My 15 month old will not take a nap by himself..any help?

Question

It is totally my fault, I rock him to sleep because I feel guilty that I have to work all day plus the sitter also rocks him to sleep. Now my child will scream at the sight of his crib. I thought about buying new toys and maybe letting him play with them in the crib so he can see it is not so "bad" in there. At night I rock him to sleep and place him in the crib. If he wakes up he just has to cry himself to sleep. I hate it. He has been through a lot the past few months and It is because of my own guilty feelings that he is rocked to sleep. His sitter almost died a few months ago and she feels guilty and sad so she will rock him to sleep too. How do I break this or make it better?

Answer 1

I now that it may be tough but sometime syou just have to let them cry, it won't hurt the trust me.

Answer 2

Try a toddler bed and have a great bed time routine going, soothing bath and read books etc. But once you start you need to stick to it.

Answer 3

Put him into the room and let him scream, within 10 to 20 minutes he's sleeping.

Thats what i do when i babysit, Don't feel bad He's fine.

Answer 4

I also rock my 17 month old to sleep.

I'm currently transitioning to having him fall asleep on his own.

I rock him for about 15 minutes, just so he knows it's bedtime and gives him some time to calm down.

Then I put him down in his crib and leave. I let him cry for 15 minutes, then go back in, sooth him, but don't pick him up.

It will take a few days but he'll eventually get it. It's hard.

Also, I would advise not to put toys in the crib if you want him to be able to sleep in it. Toys will just encourage him to stay awake and play. You would want him to think of the crib as more of a place to rest and sleep.

I know it's hard. You have to be strong and consistent though if you want it to work. Good luck