How do I get my daughter to sleep in her toddler bed?
Monday, April 26th, 2010 at
8:48 pm
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Sounds like your daughter can do it if she is sleeping in a bed elsewhere. maybe she is in her comfort zone at home sleeping in a cot, and kids tend to know when to make life harder for mum and dad in these transition stages. From my experience i have 3 kids and my first two had no problem but when it came to my youngest she did not want to co-operate i found if they are in a routine, certain dinner time, then bath then its story time in her "big girl" bed and then after story time its sleep time. if she makes a fuss then do the 5 min rule go in after 5 min and dont make a big fuss pick her up say nothing put her to bed and pat her tell her you love her and night night. if she walks out of her room then do same thing . If she still making fuss go in again 2 min later say nothing pick her up and put her to bed and kiss her and walk away. do this untill she goes to sleep. I know this may be hard but thats how i trained all of mine and the quickest way for me. Its a way to make her feel secure and not to play you at the same time and no big fuss made. Yes sometimes you may have to pick her up of the floor as she may give up there and go to sleep but this will only last a few days. you will find the next night you may not have to do this as much as the night before but she will understand. Hope this helps you . good luck
Each of my oldest two kids got to go to the store and pick out a big kid pillow and "cool" sheets. Then we came home made the bed and I let them watch me take down the crib. I know this is a pain since you will need it again, but if there is no other option it will go much easier. I would start now so she is very comfortable in the bed before baby comes! Good luck and congrats on your new one!
When our son moved to a toddler bed. We got him a whole bedroom set. Then we let him pick out his sheets a new blanket and some stickers that go on the wall and are removable. We then had him help take down the crib and told him you are a big boy now. I let him help me put the room together and he gave me the tools and pieces that I needed. He was so excited when it was all together, he kept saying I am a big boy and that night he told us nite-nite and went to his room.
If you have the money, take her to the store and let her pick out what sheets she wants, and maybe a special pillow or stuffed animal. Does the side of her crib come off? If so, you could start out with that arrangement. She may be balking at the ‘big kid’ bed because she’s scared of losing her baby status, and all the attention that comes with it. Does she know there is another baby on the way? She may need assurance that she won’t be forgotten when the baby comes. Also, you could check your local library for books to read to her about other kids who get their own new beds.
thats funny – i had the same issue. what finally did work was a routine- 10 minutes i sat with her in her bed to settle down, i even put on a timer to make sure i was being stern about the time, we always did a story as long as she would sit still in the bed. there was still some screeming at first but she adapted and it worked out. find out what it is she doesnt like, for my daughter wanted alot of night lights worked. maybe take the crib out of the room -at least for the time being. another thing we said is it was he big girls bed and tried to make it like a great thing that she was a big girl now. try getting together with her and decorating the crib with toys,stuffed animals and bedding for the new baby, while explaining thats she has the big girl bed and the crib is for the baby. by getting her involved maybe she will be more wiling to graduate away from the crib.
Take the crib down and put it in to storage and tell her its gone. Take her out to get a bed set that SHE can pick out. Tell her that she is a big girl now and has to sleep in the bed. Or if she still refuses let her sleep on the floor. Just don’t make the mistake of putting her in your bed, no matter how much easier it is. Unless your ready for a different fight all together. Best of luck!