I have asweet little son almost 3 in Dec.
To make this short and sweet, anytime i put him to bed, be it day or night, he SCREAMS as though hes hurt..and bangs on the door( i have to have a lock or hell constantly get out of bed at night, and trust me I feel bad for that)but i feel like ive tried many things and theres no end to it! I dont want to give in to him but im getting close to that oint! So, advice needed quikly on what to do!
J.
I just wanted to let everyone know we conquered the screaming.... I no longer have to use the lock on the door and im so happy for that! I started giving him treats in the morning for sleeping without ascreaming at night, AND for sleeping as much as possible through the night....we would call family and freinds and make a big deal out of him not screaming at night over the phone...he would beam! He still cries sometimes, but i hug him, kiss him, tell him I love him and walk out, if he gets up im usually right by the door and just tell him get back in bed, he says okay mom" with a slight whine in voice, but he gets back in bed. Oh the other thing we got rid of the sippy cups and that I think made a huge difference. He was sleeping with one all through th night and would pee so much I think it was keeping him up...we said the mommie birdies needed the sippy cups for there babies and he completly accepted that. now he has a drink right before bed and thats it...so weve moved on, hes happy because hes sleeping and were happy as well!
thanks for all the responses
J
You're gonna have to put up with it and stay out of his room because locking him in there shouldn't be an option. Locking him in may scare him and make him not want to sleep, but even worse, if something were to happen the door NEEDS to be unlocked. My husband is a firefighter and a first responder and for MANY MANY MANY safety reason's you should never lock him in a room.
Mine screamed through it. You just have to let him do it. You are the mom and you are in control. If you give in he will think that he has the control. Let him take a blanket or sippy or stuffed dog to bed. leave the hall light on for him or turn on a movie in his rooom. My kids love to fall asleep to a movie. Good luck
Is he in a crib still? I didnt take my children out of their crib until they could climb out of it. If he can climb out of it, or he is in a toddler bed I would establish a bed time routine. No exceptions. Bath, brush teeth, read a story, and tuck him into bed. When he starts to throw a fit and leave his room, do not show anger. Simply pick him up and put him back into bed. Every time he does it, repeat. Dont talk to him or get angry. Say good night the first time you put him back in bed, and the next time, say nothing at all. You might have to camp out on the couch a few nights to head him off, but persistence is the key. Once he figures out that he's not getting his way, he'll eventually give up. It will probably get worse before it gets better! Good luck.
Does he have a nite lite? My son did this as well and I just let him scream. He got over it and learned he wasn't getting his way.
Jamie
Have you asked your son what he needs? I always tell moms the same thing when their kids are having troubles sleeping...go and let them pick out a night lite and a stuffed animal that will keep them safe at night.
Hope this helps-A.
Are you eventually going into his room when he does this? I was once told by a wonderful pediatrician that if you go into his room, he will continue the behavior until you come into his room. If you wait 45 minutes until you go to his room, he'll cry for 45 minutes the next night or longer since he knows that you will eventually come back. My daughter used to scream until she puked. I didn't know what to do. So, after talking to my doctor, he said as awful as it sounds, to go ahead and let her puke and after she falls asleep, go in and clean it up. Believe it or not, this is exactly what I did and three days later, I had a daughter who as soon as I laid her in her crib, would fall asleep without a fight. She just realized that I wasn't coming back no matter what, so she threw in the towel. Sometimes we do things that we feel awful about, but you have to remember that in situations like this, if you are going back into that room after you have told your child it's time for bed, then you are giving the control over to them by going back in because at that point, they're supposed to be sleeping. So, let the child cry it out, let him scream, let him kick on the door, whatever he feels he needs to do, but if you never, not once, react to it, then he will realize he's wasting energy.
Oh wow that's a tough one. Have you contacted his ped.? Does he harm himself or others?
J., my sister is also a mom of three. We had the same problem with her oldest. He is now 16. We had to tie a shoe string around the door and nail it to the wall! Or I guess we could have just bought a lock... Anyway, I know it makes you feel bad, but we tried everything too. He had turned out just fine. He gets straight A's and is a well behaved teenager.
If this doesn't make you feel any better, perhaps ask your pediatrician. Have a good day!
Stay the course....don't give in....think of the progress (and I am sure there is some) that you have made will all be undone.
Can you give him choices? Such as, a song at bed time, or a story that way he feels more in control?
I hope it gets better...
routine is very important at night time. make sure you are doing everything the same, night after night and as close to the same time as possible. With my 2 yr old, we would brush teeth, change diaper, wrestle in the bed for a few minutes, then we tell her its lights out. She has to have a kiss, then a pacifer kiss (a kiss on her pacifer), and a huggy. We then turn her fan on and turn off the lights. Its the same over and over and she stays in her bed until morning, in fact in the morning she wont get off the bed until I open the door to let her out. lol I, too, had to put a lock on her door. I hope this helps.
Hi I am 37 and a mom of 6 kid's, ages 9,9,16,17,18,20 also a proud grandma of a 2mo old and a 7mo old, What you are doing is ok, have you tried different avenues, like a night light, favorite blanky, or maybe even a chart with a reward program. and do that daily, use rewards as reading a book, playing, whatever the child likes to do,and lots of praise goes a long way. when they are little like that they learn how to control us quickly, you have to be consistant all the time. Just remember that being a mommy is not the easiest job in the world. Good luck!
my son has the same prblem and I would love some advice too.
My 17 month old did the exact same thing and there are still a few nights that are rough, but not all of them. We started by changing her routine at night. We put her jammies on, she picks a story, we read it, then give her her blankie and tell her it is time for bed. We make sure she walks there herself and she gets into her toddler bed and we cover her up and let her push her Precious Moments doll to say her prayers. We give her kisses and hugs and then tell her "Night, Night, Mommy and Daddy love you" and then we leave and close the door only part way. In the beginning, she got out of bed all the time and we just put her back, without talking, and then left and closed the door part way. Eventually, like a week later she started to get out of bed less and now she doesn't do it really at all. You have to be consistent, and everyone is right in saying it will get worse before it gets better! It really sucked and it took a lot out of my husband and I and our marriage. Be strong....you are the parent!
My girls have a cd player in their room .- They love picking out new cds.. "night night songs" - maybe take him out .. buy him a radio/tape/cd player and let him pick out some tunes he would like to listen to at night to help him relax.. -
Eventually when you turn them on ..it will become calming for him and he will know its "night night" time..
good luck.
