Parents will try just about anything to get their little ones off to sleep.
You might get them into a sleep schedule as babies but it’s not long before they reach toddlerhood and turn routine on its head, leading many to resort to desperate measures or to just give in to co-sleeping.
Now Kristen Bell has admitted to a pretty strict technique at bedtime.
Kristen, who’s mum to Lincoln (4) and Delta (3), and her hubby Dax Shepard have had trouble with getting their youngest to stay in bed.
“My three-year-old decided to stop sleeping about nine months ago,” she told reporters at an event in LA recently.
“And every night, when we put her to bed, she turns the lights on, which annoys the four-year-old and she will move furniture, and she bangs on the door with different, hard toys.
They decided that the best course of action was to lock the door from the outside and let Delta tire herself out.
“I’m sorry, I know that’s controversial, but we lock it when she gets in there, and we stand outside and say, ‘We love you, we will talk to you in the morning, but now, it’s time for sleep.’ And after about 10 minutes, she’ll wind herself down.
“And then, before we go to bed, obviously, we unlock it.”
It might seem harsh, but it’s far from the craziest thing a parent has done to keep their child in bed and get them into a sleep routine.
Every family is different so if Kristen says this is what works for hers, more power to her.
What do you think – would you lock your child’s door at night until they go to sleep?
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