Breaking the 'head on bed' rule

As explained in the course, if your child is not following the 'head on bed' rule, it is recommended that you give one warning (optional) "Your head is off the bed so Mommy leaves the room" and then leave the room.

Then, you leave the room until either 1) until they get their head on the bed or 2) for 1 minute and then re-enter and take your place in the chair. Option 1 will make the process move more quickly while option 2 is a little more lenient and, thus, may extend the process. But having either consequence will make the strategy more effective than having no consequence.

When you leave the room, you do not want them following you out, so you need a way to secure the door for the time period you intend to be gone from the room.

With option 1 above, you may be gone for a little while until they get back into bed so it's best to use a childproofing tool such as the door monkey or childproof knob cover to prevent them from leaving.

With option 2, you will only be gone for a brief period and holding the door may be effective.

In most cases, we have found that parents holding the door can cause tensions to escalate more than when a childproof device is used. The child may know that the parent is on the other side of the door and it can become an emotional tug-of-war game. So, if you expect to have to leave the room, holding the door may not be the best option depending on your child's temperament.