Toddler Won't Stay in Bed

Lock him in.....I know it sounds a bit mean but that worked like a charm for my guy. Use some baby proofing items to do the trick. Once he knows he can't get out he will not bother. It may take a few nights but it will work. I don't have to lock my son in anymore because he gets the point now.

Just wanted to let you know that I am in the same boat here and look forward to other responses. My 2 1/2 loves to play the get out of bed game. At first it was in he was going to bed and after about a week of doing the pick up and put back into bed thing it stopped. Now he is all about getting out of bed, walking into our room in the middle of the night several times. We keep saying we will have to put a lock on his door. I am not sure I really want to do this but not sure what it will take.

My son started the same thing few months back and would get up 10-15 times- it would take over an hour to get him to bed. He also shares a room with his older brother and would keep him up too. We have had the same evening routine for the boys since birth so I think it had nothing to do with unwinding but more to do with the new found freedom and testing the ground.
I have stuck to my guns with leading him back to bed and not falling for the tricks. The good news is that we are down to getting out ot of bed once every few days so ther is hope! I know it is hard when there are more kids in the family. When he was getting out a dozen times I actually started putting him to bed a half hour earlier just so the times would kinda even out.

Hi neighbor! I live in Lindenhurst, IL just over the border. I am a married at home mom of two girls: 3in Feb. and 18months.
We went/are through this with our oldest. She can be very persistent and trying on our patience.
The advice I give to you is consistency. When you take him back to bed, no warm fuzzies. Don't talk to him, tuck him in or any other feel good act. Tell him he can have a prize for staying in bed all night. Put a gate at his door or at the top of the stairs? It's tough hang in there.

I just saw this on Super Nanny! She used a slow separation technique. You put the child in bed, then you sit close to the bed. If the child gets up you put him/her back in bed without saying anything. Then you sit again. You slowly move away from the bed. Every time they get up you put them back without saying anything. You sit there until they are asleep, slowly moving toward the door.

You don't make it into a game, you don't say anything positive or negative. You just put them back into bed.

It worked on TV :)

A strong willed child is sometimes a difficult thing to deal with. I have one that was such as a small toddler and one that is that way as a pre-teen. I thought I'd go crazy disciplining my son at that age, seemed like all i did. However, you do need a consistent means of discipline with a strong willed child. Working full time makes consistency difficult but not impossible. I've worked full time all of my motherhood as well. Here's what i suggest

1. Set a bedtime routine, snack-story-potty-tuck in.
2. The first time he gets up. Say nothing, take him by the hand and let him back to bed.
3. You may have to do this several times and after the first time or two add "NO it's bedtime" I'm sure he'll cry but he is trying to get his way.

Same thing with the tantrums. If he hits take his hands and hold them, get down and look him in the eye and tell him no that's not polite or acceptable. You don't have to yell but you have to be very firm and each time a little firmer.

When he finds you don't give in with time. He'll begin to behave the first time. Consistentcy is the key and as a working mom, it's the hardest thing to do. good luck!!

I wonder if it's time for a big boy bed?? You say he is in a crib and even getting out of the crib, which might be dangerous for him if he falls while climbing out.

My daughter used to do this too after we put her in a toddler bed. I just made the room super baby proofed (anchoring furniture to the walls, a door knob cover so she couldn't wonder through the house without us etc) and put nothing in there she couldn't play with. Be prepared for clothes to come out of drawers.

Eventually she did fall asleep (sometimes even under the bed...) and having that little freedom of being able to get out of bed stopped the need for our attention all night. Maybe he feels too confined in a crib?? She's a great sleeper now, and even if she doesn't sleep at nap time she relaxes with her stuffed animals and quiet time in her room.

Good luck!

One of my kids was like this and we got a pressure mounted gate and put it inbetween the doorframe at night. So he got out of bed and played with his toys or whatever, but he couldn't get out of his room. We had the monitor on so we could hear things. It worked really well.

You might want to switch to a toddler bed if he does keep crawling out of bed. That way he can get out on his own, since he's going to do it anyway, and you don't hear that big THUMP when they fall and you're worried that they have a concussion.

we had a safety door knob thing on in case he got out and feel down the stairs or whatever in the middle of the night.
when we took it off and he realized it he came out alot. we just had to threaten to put it back on and now he stays in his room... and calls for us and asks if its time to come out : )