I have a 3.5 year old son, who only occasionally sleeps through the night. He goes to bed wonderfully at 8:15 to 8:30 and falls asleep with no issues. We get him up or he wakes up at 7:30am each day. My son wakes up at least 3 to 4 nights a week and is wide awake for up to 2 hours. We tell him he can play quietly in his room or sleep on a pallet in our room with no talking. My husband and I do not let him in our bed; we do not play with him or talk to him other than to tell him his 2 choices. One of us gets up with him and either takes him back to his room or helps him get settled on his sleeping bag in our room. He cries if you leave him in his room and this wakes up our baby and if he does sleep in our room he talks to himself for hours. He does not nap during the day and he is always pleasant and not grumpy. Our son has no medical conditions, goes to preschool 3 days a week, and is a delightful little boy. Is it crazy that our 11 month old sleeps better than our 3.5 year old? Any ideas or suggestions with regards to helping us get him to sleep through the night or stay in his room? We are exhausted!
He is probably over tired! With no naps and being woken up at 7:30 he isn't getting near enough sleep.
If your son is meeting some developmental milestones, language, motor skills, etc. that probably is disrupting his sleep. It will pass.
Check out the No Cry Sleep Solution book for Toddlers for an alternative to letting him CIO and wake the baby: http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/books/0071444912.php
Hi J.,
I always go for the simplest solution first. Change his laundry detergent to an all-natural one. And if you use Clorox, stop. There are neurological stimulants in cleaning soaps that work just like all other stimulants. This may not be his problem but my 80 year old mom never slept though the night until I convinced her of the dangers of Clorox (and it's also in some detergents)and we changed it. She slept like a baby every night until she passed away some 6 years later....Other cleaning products in the house can also stimulate sleep problems, specifically Windex and Pledge and their generics.
If that is not the problem there is a natural supplement called Valerian Root that is not a sleeping pill, but it does relax the mind enough to sleep. The product my husband uses is called RestEZ. I can help you get it if you are ever interested.
God bless and hope you get some sleep soon!
M.
I would stop giving him those options... or at least tell him if he sleeps in your room he is to be quiet or he goes back to his own. I'd let him know that nighttime is not playtime and that if he wakes he needs to lay quietly and go back to sleep. I'm sure he understands that waking the baby is something he can use to get special treatment at night. At 3 1/2 I think he's old enough to be told that that nighttime is quiet time and that there are other people in the house that need sleep (and not just the baby... you too). It may take a couple of crying episodes that wake the baby, but it will hopefully be worth it if you are consistent. Good luck.
It's not crazy that your baby sleeps better than your son.My 5 yr old has had sleep issues since birth with sleeping in our bed or not wanting to go to sleep ect. But my 21 month old falls asleep in his crib at 7 and I could get him out in the morning whenever I'm ready,not to mention he takes naps with no problem also.Just how it worked out with them.But I think by allowing him to make the decision and to stay up out of fear of waking the baby he realizes he has that control and it will only get worse and he will manipulate you in other ways on other isses evenutally...believe me, they only get sneakier as they get older.You need to put him back in his room and put up a baby gate or w/e the case and stand your ground and let him cry it out in his own room.Close the door if you have to and recheck on him later.Either way, the more you cater to him the worse it will get and it is NOT something they grow out of, they just learn to use it for other situations to get their way.
I was just reading up on a product called Bach's Rescue Sleep. It's a 100% natural products with flower essence in them. It completely non-addictive and it supposed to work wonders to help kids sleep better. My pediatrician recommended the Bach's Rescue Remedy for my toddler and us as we are about to make a 30 hour flight overseas and he knows that we prefer to us natural products. It would be worth researching for your son, esp. since it's natural.
Your son may be getting overtired. The best book I ever read on this subject was called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." The problem is that if kids go to bed a little too late at night, they don't get into a deep enough sleep and they wake up in the middle of the night. In that book, the Dr. gives different ways of getting your child to stay in bed. He's a little young to earn rewards for staying in bed. I'd try moving his bedtime up by 15 minutes and see if the situation improves.
I have three children ages 7.5, 4.5, and 3. My 3 year old had/has sleep issues. There is a great book. I can't remember the name right off, Dr. Williams had recommended it and it is in the Blue Ridge Library (she donated it). You only have to read the part that pertains to your child. It is great and helped with our earlier sleep issues.
2. My son sleeps better at night if he has a nap during the day. He does not act like he needs a nap, but when he lays down, he goes to nap he sleeps at least 1.5 hours. I have noticed on the days that he does not get his nap that he does not sleep that night as well.
3. He is also very sensitive to foods. For instance, if he has sugar or a caffeinated drink after a certain time of day, he does not sleep that night as well. He tosses and turns, groans, just does not get good RIM sleep. (Just for the record he would get these sodas/tea if we went out to eat, or if we were at nanna's house because we do not keep them in our house and haven't for years. However, with him sometimes spending the night with her, she has seen what I'm talking about and adheres to our no caffeine rule. We only allow our children these drinks once a week.) We do our best to stay away from red dye as it can cause many different things. Best of luck!
