We moved my 26 month old to a toddler bed (actually, still his crib but it is a transition crib so he can get in and out by himself) and I am having a lot of problems keeping him in bed. The only thing that seems to work is if I lay on the floor next to his bed and keep pushing him back in when he tries to get out and telling him that it's bedtime. On a good night, he stops trying to get out after 5-10 minutes and will fall asleep within 30 minutes but most other night it can takes what seems like forever (over an hour and up to 2 hours) for him to settle down and fall asleep. I need to find a way to get out of the room because I have other things to do and can't spend that much time putting him to bed.
We have a consistent bedtime routine. He takes a one hour nap at day care which I am told he has no problems going to sleep and some days he does not go to sleep for a long time but stays laying down. One time I tried the approach where you repeatedly walk the child to bed but he just ended up thinking that it was a game and kept hopping out and kept coming to find me to put him back in bed for two hours and I eventually just laid down on the floor next to his bed so that he would go to sleep. Not sure if I should try that approach again and try to stick to it.
My son is the same way... He has been in a toddler bed for over a year now, and he still takes quite a while to settle down and fall asleep. We decided to put a baby gate at his door to keep him from wandering out of his room, but we let him play until he falls asleep. We cannot force him to stay in his bed, and I cannot stay in there with him for hours until he finally settles down. Good luck to you! I know how frustrating this can be!
A couple of things come to mind. Maybe the day care is letting him sleep much longer then one hour (most do). The other problem could be food related. He can't settle down becasue something is making him crazy. Another thing is he needs heavy, deep input in order for his body to really receive the chemicals and awareness to settle down and fall asleep within 10 minutes like other 2 yr olds.
Change it back.
best, k
We have a gate up across my daughter's door. She can't climb out of the room. As long as she goes to sleep, I am not concerned about where - the floor, the bed, a pile of stuffed animals.
The only place she is not allowed to try and sleep is the recliner that is in her room. She can sleep there with me, but not by herself.
