It is easy for children to adopt unhealthy sleep habits.  These tips will help you when your child  does not want to go to bed or is having trouble staying in bed.

• If your child cries, reassure the child calmly that she is fine and that its time to go to the bed .Then  leave the room.
• Do not give your child  a bottle or pick the child up.
• If your child continues to cry, stretch out the time between trips to the room. Do not do anything but talk calmly and leave.
• Your child will calm down and go to sleep if you stick to this routine. It may take several nights for the child to get use  to the new plan.
• If your child is use to getting a large amount of milk during night time, cut down the amount of milk in the bottle by 1/2 to 1 ounce each night until the bottle is completely empty and then take it away.
• It is possible for some children to get out of the normal routine during sickness  or travel. You should quickly return to good sleeping habits when things get back to normal.

Some older children go through a process when they revert back to bad sleep habits or develop new sleep problems. Here are some tips to help you with kids going through this problem.

• If the child gets out of bed, take the child back to bed with the warning that you will shut the door ( not lock) for 1 to 2 minutes if she gets out of bed.
• If the child stays in bed, the door stays open. If the child gets out of bed, shut the door for 2 minutes.
• If the child gets out of bed again, shut the door for 3 to 5 minutes ( no more than 5 minutes).
• Be consistent.  Put the child in bed each time she gets out of bed.
• When the child stays in bed , open the door and praise the child.
• You can also reward  such as giving the child a star on the calendar for staying in bed all night.