My son, Jake, is 18 months old and sleeps well all through the night, but we just bought him a new bed which does not block him in his bed. How can we teach him to stay in bed when it's bedtime? Is it something that CAN be taught? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,

When our darlings reach about six months old and the threat of SIDS is greatly reduced, we breathe a sigh of relief. We begin to think of their cribs as safe havens. While they may not always be happy in their cribs, they won't be able to hurt themselves while in the protection of those four slatted walls.

Then it happens.

He learns to pull himself to standing. Soon he is cruising 'round and 'round the crib, instead of going down for a nap. Then he begins to bounce up and down. Before long, he catapults over the top -- generally landing with a loud thud. A long silence follows, then a heart-stopping wail.

It's high time for a big-boy bed.

Woody, your first task in this transition is to make his room as safe as his crib used to be. This means fresh, aggressive childproofing.

• Check furniture such as bookshelves for stability. If need be, fasten furniture to the wall.
• Put locks on dresser drawers -- toddlers love to pull out drawers and use them as stair steps to the top of a piece of furniture.
• Replace standard electrical outlet covers with childproof covers. I prefer these to the plastic-cap-type that are inserted into the outlet. The plastic caps are easily removed by an adult and then lost, leaving the plug uncovered. Worse yet, the plugs can be removed by children who will put them in their mouths while exploring the outlet.
• Make sure mini-blind, drapery, and curtain cords are well out of reach
• Remove any toys or other small objects that could be a choking hazard.
• Put any potentially hazardous materials, such as disposable diapers, in the closet and install a childproof latch on the closet door.

Next, make his room a place where he feels safe -- especially at night. Night lights are important, but at this age many kids want even more light than that. A 15- or 25-watt bulb in a lamp can keep the monsters that "live under his bed" at bay. Put the lamp on a timer so that it goes on at bedtime and off when it is time to wake up. This serves two very useful purposes. First if your son does wake up during the night -- no -- when your son does wake up during the night, he won't be as frightened as he would be in the dark. Also, you can begin telling him that when he wakes up, if his lamp is still on, it's still night-night time. Think about it -- when we wake up in the middle of the night, we roll over and check the clock (usually hoping that we can get a few more hours of sleep before we have to face a new day). But when your son wakes up, he has no way of knowing what time it is. During the months when sunrise coincides with waking time, there's no problem. But in many places that leaves two-thirds of the year when confusion can cause unrest (pun intended!).

Kids love stories at this age, so it's a wonderful time to introduce a cassette tape player that your son can learn to turn on and off all by himself. There are lots of great story tapes available now for children. Investing in a few of these is smart. It's an even better investment to make your own. There are no sounds in the world that are as comforting as mom's and dad's voices.