How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

DS just turned 2 and we got him a big boy bed. At first he was fine with DH and I just sitting in the room with him while he fell asleep, now he won't lay down unless I sit or lay down in the bed with him. Am I creating a bad habit by doing this? If so, what's other methods I can try? TIA

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

my personal experience is different than your situation, but I would try to avoid laying with him so that it doesnt become expected

for me, we put DS in a bed at 3.5 which is when he finally got rid of his pacifier. since he was learning to put himself to sleep without one, i felt bad and would lay with him every night for 5 minutes or so (not until he fell asleep). after about a week or two I had enough and it was so hard to get him out of the habit. i ended up putting one of my shirts on his big teddy bear and using to put in bed with him instead.

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

dd is 3.5 and i still lay with her until she falls asleep

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

I think you will create a habit for sure. If you like doing it, then do it. But if you feel it is a "bad habit" nip it in the bud now. Read some books, sing a song, and leave. Every day will get better than the last.

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

We read two books, song one song and then a quick cuddle and we're leave and shut the door. We've done the same routine with both kids since they were infants and 95% of the time they go right to sleep. Some nights they get up once or twice and I just put them back in bed and leave. If it continues then my threats start (taking away a stuffed animal for my 3yo or no tv the next day for my 5yo). Whatever works to nip it in the bud quickly.

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

He climbs into bed, head on the pillow. I put his blankets on, kisses and then we say our good night thing. He's asleep within 5 minutes Every night. He is 6 now but have been doing this since he came home.

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

all habits turn to hell to break. lol

get dressed in pjs
we watch a little TV to wind down while he finishes his milk
then we brush teeth
then we rock him to bed unless he's acting crazy then he just goes in himself and comes back out saying he pooped because he wont go in the toilet some days

then we wait for an hour while he either comes out every 10 minutes and gets sent back to bed OR jumps all over his room.

omg when does it get better!

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

Pajamas, teeth, book...then blankets on, kisses, lights out.
She’s very easy to put to bed, but I learned from my first to avoid creating bad habits.

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

Thanks everyone. I know I make excuses for why I do some of the things I do with him. I guess I feel like he's still really young and the bed is brand new so me laying with him is just trying to get him used to it. Plus I love cuddling with him - but I know it's going to turn into a bad habit that needs to be broken

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

My dd is 3.5 and I still lay with her when I put her to bed- she usually falls asleep in under 10 minutes.

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

I hold her till she falls asleep and hope to be able to continue to do so for a long time. I love it. It's our special time.

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

My daughter is 3.5 and luckily still in a crib. She loves her "cribby" and I am in no rush to put her in a big bed lol. I like having her contained in there and bedtime is so easy.

We do dinner, vitamins, brush teeth, bath, read books, rock/cuddle in the chair for a minute or 2, put her in the crib awake and that's it. However, it wasn't always like this. She didn't STTN until 22 months. I fear that when we put her in a regular bed she will beg us to lay with her until she goes to sleep like all my friends' kids. She's a peanut so she's got plenty of room to go until she's too big for her crib

Message edited 12/6/2017 7:45:37 PM.

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

My DS is 3.5. He only went into a toddler bed in October. We follow the same routine that we did when he was in his crib. Upstairs at 7. Pee, brush teeth, get dressed and then we read a few books. At 7:30, I give him a hug and kiss and I tuck him in. So, when I leave the room, he is 100% awake. He will test us occasionally and make a million requests. I am typically very firm with telling him he needs to go back into his bedroom.

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

My daughter is 4. We read books and I lat with her fir about 2 minutes and she's asleep. I love that time together and maybe it is a bad habit but I love that time with her.

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

DD is still in her crib but she goes down without an issue. She gets hugs and kisses and then in the crib she goes and I (or DH leave).

I don't have any plans to do things differently when she goes into a bed. We'll tuck her in, lights out and done. But obviously it's easy for me to say that since we're not there yet!

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

I lay with DD till she falls asleep.

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

Teeth & hands, pajamas, books& songs, hugs & kisses, I walk out. They fall asleep on their own.

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

Re: How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

My DS is 4 but we’ve been following the same routine since he was maybe 18 months or so. We follow a very rigid routine but it works for us because he knows exactly what to expect and he goes to sleep very easily.

After dinner we go directly upstairs... Bath(if it’s a bath night, otherwise we skip to to next thing...) Get changed into pajamas... brush teeth.... sit in his chair and read theee books (one which he chooses, the last two are the same each night), he then goes into his crib and we talk about the best parts of his day and I sing the same 3 songs in the same order... tell him I love him and out the door I go.

He goes to bed around 7, maybe slightly later if it’s the weekend and we’re out for dinner etc... but 99.9% of the time he goes right to bed and I don’t hear a peep from him till the morning.

How do you put your toddler to bed at night?

I was surprised that the transition to the toddler bed wasn't too bad. We get on pajamas, read a book (or three), and then say good night, and leave. At first, we had to put him back to bed 1-2 times, but it wasn't that hard.

However, we just took away the pacifier, and that was horrible. He didn't know how to settle down. The first few nights I sat in the room with him, but he'd just sit there talking to me until I fell asleep. I realized after 2 nights that this was a bad habit, so we switched methods and just put him back in bed anytime he got out. We didn't talk to him, just grabbed his hand, put him in bed, put his blanket on him and then walked out. The first 2 nights were about an hour of putting him back to bed, and he'd be asking me to go to sleep in his room with him. By the third night, it was 20 minutes of putting him back in bed, and then 10 minutes, and now he maybe gets up once.