Trying to Get My Toddler to Stay in Her Bed!

You're gonna hate me for saying it...but just keep doing what you are doing. Tell her it is unacceptable to get out of her bed at night unless it is an emergency (and define what that is). I would also recommend asking her why she is getting up...I suspect she is scared (that's why she wants you to come into the room with her...after all mommy's and daddy's scare off monsters). If monsters are indeed the problem, get a small spray bottle from the travel section at Wal-mart and fill it with water and a bit of fragrance (Fabreeze, fabric softener, etc.) and give it to her to spray around her room to "kill or ward off the monsters". Sounds absolutely crazy but it does work. If you don't have a night light in her room you may want to consider it as well as a small fan just for white noise...it drowns out all the house noises and actually helps them sleep better. Good luck!

I could not agree more with Linda. When I was young my parents turned me onto sleeping with the radio on by getting me one of those pillows with a radio in it.

I have a computer in my daughters room so she'll fall asleep to music cd's. This way I can control what she is listening to. She's learning to play the piano so she listens to plain piano music, classical etc.

Also, I don't think it's the end of the world for her to look at a book. One thing to think about is potty training. She'll be potty training soon if she isn't already. If there is a gate on the room how will she go potty if she needs to? I know that ideally she should sleep through the night. But once I get awakened I can not go back to sleep when I need to potty.

Suzi

My son decided to pull his shoes, dirty clothes, extra pair of slippers, clean diapers, and the wipes box into his toddler bed at night. There was hardly any room for him! But he slept in it, and he was fine.

For our son, we took all the toys out of his room so he would have less incentive to get out of bed. When he did and he was just moving around, we didn't say or do anything that would acknowledge he was awake. When he was whining or fussing, we would say through the closed door, "Michaiah, go to sleep. We love you. Go to sleep." Only when it was very bad (nightmares, etc) would we open the door. It sounds heartless, but after a few nights, he didn't get out of his bed. He slept. He slept through the night. And mommy and daddy were much happier.

N., my son did something similar, i think that he didn't realize at first that he was "allowed" or "able" to get out of bed. even though we played in, around, under, over and through his new firetruck bed when he got it! but then a few weeks later, he started jumping out of bed, crying, and following me to the bedroom door. it was a dead heat a couple of times. until i remembered those lovely nights when he was so sleepy he hardly fought me going to bed at all...and that's when my son's bedtime went from 7:00 to closer to 8:00. he was around your daughter's age. i don't know when you put her down but possibly delaying it a bit, getting her more tired before she goes down, might help her sleep through the night? of course it all depends on her waking time in the morning (ours is 6:30), and her nap routine (ours is one nap usually about 2 hours long- my son LOVES to sleep!) and different kiddos take different amounts of sleep. long story short, i'd try wearing her out more before putting her down! :) good luck!

Hi N.,
I don't think this is anything unusual or different from other toddlers. I have a 3 1/2 year old and 2 year old. Some nights they stay in bed, sometimes it's a battle. I didn't remove toys from the room or prohibit books from bed. I simply give them one warning, then after that when they are out of bed, I say nothing and just put them back to bed. Toddlers want to play, plain and simple. Also, they seek attention whether from good OR bad behavior. Good luck and don't overthink these phases.

Go buy her a brand new pair of PJ's and tell her they are magic. They are "magic" because when she has them on, they make her stay in her bed.