Action plan for getting young children to sleep in their own bed
Are you exhausted and at your wits end due to constant late night visits from your child or children? Maybe your child won’t just stay in bed when you turn off the lights and say goodnight. If that is the case, then I am here to assure you that there is hope. You don’t have to put up with years or even months or weeks worrying about your toddler’s sleep habits and wondering when he’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep. Pediatrician and sleep researcher Marc Weissbluth, MD, teaches a simple but effective strategy for getting young children to sleep in their own bed. By the time he finishes reading this article, he will have the tools to implement this method.
The underlying premise of the Weissbluth method is that unless a young child experiences some other unsatisfied need (such as hunger or pain), the fundamental reason they won’t stay in bed is because it’s more enjoyable or exciting not to be in bed. . bed. Children transitioning from a crib to a bed may be curious about what happens after bedtime. The rest of the house may seem more exciting than your own bedroom. After co-sleeping as babies, toddlers are used to having their parents close by while they sleep. It’s nicer to be with their parents than to be in their bedroom, so they want to go find their parents instead of staying in bed. The following method will work for toddlers to sleep in their own bed in both situations.
So the solution to toddlers sleeping in their own bed is to make it boring and unrewarding for the toddler to get out of bed. Negative consequences are not necessarily required, just patience and persistence on the part of the parent. Dr. Weissbluth calls his method the “quiet return to bed.” Explain to your child that from now on he cannot get out of bed until the morning. Tell him that you love him very much but that if he gets out of bed you will put him back to bed without speaking to him or looking at his face. Once the child has been tucked in, tucked in, snuggled, and finished any other bedtime routine that normally occurs, the parent positions themselves outside the bedroom door so they are close but not visible to the child. When the child tries to leave the room, the parent calmly picks him up, without saying anything or even making eye contact with the child, and returns him to bed.
The idea is to remain as emotional and silent as possible. For a child seeking her parent’s attention, even negative emotions or disapproval can be an incentive to keep trying, and of course hugs and words of comfort or reassurance are just as strong motivators. You may need to use “quiet return to bed” dozens or even hundreds of times a night for a few nights, but your child will eventually give up and stay in bed. The entire process usually takes less than a week. Getting young children to sleep in their own bed can be a frustrating and exhausting process, but you will succeed if you persevere and stay consistent.
