My daughters have recently had to start sharing a room because we had to move in with my parents. They have never shared a room before unless it was for a "sleepover" in each others rooms. My oldest daughter does pretty good but my youngest wont stop talking to my oldest! Last night they were up till 11 30! They went to bed at 9! I am having a baby in 8 days and am newly single(my husband and father of my kids left us, hence the move) and I really want to get this problem fixed before my son comes home! I have thought about making my youngest go to bed first and letting my oldest watch tv or lay in my bed until her sister falls asleep then putting my oldest into her own bed but I really want them to be able to both go to bed and fall asleep since the baby and I are sharing a room and I dont want his sleep disrupted because of this! Anyone have any advice or something that worked for them! Thanks so much!
I gave my youngest her shower and put her to bed and she fell asleep! I gave my oldest her shower and now she is up every 5 min to bug me for something! We will get the hang of this somehow! Thanks everyone for your help!
would playing a CD help the younger one NOT to talk, but listen to the music instead? or maybe the room isn't dark enough?
OR maybe they just need time to transition. as long as they're staying in their room and getting the rest they need, maybe it's okay if they stay up and "talk". it's great that they have each other through this challenging time.
Fist of all, I am so sorry to hear about your situation. Be strong.
I had to leave my husband with my two children age at the time 3 and 2 they suddenly had to share a room and it took sometime for them to get used to it. I started to allow them 10 minutes of time to talk to eachother, then I would come in and tell them it was time for bed. This seemed to work pretty well.
I know that children need their sleep as do you and your soon to be born baby boy, but this is a pretty hard time for them I would bet so giving them some adjustment time is probably a good idea.
I know that when I would go in and tell them it was time to sleep often they would have questions for me about where their dad went and so on. It was a way for them to deal with the pain of not having their dad around.
Good luck to you, things will settle down.
My two boys share a room and my oldest (6) wants to go to sleep, but his younger brother (5) wants to chat with me/him. I let the youngest talk to me in whispers for a bit and then tell him he has to sleep and he has to let his brother sleep. Gentle reminders from me to them when they start chatting helps. It also helps that they are now in bunk beds and can't make eye contact! Good luck with your situation.
I would put them both to bed earlier....say around 8pm. Tell them they have one hour to talk, but if you hear talking/giggling after 9pm then you will continue to move bed time up (maybe 15 mins for everytime you have to go in there). I would also just relax about the whole issue. It's summer time and they will be able to sleep in. The late night talks I had with my sister are some of my best memories.
I would put the youngest daughter to bed one hour before the oldest one. Then the oldest will come in when she is asleep.
A room divider may work or help too.
Congrads on your new baby.
My two girls (ages 7 and 9) shared a room for about 3 years. The ONLY way I could get them to sleep was to stagger the bedtimes. Youngest went to bed at 8pm. Luckily, she would fall asleep before the older one went to bed at 8:30pm. I tried letting them go to bed at the same time, but it became like a constant sleepover with giggling and talking all night. Definitely move their bedtime up a bit...9pm seems a bit late for a 4yr old. That way, you've got some cushion so your older one doesn't stay up too late herself. Congrats on your (soon-to-be) new baby! I wish you luck with the sleeping issue!
explain to them that if the talking continues this will be the punishment. and then stick to whatever it is. my mom used to tell us bedtime was 8 and we could talk till 815 and if we stayed up later than that she put us to bed that much earlier the next time. so if they stay up till 1130 thats like 3 hours. they won't want to go to bed that much early lol. the letting the older one stay up and extra 15 minutes might help also. good luck
Sounds like you need to implement some discipline at this point. My parents did not allow my sister and I to stay up late talking. They checked on us and we got spanked if we wouldn't settle down. They usually gave us at least one warning. Its about obedience training.
I'd put the youngest to bed first, at least at 8pm, and let her settle down for about 30 min, then start asking her to be quiet and follow through with whatever discipline you feel is appropriate. Then put older sister to bed at 9pm. See how that goes.
Best wishes! :)
That's a lot of transition in a short time for a 4 year old. That is probably more the concern that sharing a room. I shared a room when I was a kid. They just need rules set and held in place. Quiet talk is fine, but they need to be respectful of each other and of you and their grandparents. My boys share a room and I have my younger son go to be 30 minutes before the older one. Sometimes that works, but be ready for the younger one to "wait" for the older one to show up. Now after years, when one of the boys isn't home (sleepover, etc) they sleep on the couch instead of in their room. It's a transition and it will work. Best wishes.
I put my younger son to bed first then when he falls asleep the older one goes to bed. My younger son goes to bed at 7 and then my oldest is in bed between 7:30 and 8.
I'm sure we are all hurting as we read what you shared. You are under incredible stress right now and about to give birth - Wow! I'd say to do whatever you need to do to get some rest, even if it means that someone has to bunk in with you. They are under a lot of stress too and your 4 yr old is dealing with it by talking, something many women do of course! It's a healthy thing for her. Can you or one of your parents give her more time to talk to you? Your priority has got to be to transition to #3 right now and to care for your own body. If you weren't planning to breastfeed, I'd sure re-think that now! It would be a wonderful gift to all of you, especially you and your little boy. It would simplify your life and allow you to keep him very close no matter what else is going on. Please think seriously about this, and God be with you as you find your way through this crisis!
