Hello moms!
For the past month and a half my almost three year old son has been waking up in the middle of the night (somewhere between 1:00-3:00 am) and wants to sleep in our bed. (He goes to sleep at night just fine.) It all started because he was woken up by a loud thunderstorm a couple nights in a row and we let him sleep in our bed. After a couple nights of doing that he wanted to bed in our bed every night! After several weeks I decided to put my foot down so I told him he couldn't sleep in our bed BUT he could sleep on his sleeping bag on the floor of our bedroom. He was pretty cool with that idea. Now, we just need to bit the bullet and not let him come into our room at all and stay in his own room. I'm guessing there will be several nights of him freaking out when I make him stay in his room. Just wondering if any of you have gone through a similar situation and could offer some suggestions that worked for you.
Thanks SO much!
H.
Hi H. it's very undertandable why you let you son sleep in yur bed for a couple night, unfortunatly it's one of the most habit forming mistakes parents today make. At almost 3 he understands doing and not doing what he is told, so just be firm but loving. We went through something like this when out son was 3, and it took one time discipline and problem was solved, J.
our son does this too, for no reason in particular. sometimes hes in our bed, sometimes hes on the floor.
i have found that the best way to deal with it is to not "deal" with it. obviously he has a need, and in my parenting i have found it best to let him outgrow the need instead of making him. after all, if hes ok with sleeping on his own place on the floor, whats wrong with that? i dont think theres anything wrong with that at all. i doubt you have any worries about intimacy unless you are one of those couples who makes time at 1 am for that! :P
but you have to remember, above all, that YOU are his parent, so what YOU feel is best for your family and your son is what is important. you probably know inside what is best, and even if it goes against "popular advice or wisdom" you need to follow what you know is best for you.
H.-
When my youngest was about 16 mos (he is now 2) he started waking up every night like I set an alarm for 2:15 am. For 2-3 weeks he did this. I tried walking with him, sitting on the sofa and cuddling, soothing him in his bed, taking him to my bed. Nothing worked to keep him asleep. I am a single mom of two kids so being up all night was just not working out so well. I finally called the doctor. What they told me was to not take him out of his bed at all. If he woke up, sooth him in bed for a few minutes, no lights, no talking unless a short whisper, and then sit in the room. Wait five minutes then sooth more for a few minutes, sit down, wait ten minutes, sooth, sit, wait 15 minutes, etc. Progress so you can actually leave the room. They told me it would be hard and it might go on all night for a few nights even up to a week. But they said it was the best way to teach him that he was not going to leave his bed. It only took my son 2 nights to get back into sleeping all night.
Hope this helps!
J.
I love Denise's camp-out idea. I would try that. We've had the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling for my older son and he always liked them (left them up when he was in high school!)
Other than that, I'm no help because we live in a one bedroom and always share our bedroom.
Hey H.......
Why not let him "camp out" in his room........with his sleeping bag on the floor if he wants........maybe let him have a flashlight, a cheap one.....and make a big production about it........maybe even have Daddy set up camp with him.......
You could also tell him one of you isn't feeling well, and he can't come in your room cause you don't want him to get sick too.....but you'll have to act sick for a bit.....maybe Daddy can get sick after setting up camp or something..........
Another thing that might help, get those glow in the dark things that you can put on his ceiling or walls.....they make stars and planets, all kinds of neat things........then he might want to stay in his room even more......maybe turn on a little music, nice calm music............
Good Luck and be strong.........take care.
I, too, used the sleeping bag on the floor trick. The novelty wears off eventually. Begin by telling him that when he comes in your room that he shouldn't wake you, just quietly lay down on the floor. That way, he's not getting any extra attention from you at that time and will learn to settle himself down back to sleep on his own. Eventually, he'll figure out that it's more of a hassle to walk down to your room in the dark and just stay in his bed.
Good luck!
