2 Year Old Getting Out of Bed~help!

My daughter is 2 1/2, and a few months ago, she started climbing out of bed...actually, her crib! (She has always shown an affinity towards climbing!) So, here's what we did. We enacted the "law" of SUN UP! "You can get out of bed when the sun is up." It is her "job" to stay in bed. If there is something wrong, she knows that all she has to do is say "mommy" or "daddy" and we will take care of the problem...lost lovey, blanket situation, needs a drink of water, etc...If she gets out of bed, she gets punished, everytime, even if it is 6 times one night. By the way, it started that way, then just once or twice a week, now, nothing. Naps are harder because the sun is always up, but we have talked about getting up right away is not good. She has to give her eyes a rest and close them. Then when her eyes are done resting and they open on their own, she can come down. She does really well with this, but it took a few weeks of being willing to stand outside her door and catch her disobeying. I know it might not be for everyone or every child, but I hope it works for you!

We have four children and we let all of them climb in bed with us when they were little. I think they get scared in the dark and need the security of mommy and daddy. My little ones arms and legs always felt cold when they got in bed with us. I think children sometimes just get cold in the middle of the night and need the warmth of mommy and daddy to help them get back to sleep. When they would fall asleep their dad would gently put them back in their bed. It was much less of a struggle to give them what they seemed to need at the time and we all got more sleep. Pick your battles with kids. As much as you can try to give them what they tell you they need from you. It makes life go so much smoother. Relax. They all eventually sleep in their own bed every night and stop waking you up in the middle of the night.

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this is a tuff one i think just about every kid goes through this, and they are to young to really reason with, just stick to your guns and don't give in and let him get in bed because you are tired. you may have to start a little earlier on going to bed as you are so tired. does he just want so special time with you? that ended up being the thing with mine, she wanted special time, so my hubby would watch the babe and i had time with the older. we cuddled and talked s aid our prayers then read a story and bed time was here it really worked good luck cindi

Just a few suggestions...Make sure with a new baby, he's getting his face time w/Mommy and Daddy, too. He may be wanting his old life back :)
One is the "Silent Return"- After your snuggles, and bedtime routine, and you've declared it "quiet time", if he gets out, no negotiation, no hugs, no talking, just pick him up (facing away from you) and put him back in bed...as many times as it takes. This one can be hard if you have a persistent child, but the idea is, when there's no "attention" associated with getting out of bed, he won't want to.
Another thing we did with my very persistent girl at about that age (maybe a little older) is I splurged at the dollar store on 7-10 cheapo items, wrapped them up (ribbons and all)and put them on a shelf near the breakfast table. Nights that she stayed in the bed, she got to pick one out. Worked pretty well at the time (to establish the habit).
And all that being said (mine are now almost 6 and 4) nights when I'm home, we have our stories and snuggle time (sometimes not even 10 minutes), which usually knocks the 4yr old out. And after a few minutes with my kindergartener, she'll roll over and go to sleep (but she's never been much of a snuggler). It's just easier in my book, to snuggle for a few minutes, when that's all it takes, than to fuss about it for an hour.
Check out Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. It's a great resource on kids (of all ages) and sleep.

My 4 yr old falls asleep to music every night and at nap time. He has always done so. While he's never been one to get out of bed he does occasionally wake up during the night or have trouble falling asleep. The rule in our house is that you have to stay in bed until the music is over. The cd's about 1hr long and usually he's asleep before then. Since he's older now he turns his music on himself when he wakes up at night. If he wakes and its dark outside he turns his music back on and goes back to sleep. At nap even when he doesn't sleep he knows he has to listen to his music 2 times. When its over the first time he turns it back on. If he's still not asleep when its over the second time he can get up. The music helps soothe him and helps him keep time for naps. When he was still 2 yrs we let him take 1 toy to bed. He was allowed to play with it he a few minutes before settling down to sleep. Usually he took a car and fell asleep holding it. I think this kept him from wanting to get up and play. Also he knows that he looses toys if I have to put him back in the bed or if he plays too long. Now that he's 4yrs he takes a book to bed most nights and "reads" for a little while before turning off his lamp and going to sleep. Both his lamp and his cd player are where he can reach them without getting out of bed. This wasn't the case when he was only 2 though.

I went through the same exact thing with my daughter and consistency is key. It took a couple of weeks of tough nights, but my husband and I kept taking her back to her bed and explaining to her that she's getting too big to sleep with us. We also started a little reward system, that if she stayed in her bed all night, she would get a prize (a doll or something that she wanted at the store). It worked and was worth the torment. We didn't have to bribe her for long and now enjoys her bed. Do what works for you but don't cave in and try not to get mad (it's tough)!!

baby gate his room or lock your door. im curently fighting this battle with my 4 year old(and loosing lol) good luck

I can completely relate to you. =0) My son turned two in June. Right before his second birthday, he began to hike his leg up on his crib like he was going to jump over the side, so we bought him a twin bed and switched him. I put one of the little guards on the side and a baby gate at his bedroom door. The whole idea of being able to get in and out of bed as he pleased was very exciting to him! We would just consistently put him back in bed each time he'd get out. At one point, we had to empty all his dresser drawers b/c he kept getting up to "rummage" in them. So, once they were empty, that got boring and he stopped. He eventually got the hint and I guess the "newness" wore off and he would stay in his bed after we tucked him in. Well NOW...three months later...he has mastered climbing over the gate at his door. So, I'll wake up in the night to him patting me on the head saying, "wake up mama!". LOL So, the gate is history and now we've excepted the fact that we can no longer confine him and we've just made sure our home is safe. Luckily, when he gets up, he seems to just come straight into our room anyway. We just take him back to his room and show him that his sister is still sleeping, and mommy & daddy are still sleeping and that he needs to stay in his bed until the sunshine comes up. LOL =0) He's down to waking up only once every several nights. Good luck to you!!! Just know you're not alone. LOL

Lock your door at night. We started doing that and it put a stop to the night time intrusions.