Kick the Crib!
Contributing Editor: Pamela Gifford

In a long list of frustrating milestones for parents of toddlers comes the dreaded moving into the toddler bed.  Your little one suddenly has the means to get in and out of the bed by himself.  While the transition can be a little scary for your toddler, it is also an exciting time when he realizes that he no longer has to lay there and go to sleep.  He can get up and play!  It's time to teach him that bedtime is time to go to sleep.

There are two ways you can approach the problem of your toddler continually getting up out of bed at bedtime.  In each case, however, you must remain calm and be patient.  It is easy to get worked up at the end of the day when you need some time for you.  Which ever method you chose, be sure that you continue to follow your regular bedtime routine.  In our house, that includes a warm bath, kisses and hugs all around, a couple of songs, and then a story. 

1. Sit with her until she falls asleep.

Bring a chair into her bedroom and sit in the dark quietly while she falls asleep.  Avoid sitting on the bed with her as that could be stimulating and take her longer to fall asleep.

Pros: This is the easiest method.  It calms her to know you are there with her.  She is less likely to get up numerous times to challenge you to chase her.  This method takes less time and can leave you feeling less anxious.  You can get into bed quicker yourself.

Cons: She may get used to your presence to the point if she wakes up in the middle of the night and doesn't see you there, she might get scared and start crying.

2.  Keep putting him back to bed.

Each time he gets up and comes out of his bedroom, put him back into bed very calmly without talking to him.

Pros: Teaches your toddler that getting out of bed will award him nothing.  Learns on his own to stay in bed and go to sleep without drama.  It gets shorter and easier as time goes on.

Cons: This is very time consuming and can take hours to convince your child to stay in bed for the first week or so.  This is also more stressful as your patience is tested to its limit.

In each case, patience and persistence is key.  While it may not seem like it will get any easier, now, with time it does.  The older they get, the more they will understand that bedtime means bedtime.