Suggestions to get a 2 year old to sleep all night long that use to?

Question

My daughter use to do great for bedtime. She would tell us good night, give hugs and kisses and fall asleep on her own in her own bed. . I've tried the ferber method (letting them cry for a few minutes then checking on them) and it worked for awhile but now she's having no part of it. It's not so much getting her to bed as it is keeping her there. She wakes up the minimum once a night. The other night it was six times!! She seems to only want to sleep if she's in bed with me and her father.

Answer 1

If you don't already, try leaving a night light on for her.  My son, who used to sleep in the dark, became quite insistent on his night light all of a sudden, at about 2 years old.

Also, it could be she's in pain.  Earache can hurt more while the child is lying down, and it could be that the comfort of sleeping with you helps them get over the pain.

Or, maybe your daughter is outgrowing her nap (if she still naps).  My son still naps (30 mo. old now), but my niece and nephew both gave up their naps well before they were two and would be up all night if they got any sleep during the day.

Answer 2

If you don't already have a bedtime routine establish one.  Give her a bath 30 minutes before bedtime, and try infant/toddler massage with lotion.  It's important that when you do this it's not terribly noisy. It helps if you talk to her in a soft voice, maintaining eye contact.  Put her in bed, and read her a short book, and leave the room.

If she does get up, you can choose to:

A; Physicly put her back in bed, but not say anything, and then shut her door.

B. Stand in her doorway and tell her " Back in bed!", and shut her door

I have used each of those options for my children.  It just depends on your child.  I also agree with a nightlight, that a previous person suggested.

Naptime as a factor is really up to you.  

My 9 year old twins, and the 2 year old still take naps.  if they don't they are incredibly cranky.

My Two year old naps from 1pm to 3pm, and her bed time is 7pm.

Answer 3

My 2 yr old will wake up at night and think its time to play and of course he wants mommy and daddy up to play too!

What we do. We put him in bed and disable the light (thankfully we have a swtich on the fixture and the wall) so he cant turn it on and turn on the night light. We make sure the windows are locked and put him in bed with his best friend "Coggie" (teddy bear). We say our good nights, often we do have to rush out to the door or whe will follow (he's wide awake the moment he thinks we are putting him to bed, even if he was sound asleep 2 seconds before). We shut the door and (hate to admit this) lock it. He spends many nights asleep in front of the door, but he will usually get up and go back to his bed.

I know the diffence in my sons crys, I will be right there if its the hurt cry. But if its just the "Im mad I'm in my room and its bed time" I do not open his door.

He's fine & safe, yes we have to listen to it, but most nights its not so bad because he knows he will not be let out. At 9am every morning I unlock his door and he's free to come out when he wakes up.

Please note, the reason we lock is door is for his own safety, He has no fear, he's jumped out 6 foot windows and went to do it again. He can unlock any door in the house. My fear is one day I will wake up and my son will be gone.

Answer 4

I went through the exact same thing!  :)  I don't know what it is, but just as you said, at two, my daughter went to bed perfectly and stayed asleep all night.  Then, something happened, and it all went downhill!  My situation might be a little different, because my daughter started having awful night terrors.  I guess they are common in kids this age, but it just about broke our hearts seeing her go through them.  Because she'd get so scared, she'd want to sleep with us, too.  Eventually, we set up a little bed for her on the floor of our room.  This way, if she woke up, she could come into our room and sleep there without disturbing us, so that we could still get a good night's sleep.  (Of course, when she actually had a night terror, I'd always get up and cuddle her for awhile.)  But, if it was just a regular dream that woke her and she just wanted to be near us, the bed on the floor worked great for us.  

Good luck!  I know it's hard, but sooner or later, they will go back to "good" sleeping habits.  They're still so little, it doesn't surprise me that they feel more comfortable close to their parents.  I'm sure others will disagree, though, so it's really up to you whether or not you have a problem with her being in your room with you.  My husband and I don't.

I hope you get some deep, uninterrupted sleep soon!