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| Parents of Toddlers |
| Public online group |
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I am concerned that my 2yr old is not on a good night time schedule, and I'm not sure how to break it. I can't get him to go to bed on his own, in his room. He would rather just pass out while watching a dvd or something like that. He doesn't have a tv in his room, he watches it in the living room. Even if I turn out the tv he would rather be there than in his room?? I put him in a big boy bed and he does great, just not with the laying down by himself part. I have tried to put him in bed and make him stay there until he goes to sleep, but he just cries and won't settle himself down. I did it for a few days to see if it would get any better and it didn't. Does anyone have any advice on what to do? Is anyone else going thru this tooooooooo?
Thanks |
| Posted by Tiffany on 06/27/2008 08:28 PM
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| A bed time "routine" is so important for children and their development, but routine is the key. Toddlers (and most children) want to know what to expect "next". My suggestion is to figure out a set time that he can go to bed everynight, then set up a routine that starts an hour before that bed time. A little bit of a dvd or cartoon, a bath, a book, a snuggle and lights out. Maybe go to the library and see if you can find books about bedtime (Goodnight Moon is a great one) then you can read those before bed time. With our son we do that then go through our goodnight goodbyes (you know lights out sweet dreams love you and see you in the morning) once the routine is set (probably about a week) he will know what to expect and be ready for it. The first few nights will be hard but if you follow through it should get easier. |
| posted by Kyleen on 06/27/2008 09:54 PM
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I completely agree that routine is the key. I have a pretty good one now in place, and it's chaos when I slack off. It's super hard to stick to the time schedule when your exhasted yourself! And even harder to let them fuss and cry. Hang in there and tell yourself that it will take two weeks. That way when it is done in a week or even a few days- you are that much happier. If you say a week, and you get tired a few days into it, you might set yourself back and it will just take that much longer to get him to settle down without a fight each night. Be as consistent in the beginning as you can, and then it will be that much easier in the end. You could even ask him what comes next, like it's his idea or something. We do this every now and then, and she will pipe up that we forgot to brush our teeth, or read the book, etc, etc
Good luck and hang in there! |
| posted by Jennifer on 06/30/2008 12:07 PM
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| I know how difficult this can be Tiffany because we are having the same difficulty. I don't believe in the cry it out method and have read a lot about how at this age children often need help falling asleep. I breastfed my son to sleep until he stopped nursing and now we rock to sleep in his room. We've been trying to establish a routine that works, reading for a bit, brushing teeth, piggyback ride to bed with Daddy (big hit!) and then usually he shows me his toys in his room for about ten minutes and then will sit with me and rock to sleep, which takes about half an hour. Would I like to just put him in his bed, say goodnight and walk out? Of course! But for us, this seems to work okay. Good luck and do what feels comfortable to you. |
| posted by gia on 06/30/2008 03:48 PM
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| Gia, if that is your routine then that is what your little on counts on, I think that what works best for your child is always what you should go with! (besides your routine sounds fun and if I were home at night to put my little one to bed I might have been able to incorperate those things, |
| posted by Kyleen on 06/30/2008 11:29 PM
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