5 Yr Old Who Won't Stay in Bed at Night

As difficult as it is to do, you'll need to immediately and consistently put her back in her own bed. When you let her stay in your bed you are telling her that this is OK. Put her back in her bed with very little if any conversation if she is awake. Be firm but kind if she insists on getting back in bed with you. And praise her every morning that she was able to stay in her own bed. I know that this is very difficult to do but you'll find that you won't have to do it for long. She will learn that she is expected to sleep in her own bed. Since she did stay in her own bed for five nights and was proud of herself she will probably quickly learn that sleeping in her own bed is to happen every night.

This is just a thought and I have not had any experience with it but if she's asleep when she gets into your bed, perhaps she's unaware that she does get up and get in your bed. In that case it may be helpful to have her walk herself back to her bed.

In answer to the mother who said that her boy says his leg hurts when he gets into her bed, you can still do the same thing. Sympathize briefly about his pain and put him back to bed.

My step-son, when he was 6, complained that his leg hurt for several days and we took him to the doctor, who found nothing wrong. The doctor said that it is common for kids to get this sort of pain. He said it could be growing pains. When we stopped focusing on the pain he stopped complaining about it. We were still sympathetic but we also expected him to do whatever he was saying he couldn't do because of the pain.

I remember my legs hurting and my Dad rubbing them which helped. In my case the doctor sent me to a podiatrist who said that some children have a greater need to wear supportive shoes in the correct size than others. Once my parents provided those my leg aches went away.

Though I can't give you much advice, I can tell you that I sympathize with you and tell you you're not alone!! My 4 year old still crawls in bed with us, and I'm pregnant also. Though I'm only 6 weeks, I know I will soon not be able to carry 40 pounds of dead weight back to bed!!! If you find any good advice, PLEASE let me know!!!

My oldest son was 5 when we made him sleep in his own bed. What we would do was when he came to our bed in the middle of the night we would walk with him back to his bed while he was still awake. We would talk to him, cuddle him a minute and tuck him back in emphasizing that he was a big boy and needed to sleep in his own bed. It took a little time, but after consistently redirecting him back to his bed and not letting him fall asleep in our bed, he stayed in. I think it took about a month. Now he only comes to our bed when he has a bad dream, is sick, or in the morning. I let him stay in bed with us under these circumstances.
Good luck!

I wish I had the answer for you my 4 year old keeps coming into our bed at night but every night he says his Leg is hurting and I am often too tired to even get out of bed and walk him back. And I don't think its very healthy to keep giving him tylenol every single night either!

I will be interested to see what other mom's have to say about this one too.

Til then Hang in there and no you are not alone!

(When I said Every single night that was just an exageration, what I meant was on the nights he comes into my room its for his legs that are hurting him. I do not in anyway give my child tylenol on a nightly basis.)

ditto to what marda said. mostly what helped actually, and surprisingly, was first painting her room her chosen color (pink of course). that kept her in her room for 3 days straight. once we decorated her room in a hello kitty theme, she hasn't left since. we didn't bribe her with it or anything, just noticed that once we did, she stayed put.

with my 2 year old, we made the mistake of letting her stay in our bed when she was sick rather than dealing with her crying in the middle of the night and waking up her sister. that was a big mistake. after that, she started coming in in the middle of the night whereas previously she'd been sleeping through the night. so back to her bed we went every night and i rubbed her forehead until she was comfortable to be left. now she only gets up if she has a wet diaper. (my girls have sensitives butts..costs a lot in diapers, let me tell you.)

my husband is dead to the world when he's sleeping so i can sympathize but you need your rest so *make* him do it. and don't let her fall asleep in your bed at all, just take her hand and take her back to her room. it will be a fight at first but it's soooo worth it to get your bed back and get a full night's sleep. good luck!