My 20 month old has daily and nightly tantrums when put in his crib. He screams until we get him out

Question

he also has a stuffed bear that he won't sleep without, and during these tantrums, he throws everything out of his bed. I've been told to let him cio, but today he screamed for an hour. Even my going in there without talking to him, does nothing. he continues to scream and cry.He will fall asleep in our arms, but the second we put him down (as gently as we can) he has a complete melt down. reassuring him we are there and love him has no effect either.we started him on a stricter schedule too, and so far it isn't helping much either. yes, i know, i'm not leaving much space to help me am i? lol i'm sorry... just don't know what to do, and you guys always have awesome suggestions... thanks so much in advance!

Answer 1

this is quite normal. mostly this is because kids sleep most of the time when we are awake. he is having pent up energy at bed time.. one suggestion is to make him tired by having some physical actvity with him .. or just playing with him on the floor or bed..he'll snooze off once he is tired. also change the routine every once a while.. kids are as easily bored with routine as we are..

hope this is useful for you..

Answer 2

He cries, you get him out. Thats why he cries. If he throws his bear out then he will just not have it. He know if he cries you get him, he gets what he wants. He already know cause and effect. So if throws the bear out the effect is he doesn't have it and must sleep with out it. Leave him alone go in every 15 minutes to tell him you love him and he is okay. Leave him in there until he stops crying. If his normal nap time is two hours, and he cries for an hour and a half, get him up in 30 minutes. Don't let him scream for an hour and sleep for as long as he wants. Give him an alloted amount of nap time, if he cries for the whole time, wait for him to stop then make him get up. DO NOT let him sleep with you, this is what he wants. Just make sure he knows he is loved and okay. It is hard but he will learn.

Answer 3

I know this sounds terrible, but the best thing to do is just leave him alone and let him cry it out. Don't even go in the room. He will stop crying eventually, and with time he'll learn that the crib means bedtime.

My daughter did the exact same thing. It didn't matter how soundly she was sleeping; the second we ever-so-gentley put her down in her bed, the tears and screaming began. It broke my heart to leave her there and let her cry, but it did finally get better. She got to the point where she'd cry for about 5 minutes, then she'd go to sleep and wake up happy.

Good luck with whatever your decision will be.  

Answer 4

i would buy a toddler bed and see if that works.  he might be mad cause he can't get out himself.  does he climb out of the crib yet?  if you have one of the "converter cribs"  i would take the once side off and see what he does.  i had one of those with my oldest and she loved it.  i took off the one side when she turned 15 months old and she liked the feeling of "being free"  

good luck

Answer 5

He continues to scream because he knows that you're going to let him have his way eventually if he keeps on screaming.  

Answer 6

Just remember, they only use, to get their way, what works!

If it doesn't get them what they want they don't do it

Answer 7

It's going to get worse, unless you quit getting him out.  If you let him scream for an hour, and then get him out, he knows that he just has to keep crying, and eventually you will pick him up.

As for the teddy bear, lol, my boys are 3 & 4, and they have their bears and blankets.

Things that have worked for me.  We have a CD that has played in their room for 3 years, every night.  It's a reminder that it's time to go to sleep.  Have a nighttime routine, then put him in his crib, cover him up, with bear, and tell him firmly night night!  

You are already on the right track, except that you are giving in which is going to make it worse.  Stay firm, give it a week, and don't pick him up!!!  It's going to be more than a hour or two because he is almost 2 and fairly smart. You going in but not talking is great and will work.  This will take some time, and it can be heartbreaking.  The same thing is going to happen with full blown temper tantrums, who will give in first....

And don't just sit there and listen when it's going on, that will drive you crazy!  Turn the t.v. on, do the dishes, anything to get you through it.

Answer 8

Hi My 18 month old is starting to do this also. He likes to throw in some head banging too, I even found him on the floor in the middle of his room once about 2 months ago. Since then I was trying not to let him cry too long in the crib for fear he will jump again so I have created a monster! Lucky for me he is my third and I have been here before, even had a headbanger before him!  I think you do just have to let him know crib means bed period. You will suffer now but reap the benefits down the road, please believe me on this. Give him a solid bedtime and routine and stick to it like glue especially in the begininning. All three of mine have a classical music cd that is for bedtime only. Give lots of cues before bed. Mine watch little bear, take baths, read a book, turn on music, lights out and bed.

He will cry for a few nights but he will get it. If you go in after all that crying you really do undo it all and the little one pays the price. Stay strong buy a good pair of headphones and listen to music while you wash the floor or something to keep your mind off of it.

Answer 9

well you do have to stop giving in, no matter what unless he is in danger....

Try laying him down awake first off, and if you have to stay in there with him in a chair beside the crib for an hour or more, then thats what you have to do, to break this habit...dont talk to him while you are in there, just lay him down when he stands up, give him his bear and sit back down... make sure its quiet and dark enough in there for him....He is having some seperation anxiety with you and you have to work on it in order to help him...Every day, move the chair a little farther from the crib and closer to the door....you will notice that the amount of time you spend in there untill he is asleep will decrease and eventually, you will be able to just lay him down and walk right out of the room and he will be ok.

Answer 10

it okay i had this problem and this article helped me alot

http://www.wikihow.com/Handle-Your-Child...

good luck

Answer 11

thats the problem, U ARE GETTING HIM OUT..so he already knows mom and dad will get me out if I throw a big enough fit. big mistake. my son tried that and i broke him of that real quick..the first few times i did get him out and then everytime after that he expected it. so i started leaving him in there with the door cracked to make sure when he balled his eyes out he didnt choke or something and i could just peek in without him seeing me. but you need to stop with giving him what he wants, not only will he make your life a living h**l- he will be the kind of kid that noone wants to be around eventually. kids need to know early on that they dont always get their way. thats what babies lungs are meant to do god knew they would do this when he designed them, and it WILL NOT hurt him to do so. dont get him out no matter how bad he freaks, or how much u want to. let him know whos boss. and that u make the rules not him