3 Yr Old Coming into Our Bed Every Night

As long as you continue to start her in her bed and she falls asleep in her own bed everything will be OK.

Some kids wake up in the middle of the night. All 3 of my kids came into my bed anywhere from @ 2-5am...and they all eventually stopped doing it on their own. My youngest is now 3 and she still does it about 50% of the time now. We have never made it an issue.

They grow up so fast and the needing you in the middle of the night will eventually end, promise!

~Just keep starting her in her own bed.

I always let mine stay when they wandered in. She'll grow out of it.

Although we don't allow the kids in our bed, we still had the problem of our child getting up in the middle of the night and not wanting to go back to bed. I established a "treasure chest," filled with cheap toys and trinkets from Oriental Trading/Dollar Store/Target's $ Bin, etc. We established the rules...if you stay in bed for the entire night and do not disturb/wake anyone, you get to select a toy from the treasure chest in the morning. (It should go without saying that our children are absolutely allowed to get out of bed for real needs, such as bathroom, illness, fear of thunder, etc.)

For us, all it took was ONE night of his sister picking a toy from the treasure chest and him missing out...from then on he stayed in bed!! After about 1-2 months, we simply stopped using the treasure chest. The excitement over the trinkets had diminished and he was staying in bed every single night. It was absolutely worth the small expense!

I doubt this will work if you allow her to get in bed and cuddle with you some of the time, but not at other times -- that would be difficult for a child to figure out. No matter what you do, I think you'll need to establish a hard-and-fast rule she is able to understand.

Not sure what to do when you aren't aware she is there b/c she has "snuck" in... maybe some of the other mamas will know. But for the occasions when you DO know, be sure that you walk her back to her room. As in: SHE walks with you right behind her prodding her on as needed. Don't carry her. It doesn't work as well if you are carrying her. She still gets some reward by the cuddle time when you are carrying her. If she has to do the walking, she loses the "reward" and it quickly becomes not worth it.

Both of my kids did this when they were about that same age. The would drag their pillow and blanket and sleep on the floor on MY side of the bed (so I almost stepped on them while on the way to the bathroom!). Anyway, when they first did this, they would crawl into our bed but then I said no, you can sleep on the floor. So they did. And I did not make it "cozy" for them either, just sleeping on the carpet with whatever they dragged in with them. This allowed me to get some sleep and them too and eventually they both just grew out of it. They are now almost 12 and 9 and have always been good sleepers and even now just go to bed on their own without hassle. Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you!

It is just the age. She will eventually stop. I guess for now just enjoy the
closeness and the cuddles.

What about going to the dollar store and purchasing a bunch of little toys for her and like a reward system for every night that she says in her own bed she gets a little toy in the morning. Once she has established a routine then you can explain to her that this is the norm and you are to sleep in your own bed without expecting a toy out of it
Good Luck

I co-slept with my daughter, so I don't see this as a problem. All kids reach an age where they want to sleep alone. Three is little. Grown-ups get to sleep together but little ones have to sleep alone? I'm sure she just enjoys the cuddle time like you do.

to help reduce her coming into your room, you could sleep with your door shut. I can't do this because i can't hear my daughter crying, but, she also stays in her bed and just cries instead of coming into my room. my fiance's 4 year old comes into our room much more often than my 2 year old. that's the solution his ex told us has worked for her. if he can't get in he doesn't climb in bed with them and just goes back to his own bed. its worth a shot!

Is there a reason she can't stay in your room? Maybe she just likes to be close to you?

I let my 8yo come into our room since he was in a 'big boy bed' he grew out of joining us and now only comes in about once every other month or so. Our 3yo comes in almost every night, I don't mind them being in there. I'd rather them come into our room then going into other rooms while everyone is sleeping!

Now, there is a rule-they may come in but they have to bring a blanket and pillow and sleep on the floor next to the bed. My husband and I only have a queen sized bed and we are both bigger so there isn't much room and with three or more people its gets crowded and noone sleeps! We also have a one year but he sleeps in his crib, for now!

We used to have a cusion under the bed that my oldest would just slide out and sleep on that but it got worn out.

The other option is to just continue to get up each time and return her to her bed with a quick word that her room is where she should sleep unless she really needs you. . .

We love to snuggle with them in their beds as we put them to sleep or snuggle in the morning when we are all awake. ..and they come jump in our bed.

But...

We have a rule in our home that they can come in our room if they are scared and sleep on our big,plush leather lazy boy or on the floor...but not allowed in our bed. THis has helped there not to be a habit in the first place.

Would you prefer her to think she cannot come to you when she has a nightmare or feels the monsters are watching her - just because according to you and Dad there are no such things? To children, you cannot logically explain things away.

You and Daddy sleep together in the dark - how do you like sleeping alone in the dark? Why do you think your child would like it any better than you would? She's a child! She needs reassurance and comfort on her terms when she feels it's needed.

Granted, my almost 6 y/o is only NOW transitioning into her own bed... and I'm going to miss her sleeping with me, but we are about to have #2 and no room for 4 ppl. I definitely and a co-sleeping/bed-sharing advocate because I feel it benefits the child, even if it can sometime inconvenience the parents. I don't know any 10 y/os, 15 y/os, or college students still sleeping in Momma's bed!

I have the same problem but mines 4 and she wont even start out in her bed! I don't have a solution but I sure look forward to seeing your suggestions by these wonderful mamas!