Ideas on how to keep our almost 3 year old in bed?!

loLLyDriVe

Our DD will be 3 next month and for about the past 3 months she has been getting out of her bed every night at bedtime.....over and over again and it will sometimes go on for over an hour.  Some days are better than others but we are out of ideas on what to do.  We've tried the Super Nanny thing (no talking, just put them back in bed, repeat until they stay in bed)...sort of worked but after awhile she didn't care anymore.  We've tried taking away privlidges (no TV, no painting, etc.)....doesn't phase her much.  We've done a bedtime chart (if she stays in bed she gets a sticker and after so many stickers earns a prize or something)....again, doesn't really care. 

Up until now, she was always the perfect sleeper.  Never tried climbing out of her crib, would sleep from 7:30-7:30 every night.  When we moved her to a toddler bed, she did great.  Something changed and now, it's just pure hell.

 Help!  Anyone?!?

WifeyLindsay

Is the problem her getting out of her room or just her not staying in her bed?

KoriBrett

Ditto every single bit of that.

She's been in our bed 5 out of the last 8 days so far. ?She has to use the bathroom or wet her pullup (potty trained but not nights), she has a bad dream, she just plain wakes up lonely. ?I have no idea how to fix it. ?Just letting you know you aren't the only one.

Ciarrai

We just put a gate across the girls room.  If DD#1 wants to sleep on the floor, that's fine.  She actually usually does at naptime b/c she plays for a while and then goes to sleep.  Still, she figured out pretty quickly that the bed was a lot more comfortable for nights than sleeping on the floor.  I should add that the girls don't have many toys in their rooms.  They just have some stuffed animals they each sleep with and sometimes get a few books (like 2-3 each) to take to bed with them.  There's not much to do in there except sleep...

loLLyDriVe

She gets out of bed, comes out of her room and just stands there.  Once she's asleep....there are no problems.  It's the staying in bed and going to sleep that's the problem.

Ciarrai

Oh yeah, and DH takes the gate down when he comes to bed so DD#1 at least can come get us in the morning if she wakes up before us.  It's mostly for the going to sleep time and also b/c we have three dogs.  They're mostly good with kids (well two are), but I didn't want them waking the girls up or sleeping with them.  DH waits for them to be in their crates for the night before opening the gate so it works both to keep the dogs out and girls in.

zansmom

Putting the gate up was the best thing we ever did. I think dd feels much more independent about sleeping. Ditto that she occassionally, mostly naps, plays. However, there are no true toys, a few stuffed animals and a bunch of books. She knows that the rule is that if the gate is closed, it's time to sleep/be in her room, if it's open she can come out. I always open it after she falls asleeps.

 Try it, it really was our lifesaver...

LestaMarie

I was very, very firm about DD staying in her bed once she was there.  I can be pretty strict when I feel strongly about something, and it was not safe for her to be up at night, especially if I was upstairs and she was downstairs in her room.  It was a no-nonsense, you-stay-in-bed-or-else thing, and it was only a few days before she stopped getting out of bed.

If you're not a meanie like me, you should try the gate thing.   I was against even that, but if you're cool with it, it will probably work.  Several of my friends do that and it's worked out okay for them.  Problem is that your child may not get the sleep she really needs because she'll play for a long time before falling asleep.  But it's probably worth a shot, especially if nothing else is working.  Good luck!

butterbeansmama

When we moved him to his daybed, I was extremely strict when it came to him getting out of bed by himself. Meaning, that just doesn't happen. He knows that we can hear him wherever we are in the house, so if he needs to get up for potty, then he will just yell and say so and I will come up to take him potty. He stays in his bed and waits for me in the morning to come get him.