Hello!

We have just moved my nearly 16month old from a cot to a bed as he was climbing out of the cot. He slept really well the first day and night, but ever since it has been a nightmare! I have to lay with him to go to sleep, otherwise he will keep getting up crying no matter how many times I put him back to bed. Has anyone got any tips to make bedtime a little easier?


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  • nope, just takes time and patience. be firm


  • Use teh same linen etc as the cot that may help…good luck


  • Does he have a comforter that he used to use in his cot? A bedtime light might help too if he lives to watch lights moving on the ceiling?


  • try putting music on or even a movie and see if he falls asleep in his room watching it


  • there are some good comments here


  • Try a sticker chart and when they get to 5 they get a small present and continue it.


  • my son did that for the first week. then i got a sticker of what he likes, thomas the tank, and stuck it on the bed head. (was a plastic bed head on a toddler bed) he would then get all excited and say hed go to toe toe bed and he was fine ever since :) id have to sit in the room till he fell asleep, but then that stopped and he goes t to bed by hime self.


  • I agree if he doesn’t want to sleep in the bed don’t force the issue, if you need him to for some reason then its a few hard nights of putting him straight back until he gives up and falls asleep!


  • Perhaps you could have his cot and bed in the one room and ask him where he wants to sleep…let it be his choice. Does it really matter?… He wont still be sleeping in the cot when hes 10 years old so just let him choose and if laying with him is not something you want to be doing in a years time then stop doing it now and tell him that he gets to choose where he sleeps but you dont need to be there with him. You dont need to put the sides up on the cot if he doesnt want them up and you can put a mattress on the floor if you are worried about him climbing out and hurting himself.


  • Might not be ready for a big bed, I kept my eldest in her cot until she was 2. The transition was so easy because she was ready by then and never got out of her bed unless she was going to the toilet. Good Luck.


  • I had the same issue with my son. Perseverance is really the key. My hubby and I have always followed Super Nanny Jo’s tips for bedtime and it has never failed us. It tool us about 4 nights and he eventually settled. We have the occasional night where he is up and down, but that is just him being naughty. Basically we put him to bed, story, kisses and cuddles. Using a night light and teddy. We leave the door ajar so he can see the hall light also. If he gets up, we say ‘bedtime’ take to bed, a kiss and then leave. 3rd time, say nothing, just take him to bed, this step then continues. We had to do this step several times a night! If they don’t get up, but just cry, let them cry and every 15min, give a kiss, say good night and leave….just so they know you are still there. Good luck!


  • Perseverance is the only answer. Has he got a favourite teddy or maybe buy him a new one as a special treat and tuck the new teddy into his bed when you give it to him.


  • We have a BedSok for our son (he was older though). It helps him feel secure in the bed as it is like a fitted sheet with a zip up top ( a bit like a cotton sleeping bag attached to the fitted sheet)

    You could also try a night light that plays music. We have one you can connect a USB too and play quiet music. When my older two were toddlers, hubby and I taped ourselves reading their favourite stories and that really helped too.

    Good luck.


  • sit and read to him without lying down in the bed with him, leave a night light on or some soft music and if he gets up put him back


  • This is a hard one. All I can really suggest is perseverance. I remember laying with mine sometimes up to couple hours but that was only in the beginning. Every time he gets out put him back without saying anything, he will learn that’s his bed in a short time, it’s hard but will cause you less stress in the long run if you deal with it now.


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