Ahhhhhhhhh My 2 1/2 Yr Old Has Been Waking up at LEAST Once per Nt for Food Help

Boy, that's a tough one. It sounds like a game to me. Can a well fed 2.5 yo really be that hungry in the middle of the night? My son was small and I would let him eat often; it's hard to say no when they want to eat! But, barring any health issues that might require a wee hour meal, I would stop playing the game. Tell him that people don't eat in the middle of the night and he will have breakfast in the morning when everyone else eats breakfast. Maybe give him a filling snack before brushing teeth and bed. I'm sure he will protest loudly for a few days and wake his sister. Stay firm and I hope his habit goes away quickly!

C.,
No fun!!! You just have to stick to your guns. Make sure to give him something before bed and then just water if he wakes up. He will cry I am sure for a few days but when he realizes that his crying isn't going to work then this habit will go away. Try just holding him, in a different room from his sister, and telling him that it is sleeping time and not eating time and that you know it is hard but that he will be okay. He needs to relearn how to go back to sleep when he wakes up in the night without using food to soothe himself. You are in for a tough struggle but you will be happy you did it when he is back to sleeping through the night.
Good luck to you,
B.

Quit feeding him. The sooner the better! It will be hard for you with the yelling and such, but he shouldn't NEED food at 3 am. If it were 5 am or 6 am, I'd say maybe he needs breakfast (my 20 month old wakes between 5-6 am and needs breakfast--ugh), but your son needs to sleep at least until morning (whatever time that is for your family). Nobody but newborns need to eat in the middle of the night. It can create bad habits as well as health problems. Good luck..this sounds like a difficult situation!

If he is that hungry, show him how to get up without bothering anyone and get a bowl of cereal or something that is not too messy. Tell him no playing but get something to eat and go back to bed. He can open a box of cereal and eat it out of the box.
C. B

Has this just started (growth spurt?) or been going on for a long time? Does he get a snack right before bed and if so is it good snack? We give our 3 yr a snack every night right before bed, either healthy low sugar cereal and milk, whole wheat toast with pb, whole wheat frozen waffles with peanut butter. Hopeit helps