How Do You Keep Them On Their Cots?

[EchoMom]

My 2 year olds still sleep in PNPs. That's what I was told to do by all the families when they started with me 6 months ago. But now reading here it seems nobody else has 2 year olds sleeping in PNPs.

I have at most 5 infants and 2s sleeping in our nap room. Currently I just change everyone, put each in their PNP and then go about cleaning up after lunch or playing with an awake infant or do some work with a SAer.

How do you get your 2s to sleep on their cots? Mine have never been on cots only in PNPs and I think they would just get up and play with each other.

I hate how much space they take up, or the trouble to put them up/take them down. How do you all do the cot thing?

[Willow]

If they get up you simply lay them back down.

I've never had a problem with a kiddo taking longer than a day or two to figure out getting up and moving around isn't an option during nap time.


Maybe if you have multiple toddlers you have to newly acclimate to napping on mats you could start them one at a time? Once one gets it down then start another and so on.

[GotKids]

By 14-16 months I start them on cot. Much longer than that and my pack n plays suffer. I sit next to them the first few days and surprisingly I have had very few get up. If you are really worried start the transition one kid at a time.

[cheerfuldom]

I leave the kids in PNPs as long as possible so dont feel bad if that works for you. My thought is, why even transfer them if what you are doing now is working? But if you do try to transition to cots, I would start with the oldest, most well behaved one and transition one at a time.

[Blackcat31]

When mine start nearing about 15-18 months, I transistion them to a mat. I usually only have one at a time that age so it is easy.

If they get up, you put them back. If they get up again you put them back again. Rinse and repeat until they stay put.

It really is super easy and fairly painless for everyone if you stay consistent and show no emotion about it, with the exception of the firmness in your voice when you say to stay put.

If you get stressed or frustrated about having to repeatedly put the child back on their cot/mat, they will definitely pick up on that and feel they have some sense of control over the situation.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

We don't have infants. The youngest was 20-months-old when that child started. All children start on the cots and do just fine!
We had a 23-month-old start recently, and that child will attempt to wander about once a week. I pick that child up, say, "Night night time!" and lay them back down. No conversations. No cuddling (which we do plenty of during the day). Just, "Night night time!" in a soft, quiet voice.

I have 6 2-year-olds that stay on cots just fine.

[MissAnn]

I probably should not admit to this....but a few years ago I was working at a small center. One of the teachers was in the hospital with pneumonia....and, while she was there, we took all of her kids out of PNP's. There were 5 of them.

We had a plan. If the got up, we just laid them back down. No eye contact and no words. Just calmy laid them down. If you make eye contact...that will give them enough incentive to keep on getting up. It did not take long. All week they kids did great.

The.....she came back! We had to admit what we did. We told her how did did it and we told her we would help her. She declined.

Naptime was AWFUL! They got up on tables and shouted her name as she kept yelling at them to lay down. Not one kid would lay down. She finally ran out the door.

OK....yes..we felt bad that we did that to her. But....she finally learned our technique and the kids did great.

The trick is......do not give them any attention. Be a robot. Do not make an expression change.....do not say night night.....nothing! Of course when you initially lay them down......do what you might normally do....but after that.....be a robot!

[Heidi]

I leave the kids in PNPs as long as possible so dont feel bad if that works for you. My thought is, why even transfer them if what you are doing now is working? But if you do try to transition to cots, I would start with the oldest, most well behaved one and transition one at a time.

I'm like this as well. I have one now who is 2 and 3 months, and I kind of need his pnp (or have to buy another next week). So last week and this, he is starting out on a nap, but under the threat of "if you don't stay on your bed like a big kid, I will move you to the baby bed". So far, day 4 is 50/50. Hopefully, by next week he'll have the hang of it...