Big Boy Bed! HELP!!!!
 

So my DS is 2 and a half, he has been climbing out of his crib for a few months now so we decided a new bed for Christmas would be a good idea. He loves Thomas the Tank Engine, so that is what we got him for a bed. Well his imagination is a little big and he wont sleep in it because he thinks that it is going to go! :dizzy:

I have tried the SuperNanny thing where you keep putting him back without saying to much to him. I have tried just leaving him in his room to kind of fall asleep on his own but he tears his room apart and never goes to sleep!! I am at the end of my ropes. :^: I have no clue what else to do??? :?: Does anyone have any advice before I end up bald and over tired!!! TIA :)

Unfortunately, I have the same problem. DSS got moved to a toddler bed in May and still gets up several times each night. He comes and goes - some nights he only gets up once or twice, other nights 7-8 times... I pretty much never sleep when he is here.

Some parents talk about putting a baby gate over the door or locking him in the room, if the goal is to keep him in. I personally don't love that idea. I am still doing the 'back to bed with no conversation' thing myself...

We put up a calendar and every morning he gets up and didn't get out of bed (except to pee) the night before he gets a sticker on the calendar. When he gets three stickers (or these days, when he gets one sticker! :) ) he gets a treasure out of the treasure box. We got a fancy, cheap wooden box that looks like a chest at Target and filled it with dollar store toys, small pieces of candy, that kind of thing. He can get stickers at other times during the day, too - we used it during the heavy part of the potty training for no accidents, too. We also put a clock in his room with big digital numbers and told him he had to stay in bed until the first number was a '6', though he didn't really get that at first.

Good luck!

Okay...I have been berated for my bedtime routine by the more G.I.Mom-types out there that leave their kids to cry themselves to sleep, (not that there's anything wrong with that if it works for you....just didn't work for us...I cried more than my kids!) but this is what worked for me.

Get yourself a good pen light and a good book. Buy some soothing music and a night light for the room. Have your little one brush his teeth and climb on into bed and read him a good long book while you lean over the side of the bed with your arm, so he can read along or look at the pictures while laying his head on his pillow...I always liked the Disney hard cover books, myself. Then after the story, turn on the music, turn off the lights and turn on the night light. Then, kiss him good night, get comfy on his bedroom floor and whip out your own good book with the penlight. Minimal talking to mom is essential. I read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit this way. I'd read until he fell asleep and I have to say, in a hectic family life, this was about the only time I had to myself and it got me out of hanging out on the couch watching Austin Powers/James Bond/MXC with my hubby...it didn't take me long to really look forward to this half hour on my son's bedroom floor.

Eventually, I would put Kyle to bed and say, "I'll be right back...I have to go check on something in my room...you stay right here." And he would! I would go back to him and hang out for a minute and then say, "Hold on, I have to pee..." and I'd come back and hang out for a minute and eventually, after a week or two, I'd say, "I'm going to watch the news in my room for a minute, I'll be right back." and I would and eventually, I'd come back and he'd be out like a light. And even more eventually, I'd put him in and I could tell from his grunt and moans that he was looking forward to turning in and I'd jsut kiss him good night and he'd go out. This process took about six months and I have to say, I sort of miss reading in his room while listening to classical guitar music and listening to his breathing next to me. Bedtime is a process and it can either be a torturous or pleasant way to end a day. I enjoyed taking my time with it. Before you know it, they're teenagers and they don't want anything to do with you and you'll miss these days. At one point, I'd read to him for about 45 minutes while my daughter brushed my hair and practiced braiding. I miss those days so much. But, on the other hand, I really enjoy getting a full night's sleep. ;)

good luck!!

A good bed time routine helps too. My first child loved a routine from pretty much the day he was born. So every night we did the same thing, bath, brush teeth, put jammies on, read story, get tucked into bed. Be persistant and don't let him get out of bed than he learns he doesn't have to stay there or sleep there. My youngest was and is sort of a strange bird! He would get his blanket and go crawl into bed when he was tired! We moved when he was two we never moved the crib and set up his big boy bed in his new room. He stayed there all night with no problems, don't think he realized at first he could get out. My advice is have a good routine and don't lose this battle. I had a cousin who was still sleeping with her parents at 14!! No wonder she was the last child!

I don't have any better advice than what you have already kiddo...my kids are all grown up now and married but I just wanted to say I love the story and think it is hilarious! My 3 yr. old nephew just got Thomas The Train but not to sleep in.

I am having issues now with one of our golden retrievers....seems she doesn't want to leave the bed (she lays by Angie while she reads in bed until I say "nite-nite" then both goldens run down to their crates in the gym for bedtime and a cookie...wink....all of a sudden, at age 5, she has an attitude! and bucks and stomps and tries not to be drug down to the gym.

I have the same problem, Gary.

and yet you are still a newlywed ;)

Well thanks for all of the advice. Last night he fell asleep on his bedroom floor and then we put him in his bed. We have had a schedule since he was a baby so that isnt the problem? He does great at night and will sleep all night. Its more nap time that he is giving us all kinds of trouble??? I guess we will just keep trying different things until we get it down!!

Thanks again!! :)

EZ- I thought it was pretty funny too that he wont sleep in it because he is afraid its going to move! He has a great imagination!! :)

We have a pretty good schedule at night, and getting DSS to go to bed isn't our problem, it is getting him to stay in bed. And, he never naps any more either, unless he just falls asleep on the sofa! :)

Good luck honey!

Thanks so much for your advice Techwife! This worked like a charm!! And I got some good reading time in!! We tried this last night and he was out within half an hour!! Again thanks!! :D

I'm SO glad it worked for you. I miss those days and, as I said, it was one of the only times during the day that I had to wind down, myself and I enjoyed it as much as my son. They're only little once...why leave them in there to cry and feel deserted? I'm 43 years old and I STILL remember being left in my room to cry myself to sleep while my parents ignored me. Now your son (and mine) will have nice memories of watching mommy read while he fell asleep...nicely done. :)

How about putting a toy in front of the "wheel" to make sure it "doesn't go"??

Sounds like a cute bed!

Oh this is a very clever idea!! Or come up with some sort of "brakes" for it? He just has to make sure the brakes are on, and he's good to "not go" ;)

Techwife, that is exactly what I did with all three of my kids, including my last one who is now two-and-a-half. We co-slept when they were infants and then started them nappping in their own rooms at about 18 months and sleeping in their own rooms at about 2. When they moved from our bed to their own, it never took more than two months with any of them before I could just read them their story, give them a sippy cup of water and say "Night night" and walk out. I started by sitting on the end of their beds reading and not talking except to say, "It's night night time." in a soft soothing voice. Then began to "run little errands" like switching the laundry and then coming back in...and then "longer errands" like doing the dishes, and then graduating to watching some T.V., etc. Eventually, I just stopped coming back.

Like you, I kind of miss the 1/2 hour of quiet time to myself for reading...with my little one right there all snug in his bed.