Getting 3Yr Old to Sleep in Her Own Room!!

Hi S.,

You should read:
july 12; Christal S.
She had exactly the same question and got some good advice.

Good luck,

I.

Does she sleep in the same bed with you? If so have you tried to sleep in the room of hers with her? A fun night light helps and make sure there is nothing scary to her. If so move it, put it up, get rid of it. My little girl hated this cat in the hat stuffed toy in her collection, I had to get rid of it before she would sleep in her room. Try sleeping in there a couple of nights with her, then start sneaking out. Cheer her on for staying the whole night when she does. These things worked for me and my little one. Hope it helps.

i would say try sleeping on the floor next to her bed the first night and then each following night just stay until she falls asleep. my daughter did fine sleeping in her own room at 3 years old until we moved to a bigger house and then she was scared. i ended up putting a baby monitor in her room and i showed her how it worked and explained to her that if she needed me that all she had to do was call to me and i could hear her thru the monitor and that i would be there as quickly as i could. that really helped a lot! she would even test me a couple of times at first to see if it was true, lol! good luck!

My daughter is 28 months and we have had similiar problems. What seemed to work for me was I would put her in her room and laydown with her in her bed until she fell asleep. I did this for a little while then, when I put her to sleep I did my normal routine, but instead of laying with her I layed down on the floor next to her bed until she fell asleep. As time goes on you are to move further and further from her bed until she can fall asleep by herself. Last night for the first time I read her a book and she fell asleep during the middle of it. I still have not made it all the way out of the room, but I think I am well on my way out. Routine is I think absolutely the key. She must go to bed the same time everyday. That is one of the problems that I was having, but I finally decided that I must put her to bed at the same time or else all of my work is for nothing. Due to situations out of our control she has slept on and off with us since birth. I feel that she is adapting well. She asks to sleep in her bed everynight.

I dont have any magic answers - but when my kids did this I just walked them back to their room or carried them if need be. Eventually they got tired of trying because they knew they would be sent right back. The trick is not to give an inch - no kisses , no hugs, no drinks, ect. toward the end I only had to point.

Good Luck!

You are the adult and she is only going to get away with what you let her get away with. It's very easy to let the kiddos control you but believe it or not they love structure. Make her going to bed a pleasant experience. A bath at night is always soothing, followed by a story and put on some Johnson's Lavender Lotion (it's soothing for them). Get one of those white noise machines that play nighttime noises to help...don't turn it up loud, play it quietly. Also, make sure if you put her in "time out" that you don't have that be in her room. Make her room a happy room where she'll want to stay. You have to take control of the situation and be the adult. It will take about 2 weeks for her habit to change. Be patient, she's going to cry and scream and you're going to feel bad. Just go and check on her every 10 minutes or so to let her know you're still there.

Hi S., I used to belong to the ECPTA for the GCISD and we had a meeting once where a father shared the method he used to get his daughter to sleep in her own room. The first night, he put her in her bed and had a chair that he sat right next to her bed and stayed there until she fell asleep. He said the first night is best done on a weekend because that one could be a long night. The second night, he did the same thing, but he moved the chair further away from the bed, just enough that she didn't really notice. He repeated this process for about 5 nights until the chair was outside the bedroom door. After that night, his daughter was able to sleep in her bedroom by herself.

At first my daughter was sleeping in her room fine, but she had a set back about 3 days in so I tried this. I didn't have a chair, but I just sat on the floor in her room. I think I was inside her room 2 nights and outside her room for 3 nights, but after that, she was able to sleep in her room with no further problems. I mean occasionally she would say "I'm scared.", or thirsty, or whatever and would ask if she could come out, but we always say no, this is night night time and there's nothing to be scared of. Mommy is right here in the family room (or office, or kitchen or wherever) so you must go to bed. She usually just turns right around and goes back to bed at that point. In fact now, if she hear's me up, she won't come out of her room even if she's awake unless it's to go to the bathroom. She knows not to ask me because I always say go back to bed.

Good luck!

My little bugger did the same thing and didnt want to sleep in her bed. I sat by her bed for a few days until she feel asleep. Then as days went on moved further away from her from her. Within a week I sat at the door...then I would shut it half way and then all the way. For a few times she would fuss and say mommy where did you go and I would still be sitting at her foor (or close by and hear her on the moniter) and would open the door while sitting on the floor and say "See mommy is still outside your door like I told you I would be". She still thinks thats what I do and its been a 1yr in Oct. They just need a good routine before bed and be consistant w/ what ever method that you decied to start and dont back down no matter how hard it gets...trust me at first I thought Id have a nervous breakdown and hated the thought of bedtime. I have never let her sleep in my room or bed ever and I make my self stand firm on this b/c the reversal of them sleeping in there just one time is very hard. Good luck and hope all is well and your little one is sleeping independtly and peacfully soon! C.

I recently have gotten my 3 year to sleep in her own room after many attempts. What it finally came down to is every night that she goes to sleep in her bed and wakes up in her bed, not mommy & daddy's bed, she gets to pick out a prize from the basket. I just got a bunch of stuff from the dollar store for her to pick from. It has worked so far for me, even if it's only been 5 days, we'll see how long it last. But I just thought you might want to give it a try.