Making the Crib to Bed Transition

I've had a couple of parents talk to me lately about making the crib to bed transition with their toddlers.  They were both having problems getting their toddlers to stay in their beds.

I went through this recently with my Boo.  I used the Supernanny method.  You start by doing your bedtime or naptime routine: tucks, hugs, kisses, books, songs, etc.

When he got out of bed and started banging on the door to be let out, I went back in his room, put him on his bed, said "time for night-night", kissed him, and left the room.  If he got out of bed and banged on the door again, I went back in and put him in bed.  After the first time, I didn't say a word or give him any kind of attention.  You don't want to reward undesirable behavior with attention or you'll just encourage that behavior.

There was crying, and sometimes he was out of bed again before I even left the room.  I just put him back in bed without a word.  There were a couple of times he fell asleep behind the door.  But as long as he wasn't trying to get out of the room, I just left him.

The first two days he fell asleep behind the door. 
I love watching him sleep.  It's so peaceful.

The first time I used this method, it took almost a full hour of putting him back in bed until he stayed there.  But he learned in just two days that Mom is not going to give in.  He'll occasionally have days where he'll try it again, but it only takes putting him back in bed once or twice to realize that Mom (or Dad) mean business and he's not going to get away with it.

I'll be honest: it can be hard on Mom and/or Dad.  The crying can be hard to deal with.  You may feel like you're torturing him/her.  But engaging in positive self-talk (This is only for his good; He's only upset because it's not what he's used to; He's learning a new skill and sometimes that can be hard; It's best for him in the long run) will help get you through the hard parts.