How to Get Your Toddler to Stay in Bed

Sleep is a must have. You can’t function without sleep. But what happens when you have a toddler who is determined to ruin your sleep? This is how to get your toddler to stay in bed.

Having a crib is glorious. Kids stay in bed because they have no choice to get out, unless you have a climber.

My oldest was never the type to climb out of her crib. When we transitioned her to the toddler bed where she was actually able to get out of bed, she still stayed in bed screaming for me in the morning to release her.

She started to get out on her own but would stand at her door banging on the door and yelling “mama! Dada!” Until one of us got her out of her room. (Mind you her door was never locked and she could’ve opened the door if she wanted but we never told her that part).

We wanted to enjoy the fact we didn’t have a toddler crawling in bed with us.

Now things changed when she broke her leg. Read more on that whole ordeal here. But after her cast came off, things changed.

Not only did we have our youngest daughter who co-slept with us until she was one, she was out of the cast and became jealous that she didn’t get to be in mommy and daddy’s room.

She started opening the door and creepily coming into our room at o-dark-thirty in the morning.

You know that feeling, you are sleeping peacefully and you just feel someone peering at you.

You peek your eyes open and BAM there is a cute little face staring at you 6 inches from your face.

She would scare the crap out of me and it wasn’t even light out yet.

So after months of trying to bribe her to stay in her room until mommy came and got her (nothing worked by the way), some friends of mine suggested the OK to Wake Clock.

Now I had heard of this clock that basically lights up and the light lets your child know it is ok to get out of bed or their room.

Parents set the timer on the back. I thought okay I’ll try it.

I have a stubborn preschooler, so I wasn’t sure she would actually listen to this glowing clock. But I was at my wits end and was willing to try anything.

So the first night I explained to her that she had to wait for this special clock to glow green and that means she can get out of bed and come get mommy to turn it off.

That if it wasn’t green she had to stay in her room and she could sing or read quietly until it turned green.

Pretty sure I used some catchy phrase like “green means get up” or something to that nature.

Did this clock magically turn my child into a sleeper who stayed in bed that first night? NOPE.

It took about 3 nights.

I would explain the exact same thing to her every night and on that second morning after she got out of bed before the green light came on, I went in there and made her sit on her bed until it turned green.

I let her sister get up and I made her sit there and wait. Mean? Maybe.

But I was done.

I wanted her to listen and follow directions and I didn’t care at that moment if she cried and I seemed mean making her sit there.

Sometimes we just gotta do what we gotta do, am I right?

Anyways, after I made her sit there that morning, later that night when I gave my same speech about waiting until the light glows green she said okay and promised to wait in bed.

AND SHE DID.

I was shocked. I even woke up before the clock, sitting in my bed staring at my phone waiting for 7am to see if she would wait or if she would come bursting in our door.

She came in with such excitement that third morning yelling “MAMA THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN! I STAYED IN BED AND THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, COME LOOK MAMA!”

She was so proud of herself and of course as a mama, I made a HUGE deal about her being a good listener and how proud I was of her.

It’s been over a month now and every morning she will come in our room and tell me the light is green.

This has worked like a charm.

It took some learning on her part, but after three days/nights she got it. She learned to wait for that magical glowing light to let her know she can get out of bed and start her day!

My one year old now even has learned about the green glowing clock and will stop her feet and giggle in excitement when it turns green because she too has learn that means she will get busted out of her crib!

PROS: 

• Teaches kids to stay in bed/room
• Has hidden parental controls so kids can alter the settings
• Gives parents more sleep
• Comes with both pink and green face plates
• plugs into wall as well as battery in case power goes out
• Has alarm clock that can be turned off and just light used
• promotes independence and sleep training
• feet buttons allow kids to turn off the alarm when they wake up
• has night light feature you can turn on or off
• has auto off after light turns green which you can set for 30 minutes up to 2 hours after it glows

CONS: 

• Learning curve with kids, don’t expect them to get it in one night. (Not really a con but just a tip)

Overall we have been using this clock for over a month now and it works wonders. Our toddler will actually tell me mama I have to stay until the light goes green even if I say she can get up.

So now I just lay in my bed and enjoy some peace and quiet until she comes and gets me. 

If you’d like to purchase and give this amazing little thing a try, you can purchase on amazon or target for $30! Worth it, in my opinion!

*Post contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase using the link I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you*