Advice on How to Get My 2 Year Old to Sleep

"We have refused to, threatened, and even swatted, and he will not give in."

My only comment for you is that a child who is met with angry parents -- who hit him -- can not possibly relax enough to go to sleep. The issue sounds like he is unable to self-soothe, and if you respond with anger, his stress level will go up and he REALLY won't be able to sleep.

As hard as it is, you must be entirely calm and relaxed when you deal with him when he won't fall asleep.

Meanwhile, you should read some books about sleeping (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Weissbluth is a particularly good one) and learn more about helping him self-soothe. Good luck. I know it's very frustrating.

Hi E.
If the sleep sack idea dosen't work, you may want to check into haveing him tested for some sensory issues. One of the big signs my daughter had with her sensory issues was poor sleep habits when we started treating her sensory issues the sleep problems went away. Good Luck T.

Your son needs you, please comfort him and be there for him. Yes, very soon he will grow up and you all will sleep better - until he's a teen-ager :-) then you will likely lose sleep again.

Kids go through phases of understanding the larger world around them. What they did not even notice before can now be scary (like what's behind that closet door). This will happen repeatedly (for instance kids will start thinking about death in elementary school) as they grow up.

We are one of the only cultures in the world who believe that babies (and a 2 year-old is still a baby) should sleep alone and go to sleep by themselves. Babies and young children who have their needs met and know that their parents are there for them have no "attachment issues" in other words are confident and independent and not "clingy". But when a child's needs are met with anger or ignored, they become more needy and clingy. Comfort your child, tuck him in, reassure him that you are there for him.

Our son went through a phase like this when he was around 2 years old. It did last a couple of months. Our thought was that if we snuggled him for a few minutes and then we went back to sleep with no fussing -- than it was better than letting himself get worked up. Again, he did eventually move out of this stage.

One thing that has helped with getting up too early in the morning -- and also seems to have helped cut back on the night-time waking up was a GoodNite Nightlight. Basically it is a nightlight on a timer so it is lite like the Moon at bedtime and it turns into the Sun when it is time to get up.

Be patient. This too shall pass.

Our son used to wake up in the middle of the night crying to be covered back up because he couldn't do it himself so we got him the Big Kids Halo Sleep Sack. They are for kids 2T to 4T. They are just like the babies ones but they have little foot holes so they can walk in them. It worked great!! He stopped waking up cold and needing to be covered back up. I found them on Amazon.com. Hope this helps!

I would definitely recommend that you read, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." My guress is that he needs to go to bed earlier. Kids that are overtired have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep.

Hi E.! Have you tried having him sleep without a nightlight? My kids fall asleep with the hall light on but we shut that off before my hubby and I go to bed. My son was extremely wakeful when he had a nightlight in his room. After we took the nightlights out both kids started sleeping much better.
I would keep on tucking your little guy back in to bed and reassuring him. I still do that for my 5 year old. But, since we stopped using the nightlight they sleep much more soundly and rarely need to be tucked in again.
Good luck! Sleep deprivation is tough!

Could you take a sleeping bag and use that instead of a blanket? Being able to crawl inside a sleeping bag should keep him warm and secure. You could even make your own sleeping bag with Velcro instead of a zipper and teach him how to tuck himself back in. Maybe start a 'star chart' and give him a star each day he doesn't come in to wake you up, and give him something he wants once he earns x amount of stars. Good luck!

I am guessing your two year old needs to be tucked in because he wants you in his room and it prolongs bed time. Negative or positive, he is getting the attention he is looking for. Establish a very set bedtime routine. I wouild make sure he is in bed by 8 at the latest if he is over-tired. If he gets out of bed, be very calm and let him know you love him and walk him directly back to bed. If he gets out again, calmly walk him back to bed, this time, no more talking to him. Simply put him back in bed, cover him up and walk away. It is so important that this is not done in anger, but in a calm soothing way. Once they realize they are not getting the attention they once received, he will stay in bed. This has worked like a charm for my son who is now four and I have just put my 2 year old in a big bed in the last two months and it works well. She usually gets up once right away, but I just put her back. I don't have fights. I have third and I will use this method with him as well. I have great sleepers.