Need Advice Keeping Child in Room for Bed

I did the locking doorknob on backwards, too. I left a small lamp (not a nightlight) on, just in case it was a darkness issue. He cried for less than a week, then he accepted it. Then I switched the doorknob back and eventually he got to where he would sleep with his door just slightly open (which is what I wanted so I could hear him). I think it's a "new" thing, so he needs to learn the rules. It was tough to listen to his crying, and I felt like a mean mom. But in less than a week the problem was resolved. Never had an issue with it since.

My baby isn't old enough yet to have this problem, but what my sister-in-law does seems really good. She has two toddler boys in the same bedroom, and after the bedtime routine, she tells them that they don't have to go to sleep right away but they need to stay in their room, they are allowed to play quietly, read books, talk to each other, bascially wind down on their own and then after about 30 minutes she goes in and has them get in bed, under the covers and they have to stay there but they can still read books, play with small toys, and after a few minutes they are asleep. It gives them the choice on how and when to fall asleep. I thought it was a good idea, but might not work for everyone.

Have you tried "locking" him in. Like putting a child proof door knob on the inside of his door or just switching the door knob so the lock is on the outside. We do the child proof knob for my 22 month old and it works great.

When he comes into your room take him right back to his room and tell him he needs to sleep in his bed. After a few nights he should stay in bed.

I used one of those door handle covers with my son. It worked really well. He stayed in his room. Many of my family members told me I was cruel for locking my son in his room at night, but otherwise he got up and wandered around and I didn't know it! I was so worried he would get hurt. The other thing you could try is double gating. Stack one baby gate over the other. That way he can't climb over.

I totally feel for you. We moved my son into a bed at 18 months and he figured out the baby-proofing knobs in like a week so we did a gate and he figured out how to get over that in about a week! We got a locking doorknob and put it on backward and locked him in, but that was torture for him. (I think he's extremely clausterphobic.) Taking him back to bed didn't work either because I could sleep through him getting in bed with me. So...the thing that finally worked for us was making a bed for him on the floor next to ours and doing whatever we could to get him to sleep there. It didn't take long before he realized his bed was much more comfortable than the floor. He still comes and sleeps on our floor when he's scared but we are getting more and more time in between that too. Good luck!

Put a latch on the outside of the door for now above where he can reach it. I hate saying but it is like locking him in his room at night to a degree. Until he stays put. Him getting up is not only disturbing sleep for everyone but he could get hurt, go get into something. For his own safety just get a small cheap latch and put it on the door outside of his door so you can reach it but he cannot. You won't have to do it forever, but right now until he is old enough to stay put and stay out of trouble it is for the best for all of you! :)

We have 6 boys and they have all done this. We learned in the Love and Logic course to lock their door from the outside. Once they learned that if they stayed in bed you won't lock their door anymore. We never went out and bought a locking doorknob for their door but we do put those round plastic childproof doorknob covers on the inside of their room and it works great (as long as they can't open those). After a few nights and they learn they aren't able to open the door they usually stayed in bed. Some of them would still get up at night and try the door and once they realized it wasn't opening they would get back in bed. You can find out about the Parenting with Love and Logic at your local elementary school. That is where we took the course. We usually would open their door a crack before we go to bed so they are not trapped in there in case of emergency and they just seemed to stay in bed eventually all night.

My daughter was having this problem with her 22 month old son. She simply turned the door knob around. It has a passage lock built into it. Now she locks the door from the outside when she puts him into bed. It sounded a little extreme to me at first. But since he can't get out, he settles down and goes to sleep.

Have you tried the things you put over door knobs that are for baby proofing? I put one of my little girls door and she cannot turn the handle on her door even though she can open every other door in the house. She has never once wandered out of her room since she has been in a toddler bed (over a year now). Hope that helps! Good luck.

I've heard of people using very tall gates in the doorway or stacking two...just make sure they are secure.

I understand what you are going through. The only thing that worked for me were those plastic door handle things. So the child can't open the door himself. One thing we had to battle after that though, was banging on the door. Just be patient and reassure your son that you will come and get him in the morning!

for my son we got glow in the dark stars and put them on the ceiling above his bed. he liked them so much he laid there watching them until he fell asleep. you could also try one of those lights that shine pictures on the ceiling. good luck, he'll get the hang of it soon.

My daughter did the same thing at 18 months. The most important thing is to be consistent with whatever bedtime routine you choose. For my daughter, we would read a book or two (her choice) in her bed after brushing her teeth. It didn't work like magic right away, but after a few weeks of doing the same things, she realized that it was time for bed and that she needed to stay in her room. She always had a little night light in her room, and a CD player with bedtime songs playing, and when she would come out, we'd put her back in and tell her that if she came out again, we were going to turn the songs off. Then if she came back out after turning the songs off, her night light would go off. (of course, it wasn't pitch black in her room, but she preferred the light on.) A few times, we would put the baby gate up so she couldn't get out, and once she climbed over it, we would put a second one up right on top of the first so it was too high. She didn't have to have that done very often, but when it was a particularly bad night for her staying in her room, that's what we did. Before we even started the whole bedtime routine each night, we'd set a timer and tell her that when the timer goes off, it was time for bed. Then we'd brush her teeth, say her prayers, read a book, and put the songs on. We also told her that if she wasn't tired enough to go to sleep, that she could read some books on her own. She had a chair in her room that she could put by the night light so she could read until she was tired. She usually would end up asleep in her bed within an hour.

My boys (22 month old twins), on the other hand, destroy just about anything left in their room with them at nap or bedtime. Books for them were out of the question. So we put two musical toys in their room (durable-destruction resistant) so if they weren't tired enough to go to sleep, they could play with those for a while. We also put music on for them. To keep them in their room, we put the door knob covers on so they can't open the door in the first place. Once the routine is established and your son gets used to sleeping in his big boy bed and learns that he needs to stay there all night, he'll probably do much better. The most important thing is to be consistent. If you let him sleep in your bed one night, and return him to his the next, he'll try over and over again until you cave. After two days, it's expected that he'll try to get out. After all, he hasn't had that freedom in the past. To teach him to stay there, put him back in bed each time he comes out, explain that it's time to stay in bed, and start putting the gate up, or some other deterrant that works each time he comes out after that first time during the night. Anyway. Sorry for the length. Hopefully something I suggested will help. Good luck!

Duct tape.

Just kidding.

When I transitioned my daughter at 18 months to a bed. She would wake up around 2-3 in the morning and play in our room with some of her toys she would have with her. And I was so tired and exhausted during that time. I was told that she would grow out of it. And so I just kept taking her back in her room and laying her down and tucking her in to her bed. I had to do it for awhile but she finally stopped. I really don't know what else to say but hang in there and keep putting him back to bed.

We told our son we'd put him in timeout if he got out of his bed and left his room. It got to where our son would scream for us in the morning when he did wake up. He was afraid to leave his bed or room for fear of being put in timeout. When he was older, we finally told him it was ok to leave his bed and room on his own accord. Also, tell him that your bedroom is only for mommy and daddy. And, make sure he has a night light and a blankie or stuffed animal to comfort him. We also played up him being a big boy and sleeping in his own big boy bed in his own big boy room. In addition, we had a "magic" spray (lavendar linen spray) that kept the monsters away. Each night have the same bedtime routine. When your son does get out of bed and leave his room, take him right back to his bed. You might have to do this over and over and over again. And it won't get fixed overnight. It may take days or even weeks. Watch the tv show Super Nanny.

I'd suggest the Supernanny technique. It worked wonders on our youngest (25 months when we transtitioned from a crib). The first time they're out you pick them up, say "it's bedtime honey" and put them back in bed. each subsequent time, you pick them, say NOTHING, no eye contact and place them back in bed. No matter how much the child tries to engage you, there's no talking and no eye contact. For our youngest, it took 5 times the first night, 2 the second, and we were done. She stays in bed unless she has a nightmare or needs to pee.

I say put a child-proof knob cover on the inside of his door. That's what I've done with my 2 yr. old daughter. I have a baby monitor in her room so I can hear her if she really needs me, and since the room is childproofed, I figure it's no different than having her confined inside a big crib. On a few occasions at first, she would get out of bed and play and then fall asleep on the floor for the night, but she's in warm pajamas, so I can't see how this has hurt her. It only took her a few nights to figure out that she would rather sleep in her bed, and she either stays there or gets back in when she's ready to fall asleep. Good luck!

Oh my gosh, I have to tell you that I had the same issue with my daughter at that age. I tried everything so I finally went to the Pediatrician and she told me to take the door lock from our room and put it on her door with the lock on the outside, so we could unlock it quickly and at anytime but she couldn't.
I was desperate at the time, as I would not sleep afraid of where or what she was doing in the middle of the night. My husband and I finally broke down and did it.
Yes, it worked but it was aweful and heart breaking to see her little fingers coming under the door and face on the ground crying saying "let me out, please mommy". We did it for safety ONLY!
Our daughter is almost 8 years old and to this day, I think back about locking her in there and it breaks my heart.
I wish I knew what to tell you but keep looking for solutions and use that for the last resort. She does not remember anything about it but I do.
GOOD LUCK!

My husband and I put a safety door knob on the inside of his bedroom door. Our bedroom is the only one downstiars and we were affraid that he would fall down the stairs in the middle of the night. He doesn't seem to mind it. He lets us know when he is awake and we let him out.

Here is what worked for us...it was not the answer I wanted to deal with but it did work. You have to get out of bed and take them back to their bed. The first time I would ask if everything was ok. Then I would give him a kiss and say to call for me if their was something wrong and I would come check on him. If he got up more than once I would just carry him back to his bed and leave. I would be sure not to talk. The first couple of nights are not a lot of fun. I sleep so much better not having to share the bed with a toddler.

I took the bathroom knob off & put it on my son's door, but reversed it so I could lock him in there when he wouldn't stay in his room for time outs any more.

The key for us was being persistant. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT let him into your bed other wise it makes it that much harder to get him back into his own. When he does wake up reasure him that all is ok and that it is still night night time so he needs to go back to sleep. Majority of the time my son always layed back down, sometimes he would talk or sing to himself but always fell back to sleep, eventually. Good luck,

A Little About Me:
Full time working mother of 2, 21/2 yo son and a 13m daughter...with the most wonderful husband, father and figherfighter in the world to take care of all of us.

My mom used to put a child proof doorknob on the inside of my brother's door.
good luck!

Time.........It's all new to him.

Persistance. Keep taking him back to bed. It may take some time.

You can keep it up or stop and try again if you think it's too early but bear in mind that once he sees he 'won'. It'll be much harder the second time around.
A girlfriend made the new bed a happy place by reading together on it, having snacks on it. etc to show it was his and special.

Good luck. I know it's tough but they'll get it.