So, I have a bunch of excuses why, but the bottom line is, my kids either sleep on the couch or in my bed with the TV on. They are 3 and 2. We have a new baby coming in 7 weeks and we live in a 2 bdr apartment. I am trying to get the 3 and 2 yr olds to sleep in their beds. The problem is 1 there is no TV in their room, and whether you agree with it or not, my kids won't sleep without background noise and 2 we (parents) have mistakenly used their room as a time-out spot. So last night I tried to put them to bed. My 2 yr old just cried (bust stayed sitting on her bed surprisingly) and my 3 yr SCREAMED at the top of his lungs that he was sorry and he was saying "i say sorry to you mommy!" (this broke my heart, because he thinks he did something bad). Finally I gave them the portable DVD player and turned on a movie. They stayed in their room but didnt fall asleep until after 11pm. They woke up at 4 am crying and I was forced to put them in my bed. Please help me reverse what we have done and hopefully get a peaceful nights sleep! (no bashing please, there are legitamte reasons my children started co-sleeping)
You just need to be consistent.
Emphasize to your 3yo that he has done nothing wrong but he is a big boy and big boys sleep in their own bed. I would start doing time out in any corner in the house as long as it is not in their room.....we made the mistake of doing timeout in DD's room but we were quickly able to fix it.
It is going to take time since they are so used to being with you at night...but as long as you are consistent I think they will be fine in a few weeks.
Change the timeout spot for sure, give them a small present or prize for sleeping in their own bed....even if its just a sticker. Or, a chart they get stickers on and when they have 5 they get a special treat. Id leave them with the DVD player for now, you cant fix all of these problems at one time.
I agree consistency. Recently, i was sick for about a month (the whole month of December), i am barely starting to feel normal and am getting back to routine but, dd was sleeping in out bed, she would not sleep in her crib no matter what we did, anyway, she would go down for bed at about 9 or 10 and she would sleep all by herself, even before i would get in bed with her. Well, when i got sick, dh stayed home and i was in our bed 24 7, so they would usually fall asleep on the couch and that went on for a whole month. Well, now, of course, dd is having trouble sleeping by herself again, i have been consitent every night, i take her to our bed, get her to bed, she wakes up after about an hour and cries so i go and lay with her until she falls back to sleep, since i normally get to bed around 11 or 12, she is in our bed for a good 2 hours before i actually go to bed with her so she wakes up quite a bit. She has been doing better and better each night and its only been a week...i would say stick with it no matter how hard it is.
Ashley's Husband Made it Home From a Deployment in Iraq - And Then Tragedy Struck
- fyrecracker
on Dec. 29, 2010 at 10:57 AM