddler bed a month ago. He was really starting to pitch a fit at bedtime when he didn't before, so I knew it was time to get rid of the crib. (He will be 2 in October, btw) So, when we put it into his room he climbed all over it and was very happy about the whole thing. Once it was bedtime though, we had to change our routine a little because now that he was given this new freedom...being able to get out of bed was a big game to him! So, it was sleep training all over again! For almost an entire week, I sat next to him until he fell asleep. Now...on nights one through four he pitched a major fit and sobbed for over an hour. I was right there with him, putting him back into bed after him getting up 50 times. No eye contact, no emotion from me, no talking to him. They just need to learn how to go to sleep! I was so ready to give up on night 3...I was really dreading bedtime! But let me tell you...I can lay him in there now, and he doesn't move, he goes to sleep! It was all totally worth it. Think of it this way when you start to doubt if you are really doing the right thing as you put him back into bed for the 48th time... if he was holding a razor right now would you let him keep it or would you take it away? He is mad at you but you took it away because you know what is best for him, he does not. Thats it. Good luck, keep us posted!

I guess my question is what time of evening is this. Because so many parents put their kids to bed way to early in my opinion. It could be he just isn't sleepy.

You cannot make a child fall asleep on demand. You cannot say "Go to sleep" and a child comply. If they are not sleepy there is little you can do to make them unless you give them some sort of medication to knock them out.

So, either he needs a later bedtime or you need to figure out why he's not tired. If he's not getting enough large muscle activity he may not be using up his energy.