One of the hardest things about transitioning your child from a crib to a toddler bed is figuring out how to keep your child in bed all night long. We struggled with this for a little while when my daughter was younger but there were a few tricks that we used when our toddler used to climb out of bed.
My daughter is now four years old and sleeps in her big girl bed all night long. I do make an exception when she is sick or had a nightmare. I want her to feel safe in her room and not afraid, because then we will be right back where we started.
I wanted to give a few ideas on how to keep your child in bed all night because every child is different. What worked for us may not work for you, but it doesn’t hurt to try more than one thing.
I partnered with SleepBuddy and MomSelect to bring you this sponsored post. All opinions are mine.
What to do When your Child Keeps Getting out of Bed
The first thing we did to keep our toddler in her bed was to make it feel as safe and fun as possible. We made sure that she had a night light and talked to her about the shadows that were in her room.
We told her where the shadows were coming from and even played shadow puppets over the night light so she wouldn’t be scared.
You can even purchase a fun toddler bed that they can help pick out. This may make them more excited about sleeping in their own bed at night. Stores like Target and Walmart sell some cute character beds that are pretty affordable.
You may want to let them sleep with the door open if that makes them feel more secure. Make it clear that if they get out of bed, the door will be shut and be consistent with the rules.
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Be Consistent to Keep your Toddler in Bed
Whenever my toddler would climb out of bed, I would always lead her back into her room and tuck her back in. The first night or two will probably be the toughest, but you have to be consistent in putting them back to bed every single time.
I always tell her that if she needs to potty or needs me for anything else, she can always call for me and I will come into her room, she is not to come out.
Sit outside of their room if you have to so that you can catch them every time they try to get out of bed. Put them back to bed and go over the rules again.
After the first or second night of this, they should stay in their beds all night. Every child is different though, so just keep with it.
SleepBuddy Review
We figured out that the main reason our toddler kept climbing out of bed was because she didn’t know when it was time to get up.
I started using the SleepBuddy to teach her when it was time to stay in bed and when she could get out.
The SleepBuddy is a really neat light that comes on and goes off at a time that you specify. I set our SleepBuddy for 7:00pm-7:00am. My daughter usually goes to bed around 7:30pm so it is already on when we go to read her a story and she always says, ” SleepBuddy is on so it is time to get ready for bed”.
It was very easy to set up and you can change the brightness of the light and even the color: blue or amber. My daughter chose the blue color.
You can even set it up for specific nap times as well!
I love that the packaging looks like a present, my daughter was so excited to open it. It even came with a little story book that you can read with your child about how the SleepBuddy works and what it is for.
There is even a reward chart included as well if that is something that your child would find effective. We didn’t need to use it, but it might work for you.
The SleepBuddy has really helped us. My daughter knows exactly when it is time to get ready for bed and she knows not to get out of bed until the light goes off. She doesn’t even call out for me that much anymore!
Figuring out how to keep your child in bed all night can be frustrating but I hope that these ideas will help you both get a good night’s sleep. If you have any other ideas or a tip that worked to keep your toddler in bed, share them in the comments below for other parents to use.
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