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Advice on getting my biological son to bed!

xtina's picture

Submitted by xtina on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 9:38am

I really need advice about my biological son! he is 2 and a half. Lately he has been a pain in the butt at night. Here's how our nights go (every single night):

We get jammies on and read books in his room.
Then I put a movie on for him and lay with him in his bed and we watch a movie.
All of a sudden, he wants a different movie in so I put that one in, then he wants a different one. We switch movies about 4 times.
Then he wants his truck (or something else) so i get him his truck, then he wants a book. Then he wants a different movie, then he wants juice so i bring him juice. No no then he wants milk. Then he wants me to lay by him and when i try to get up and leave his room, he yells at me to lay down.
When all is said and done, i go lay in my bed. He comes out of his room a hundred times. I keep putting him back in his bed and then we fight because he wants me to lay by him. So i finally leave and he comes out again.
Does this make sense?? It's beyond frustrating when he is up til 11 every night.

I am at the point where I am considering a sleep aid for him!!

Comments

PeanutandSons's picture

Submitted by PeanutandSons on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 9:45am

First suggestion, no tv or movies at all. That's just over stimulating him.

Get him a small drink before he goes to bed. Let him pick one toy/stuffed animsl before he gets in bed. Once he gets in bed, do not entertain any more requests. It's a game to him now. If he gets up, silently walk him back to bed. Even if that goes on for an hour. He needs to get the idea that when you say its bed time, that's it.

Google the Super Nanny technique. You just walk them back to their beds without saying s word. Any interaction with you just encourages them to keep getting up, so even saying good night, or an extra hug is off limits. It will be rough the first night, but after s week he will be much better about bedtimes.

Our first night took me over an hour (he-just turned 3).....night two took 15 minutes.... Night three took 5 minutes.....night 4 he got up once and went back to bed on his own.....night 5 he stayed in bed. He still has bad nights here and there, but he's a million times better than he was.

RedWingsFan's picture

Submitted by RedWingsFan on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 9:53am

^^^^^This! My daughter (now 14) had a HORRIBLE time getting to sleep on her own. I sat her down and told her how bedtime was going to work. She'd have a tiny glass of water, we'd read ONE book of her choosing, the nightlight would turn on, her light would turn off, she'd get a goodnight kiss and she'd go to sleep, PERIOD.

Every time she got up, I'd just walk her back to her bed, no conversation, no words. First night was the hardest, but after that, she knew I wasn't giving in and she wasn't getting her way, she just accepted it.

Good luck. I know it's frustrating!

not.the.crazy.one's picture

Submitted by not.the.crazy.one on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 10:13am

PeanutandSons has great advice. With my biokids, they LOVE music, so when they were little, I burned them a CD of non-stimulating music to fall asleep to after the bedtime story.

I can't fall asleep to dead silence, so I either have soft music on or a documentary with a soothing voiced narrator (like Morgan Freeman).

DeeDeeTX's picture

Submitted by DeeDeeTX on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 10:51am

I used a baby gate and put it up in the kid's door so he couldn't get out. I could still see him and hear him, but he couldn't get up and wander around.

xtina's picture

Submitted by xtina on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 11:32am

For sure, if I had a way to lock him in his room I would. I usually lock my door so if he does get up and get in my room he goes back to bed.

hismineandours's picture

Submitted by hismineandours on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 11:38am

We had to turn the lock around on ss's door when he was younger. My own parents thought we were being cruel-but we were not-it was a safety issue. SS, from the time he was 2 all the way up until about 9 or so would get up constantly at night-he walked outside before, he would gorge himself with food until he vomited, one night he went outside in the garage and climbed on all sorts of things, tore up some old easter baskets and quite literally trashed the whole entire garage. He would spill things all over the house, he would wake up the other children, there were quite a few nights in which my dd would wake up with him standing over her bed (this is the same kid who made threats to kill my son in his sleep and steals my daughters panties)-so locking him in his room became the best option for everyone. Finally around 9 or so we got him on some meds that allowed him to sleep through the night-he was on them for about a year or so and they really seemed to straigthen his sleep habits out-He was able to discontinue them and there was never really a problem with his sleep after that (although there were 5 million other problems).

xtina's picture

Submitted by xtina on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 11:58am

I have thought of that. Sometimes I lock my bedroom door so he can't get in but when i know he is asleep I unlock it.

StickAFork's picture

Submitted by StickAFork on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 11:57am

No, no. no!!

Don't lock kids in rooms. HUGE fire hazard. Sad

Put up a baby gate in their doorway or something... but don't lock the doors.

StickAFork's picture

Submitted by StickAFork on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 11:52am

Peanut is right.
No tv at all.
Preselect the book(s)/toy(s) before he climbs into bed. No changing minds and getting up and getting more, etc.
When you're done, bed.
Kid gets up, cries, throws himself on floor, etc.... simply pick him up and put him into bed. No talking. No hugging. No feedback.
It may take awhile, and you will really need to be consistent. Kids are more determined than adults. Smile
Google Supernanny. It works!

I cannot imagine having a 2 year old up until 11 each night. Dayum...