Hellobee Boards

If it's any consolation I don't think your LO is trying to be defiant or "naughty", it's just that toddlers are crazy wee beings! Have you tried sitting with her for a little bit? She just might need a little more comfort at bedtime at the moment.

This is how it started for us and now for the last couple months we can't get her to stay in her bed, she curls up and goes to sleep immediately on the couch. We then move her to her bed. It's frustrating but at least she goes to sleep sooner than forcing her to stay in her room that she now says is "scary."

E has been going through this a bit lately too, but I've chalked it up to being unsettled due to our recent move. I've been laying down with her for 10-20 minutes and reading her stories, chatting about our day, or just snuggling. That seems to get her to a place where she's comfortable and feeling secure and I can usually leave the room then without any further disturbances. I will hear her sometimes get up again to play a bit more in her room, but she'll put herself back to sleep when she's done. I think sometimes they maybe just need a bit of reassurance and help to phase down....not sure if that's the case in your situation, but may be worth a try.

Bedtimes can be so, so tricky. We had a terrible regression over the summer and I think the worst part was how horrible it felt to have our day end that way. No matter how nice of a day we had, it was tarnished with both of us going to bed upset and angry. One thing that has helped us is making a more clear bedtime routine that she is involved with. We made a list of what to do before bed (with pictures since she can't read yet), and we role played how the list would go, switching roles so she could tuck me in. The list included things like picking out a book and stuffed animal for her bed, so after that was crossed off, there could be no more asking for these things. Then we talked about how that would be it for the night, and I explained to her why that was - that I love spending time with her but I need some "mama time" and rest so that we both have energy to have another great day. I'd think of a fun little game we could play in the morning, or a favorite breakfast, and we'd talk about how the sooner she fell asleep, the sooner we could be up doing that. Not every night is perfect, but it has helped and the nights are a lot more peaceful so we both feel better overall.