what do you do when your toddler wont sleep?

DD will be 3 next month & has always been a horrible sleeper (anyone who's on here a lot probably knows that because I'm always complaining about it)
We haven't transitioned into a bed yet because I'm dreading her running wild but she almost climbed out a few times now & I ran in before she escaped.

Tonight she just refused to stay in her crib, crying & climbing out.
Over an hour of holding her, putting her back ing, screaming & so on, my husband came home & came in to deal with her.
She wanted to sleep on the floor so after another hour of him laying with her she finally fell asleep.

What do you do when this happens?
I can't spend 3 hours getting her to sleep every night
Do you just let them stay up til they drop or let them go in your bed? I wouldn't even mind her in our bed but I have too much to do at night so I can't go in with her.

Sorry this got so long, just don't know what to do when you can't make someone sleep.
Just want to know how other parents deal with it.

Re: what do you do when your toddler wont sleep?

My ds#2 was a bad sleeper. At one point we resigned to he would fall asleep on the couch and we would then bring him up to bed when we went to bed. It was getting later and later and I couldn't take it anymore. He has slept with us since he has been less than one. He is now 4.5
This may not be the best situation for some but it has worked for us. I lay down with him in our bed for about 5-15 minutes every night and then he falls asleep and I go back downstairs and do what I have to do.
Do what works best for you as a family.

what do you do when your toddler wont sleep?

My DD is also 3, and is not a great sleeper. Some nights when she just won't settle down and we don't have hours to battle with her, I put on a movie, she lays down on couch with DH and they both fall asleep. I pick her up and place her in her bed later on.
What we also resorted to a few mos ago, since she refuses to sleep an entire night in her own twin bed... We placed her crib/toddler mattress on our floor, next to our bed. Most night she wanders in around 4 am, curls up to sleep there, and we are all fine. That honestly has been a lifesaver, because she was always wanting to come in our bed, which resulted in zero sleep for DH and I.

Re: what do you do when your toddler wont sleep?

Ridiculous, but it works for us.

Re: what do you do when your toddler wont sleep?

Re: what do you do when your toddler wont sleep?

Posted by EandF

Posted by mrsboss

Ridiculous, but it works for us.

IMAGE

Omg,

Not going to lie, DD is 10 1/2 mos and we haven't sleep trained her. Totally terrified of what's to come and I see this in our future.

Re: what do you do when your toddler wont sleep?

I think I saw an episode of this on Nanny 911. It looked painful and took some time but if i remember right they kept on putting the child in the bed and stayed in the room with their back to the child. Just reassuring that the parent was there. Each time the child got up they put him back. I think it was something like 44 times in one night and then eventually the child was exhausted and fell asleep. The next night it was better and less attempts to get out of bed. After a few painful nights they were able to lay child down and walk out the room without incident. It seemed to work but I would think there is some need for reinforcement around sickness times etc.

I have a poor sleeper (2yr old) who got better but now is waking a few times a night again as well as my newborn who is a dream compared to her.
i feel your pain

Message edited 6/19/2014 11:48:20 PM.