Your toddler
may have a sense of freedom the first few nights after transferring permanently
to a bed. Luckily, most children are happy to “graduate” and stay in their beds
more willingly than they did in their cribs. However, for a few, the transition
has to be managed closely. The best way is to continue with the same bedtime
routine you have used since your child first joined the family.
Repeat the Following
Steps:
- When you end a routine tell your child to stay in bed until you come for her.
- If she gets out of bed, calmly and quietly lead her back and tell her she must stay in bed.
- When she gets back into bed, reward her by telling her briefly what a good girl she is for being there, then leave the room.
- Tell her that you will come and check on her during the night. For some children it provides reassurance.
Prepare Yourself for
a Bedtime Struggle
But don’t kid
yourself that the struggle is over. Be prepared to repeat steps 1 and 2 as many
times as you have to for several nights in a row. Twenty “farewell appearances”
in one evening is by no means an unusual number. Above all, stay calm and keep
interactions with your child on a low-key level; they should be brief and
boring. The aim is to reward her with praise for staying in bed and not for
getting out. Children tend to feel, that any attention is better than none. If
getting out of bed brings your toddler extra attention—even negative attention,
by making you angry—she’ll do it again and again. By contrast, if you keep the
atmosphere quiet and even boring, the excitement of getting out will soon pale.
Avoid Rewarding
Bedroom Breakouts
While
respecting your toddler’s new found mobility, insist on the rule that once it’s
time for sleep, people have to stay in bed until morning unless they have to go
to the bathroom. Avoid rewarding bedroom breakouts, such as by allowing your
child to climb into your bed or join the members of the family who are still
up. Instead, praise her in the morning for having stayed in bed all night.
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