My 2 yr old used to sleep in his crib all night but recently he wakes around 2 or 3 and says he is scared of the dog and wants to sleep with us. But we don't have a dog so I am assuming it is from a dream. He does climb in my arms whenever he hears a dog barking but I tell him the dog is just 'talking'. He loves to pet dogs whenever we see one and the owner is OK with it. He has never had a bad experience with one. He doesn't watch much TV, however he did see a part of Avatar that might have scared him but that was months ago. So my question is how do I get him to stay in his bed? I am usually very tired but try to convince him that he is OK and NOTHING will hurt him but usually give in and bring him to bed with me so I can get some sleep. I tried to tell him that his bear will keep him safe but that didn't really work. Any other suggestions?
Why worry about keeping him in his bed all night long? The American culture is one of the few places that is considered normal for a kid his age. If he needs you why not just take him to bed. They do wean away from your bed eventually.
This is normal. 2 year olds begin to have fears over things they cannot control.. It is tiring, but if you do not want him to sleep with you, you have to return him to his bed every time..
Just tell him there is no dog in the house and the dog cannot get into the house and that his room is very safe.. Give him his "lovey".
During the day show him how the doors and windows are locked and nothing can get in the house.. Show him how safe his room is.
It is an age stage.
I also ditto the previous posters.
At about this age... a child, developmentally, starts to develop "fears" in general and during night time. We cannot 'extinguish' their imaginations...
this development of 'fears' is normal... and developmental based. Nothing 'wrong' with him per say.
BOTH my kids did that too, at that age.
You either ride it out and provide comfort and calm solutions, or you go the scolding/punishment route. But, still, a child will have night time fears and feeling lonely.
When I was that age and older, I did that too. I had my own room/bed...but in the middle of the night, I would get up, creep down our LONG dark scary hallway, to go to my parents room, then squeeze in between them. They let me. I grew out of it. It was no big deal. I would simply get lonely and miss them... and I'd get scared at night, by myself.
My older sibling on the other hand, never did that. She thought I was weird, because she couldn't relate to that feeling. Each kid, being different.
It has nothing to do with watching tv or not.
"Fears' are developmental based... and most kids, do get 'scared' at night time.... my kids do, still, sometimes.
Its no biggie.
If they have a nightmare... they can tell me about it, and we talk about it.
What we do, is we have a floor mattress in our room. The kids can sleep there if need be or if they are sick. It works for us. It is not a big deal to us. We choose, not to have night time battles, and we don't.
And sometimes, kids have night-mares too.... which is normal.
And yes, in our culture, the focus is in detaching a child/baby... as quickly as possible. For whatever reason.
At this age and older, a child will go through periods of feeling 'scared' at night, or feeling lonely.
all the best,
Susan
Suggestions ? Try the one that your child wants and has asked for (but the one you are unwilling to accept) he wants to spend time with a parent who cares (then again, maybe you don't). Children have a lot of fears and insecurities and they need the security of a loving parent to help ease them out of those times. Be supportive, all parents lose sleep - that's part of the job. Your child is only small for so long, and then they will be off to college and you will WISH for these days all over - stop rushing them through the normal progression of things, and enjoy every moment that your child still Wants to be with you - because those days will be over before you know it.
How about a small flashlight that he can keep in bed with him? That worked like a charm for our daughter.
The most important thing for a child is to know that they can go to their parents and feel safe and secure! if you don't want to put him in your bed put a matress on the floor in his room and stay there until he falls back asleep. I sleep in my 21 mo olds room still. i slept with my first and was even in bed with her when my water broke! I will also sleep with my 3rd due in Sept. It can be frustrating but time with them is so precious and goes so quickly! sometimes I get mad when it takes a while for my baby to go to sleep because I can't leave her room until she is out, but I look at her little face and body and can't help but smile and think how lucky I am to have such beautiful, healthy children! Don't get me wrong they drive me nuts too! Some people don't believe in co sleeping but it does benefit them as far as feeling secure. You might lose some sleep but it's a small sacrifice to make! good luck!
Kids go through these phases a LOT over the years. It is important to maintain a schedule, but it is also important that he know he can come to you whenever he needs to. Telling him he will be fine won't work. He'll just feel like you don't understand... you don't get it. Ultimately, that will make him feel more alone because he can't talk to you about it. It gets worse as they get older and the fears are more reasonable... like being scared of burglars or earthquakes. You can't say they will be fine from those things because you just don't know. At any age, no matter what the fear, it is best to talk about what would make them feel safe so they feel empowered, like they have some control. At this age, I'd make him a little bed on the floor by your bed. Keep a comforter and pillow nearby so it doesn't take too long. When he wakes up, ask would it make you feel safer to sleep in Mommy's room for a little while? The first couple times, you'll probably get some protests about sleeping on the floor instead of in your bed, but if you make it clear that his two choices are his bed or the bed on the floor, he'll happily take the bed on the floor.
My rule is that everyone must go to sleep in their own beds, but if any of the children wake up scared and come to my room, they can sleep on the floor. I usually offer to carry them back to bed and tuck them in, and only if that is met with protests do I offer the bed on the floor. It has never become a habit, so I wouldn't worry about that.
