Help!! My 2 Yr. Won't Go to Bed

Get some Johnson and Johnson vapor bedtime bath. Bathe him /her at about 7 or eight at night then rub him down with the same bedtime lotion and I guarantee it will work.

With my 3 1/2 & (almost) 2 year old I've found that just being consistent is the only thing that works. If they get up or start making noise, I just put them back in bed or tell them to lie down. Most of their toys are in the play room so there isn't much to do in their bed room except sleep. Also, I have a baby gate in front of their door, so that keeps them from wondering out. Once we've done prayers, stories, and sung the 'sun shine' song they are one their own. I give my youngest a cup of milk before bed and my oldest (who is has just been potty trained) a drink of water. If they are being particularly hyper, I will go in and sing a soft song to them while I rub their backs for a minute before leaving again to let them fall asleep.

Recently we also started letting them listen to the radio; not to music to but static and my oldest calls it the ocean! That might help you too because it really seems to calm mine down & drowns out any other noise they may hear!

I would decide on a bedtime routine and then stick to it.
I agree with the other mom with being consistent.
It's really the only way a young child can come to understand how things are going to happen and they also take a great deal of comfort knowing it. You didn't mention if there is any crying or just goofing around. Is she in a big bed or still in the crib?
If getting out of bed is a problem then be consistent and put her back in it without a word to her. Expect that you will be busy doing this for some time so go in it prepared. Bottom line is that you do NOT give in once you have told her that it is bedtime.
You don't have to be ugly just firm. I wasn't sure about what the Ferber method was so I looked it up. I wasn't sure what it was about it that you didn't like. Crying? Her getting upset?
I don't believe that leaving her to try and calm herself is such a bad idea. It teaches them a great skill of learning to deal with stress and coming to realize that they are alright on their own.
I guess I am a big believer in this because I am someone that had to deal with sleeping issues as an adult because my mom came and slept with me when I cried out during the night as a child. I was SO frighted at night but I really didn't know what of. It became a bad habit for me. I think as Mom's it is very hard to sit back and watch our children struggle at any time! Anyway, my advice would be to just be as consistent as possible in your bedtime routine and allow plenty of down time before leaving the room (book time, story time, songs and prayers) Remember not to start to give in with the one more story, one more song etc.... :) Your hearing it from someone that knows!
Best regards,
C.

All of our children have slept in the bed with us. Our 2 year old is still in the bed with us, and will be for sometime. We have never had a problem with him going to bed for this reason. We just turn off the lights, get under the covers and cuddle.

I don't like sleeping alone so I can imagine how hard it must be for a little person you know?

I too am gonna see your responses! My 2 1/2 year old is also trying to use EVERY excuse to get up exp w/ potty training - "I need to go again!" "I need some water" and then just plain going nuts as soon as she hears that its time to brush her teeth for bed. She has been a bad sleeper from day one and I have my 2nd on the way! Hope someone on here has a miracle cure for all 3 of us!

same problem with my 2 year old i am watching this.sorry i am not much help!!

This is no miracle cure, and it's not the easiest book to read, but it has been a blessing for my family. Try Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It is a great book that takes you through all stages of chilren's seep. I started reading it when my son was 5 months and by the time he was 6 months he was well on his way to being a great sleeper. Somewhere between 8-11 months he was going to bed by 6:30 and we didn't change that until very recently. He's 2 now and goes down at 7:00. He sleeps without waking until 7am, and he naps 2-3 hours a day. I was a basket-case when he was an infant as I had no idea how to teach a bay to sleep - I didn't even realize that was part of the job. I would recommend this book to every mom and remind you to practice the parts that you are comfortable with. It does explain cry-it-out methods as well as check and console methods. It's a great educational tool and I'll never look at sleep the same way again.

We had the same problem after each of our kids turned 2. We went from totally predictable and peaceful bed time routine to all out wailing and screaming. It's a developmental stage and it will pass.
Our second child was more difficult about this than our first, but we stuck with the bed time routine and it blew over.
You didn't mention if this was a new development, or if it's always been difficult to get her to go to sleep. If it's a new development, you might see if she's cutting her 2-yr molars. We had LOTs of crying involved with that for both of my kids. If it has always been difficult, this is a great time to help her establish healthy sleep habits.

The first thing you have to understand is that a crying toddler does not in any way mean that you are doing the wrong thing or that you have a bad kid or that you are a bad parent.
Next, decide what your bed time routine will be and stick to it. For example, our routine with our 2 yr old son is a bath around 7:00, then we let him pick his diaper and PJs, we rock in the rocking chair with his blanket while we read a book, then we continue to rock/cuddle while we listen to a CD. We listen to 2 songs (pick something soothing), then turn off the CD player, brush teeth, pray beside his bed, then tuck him in. We leave a night light on in his room, plus a light in the hall, and we leave his door open.

When he protests, my goal is to 1) stay calm and 2) keep him in his room. Just sweetly say good night and leave the room, regardless of the kicking/screaming/thrashing that's going on. If he comes out of his room, we put a baby gate up at the door. If he's still hollering after 20 minutes, we stop by his room and hug him (over the gate) and say good night again, then go back to another part of the house. We typicaly only check on him once unless he's hysterical (which hasn't happened since he was in infant). He actually gets MORE upset after seeing me, and we're back to square one. It was the opposite with our first child. She'd cry until we checked on her, then calm down and go to sleep.

You have to be incredibly consistent and you WILL hear crying at first, but that should gradually get less and less. Just stick to it. Yes, it's hard to hear your little darling cry, but try to busy yourself with a distraction. I've found that washing dishes is usually loud enough to block the sound.