banging on the cot! help

[nat1973]

hi there my niece is 18 months old and when she goes to bed at night she will go down for the first hour but then wake up and start banging on the cot?  this can go one for up to and hour my sister is having to constantly go in to settle her. she will settle for a few hours then shes up again banging away!  my sister has tried ignoring her also tried tying cushions round the cot but she just pulls them off!  Any sugestion would be very much appreciated. :?  :?

[GG]

Some questions for you... Is this happening during the night?  Is she crying when she wakes up and bangs on the cot?  What time is her bedtime?  Does she nap well during the day?

[nat1973]

hi there

she is very well behaved during the day, she is in nursery while my sister and her hubby are at work.  she has the same routine every nite.  My sister gets back from work at 5.30pm then she makes little one her tea which she sits with her well she eats at 6pm she has her bath at which time daddy comes home from work then him and my sister have there tea and little one sits at the table with them doing her googles, giggling etc. At 7pm either mum or dad take her into her bedroom she has a story read and a little play then at 7.30pm she has her bottle and goes down for the nite at which she goes right off to sleep no problems at all.  (same routine every nite) Then she will wake up after a couple of hours later and start banging on the cot never cries just bangs away until either mum or dad go in to see to her settle her back down and she will go back to sleep for and hour and then shes up and starts again banging away shouting laughing no crying.  They have tried ignoring her but after and hour they end up having to go and see to her and get her settled.  My sister is going to try attach some kind of padding around the cot and see how that goes as it's the noise more than anything that is the problem. But any suggestions would be appreciated  :? xxx

[nat1973]

oh yes and she does nap fine during the day has a little nap at nursery same time every day.  This only happens at nite as soon as either my sister or her hubby go in. she settles right back down and straight off to sleep. then and hour or two later it starts again.  I have 3 children and have never had any problems with them so am at a loss on how to advice her xx

[Fife_Mum]

Hi,

My son started banging his head (and feet) on his cot around the same age. Just a month later it has passed. In our case, we thought it was caused by anxiety and attention seeking (due to a very pregnant mummy, then new baby!). At first I was sitting next to his cot trying to settle him but we soon realised that he was not going to hurt himself, and gradually moved to standing outside the room, until he went back to sleep. Now one of us stays on the landing for a few minutes then we leave him to go to sleep in peace - no banging, or waking up again.

One thing to consider is avoiding playing after storytime since this might wind her up rather than down, even though she sleeps initially. The main thing that made a difference for us was giving Fraser something else to focus on - a pillow    - his head goes on the pillow to sleep so no banging :wink: .

[nat1973]

thankyou for your advice have passed it on to my sister she will be trying it out tonight xx