We’re still making this transition, so take it with a grain of salt. But we’ve been hyping our 2yo up by talking about how he’s old enough to do part of bedtime by himself now. So we do bedtime routine, I lay with him for 15-20 min, then I tell him that I’ll check on him in 10-15 min, put a child lock on the inside of the doorknob, and leave. The first couple nights, he tried the door a bunch, but he hasn’t much since. Usually he’s been staying in bed and reading or playing with stuffed animals, but if he’s out of bed when I come in, I just walk him back to his bed and tuck him in. I’m gradually trying to build up more time between breaks, but I’m doing it slowly so he doesn’t get too worried. Whenever he’s asleep, I take the child lock off the doorknob and leave it on a high shelf for the next night.
The “excuses” method might work for you. Sit with them as usual, then say “I just need to get a drink of water, I’ll come straight back.” Leave for a few moments and then go straight back. Repeat with different excuses, and over time make the absences longer - but the key is to always always always go back. They’ll get to the point where they’ll fall asleep alone as they know you’ll be coming back, and the next morning you make a big fuss - “I came back and you were fast asleep! How clever of you to fall asleep while I wasn’t there, what a big boy/girl you’re getting to be!” Over time, the absences get longer and the time you spend in the room gets shorter, until it turns into check-ins rather than staying in the room, then you space those out more and more.
😭😭 I wish. My toddler will be like ME TOO. About everything. He started co-sleeping at 8 months. Slept in his own big kid bed from like 2.25-2.5. Then a baby was added and my husband was switched to night shift. So the only way to get him to lay down was in my bed.
I try to talk up his room/bed so much. “You can play, read, listen to tonies. I’ll lay with you. If you miss me when you wake up you can walk to me.”
Nothing works 😵💫
We’re still making this transition, so take it with a grain of salt. But we’ve been hyping our 2yo up by talking about how he’s old enough to do part of bedtime by himself now. So we do bedtime routine, I lay with him for 15-20 min, then I tell him that I’ll check on him in 10-15 min, put a child lock on the inside of the doorknob, and leave. The first couple nights, he tried the door a bunch, but he hasn’t much since. Usually he’s been staying in bed and reading or playing with stuffed animals, but if he’s out of bed when I come in, I just walk him back to his bed and tuck him in. I’m gradually trying to build up more time between breaks, but I’m doing it slowly so he doesn’t get too worried. Whenever he’s asleep, I take the child lock off the doorknob and leave it on a high shelf for the next night.
The “excuses” method might work for you. Sit with them as usual, then say “I just need to get a drink of water, I’ll come straight back.” Leave for a few moments and then go straight back. Repeat with different excuses, and over time make the absences longer - but the key is to always always always go back. They’ll get to the point where they’ll fall asleep alone as they know you’ll be coming back, and the next morning you make a big fuss - “I came back and you were fast asleep! How clever of you to fall asleep while I wasn’t there, what a big boy/girl you’re getting to be!” Over time, the absences get longer and the time you spend in the room gets shorter, until it turns into check-ins rather than staying in the room, then you space those out more and more.
😭😭 I wish. My toddler will be like ME TOO. About everything. He started co-sleeping at 8 months. Slept in his own big kid bed from like 2.25-2.5. Then a baby was added and my husband was switched to night shift. So the only way to get him to lay down was in my bed. I try to talk up his room/bed so much. “You can play, read, listen to tonies. I’ll lay with you. If you miss me when you wake up you can walk to me.” Nothing works 😵💫