How to Get 3 Yr Old to Stop Sippy at Night

Well it looks like my response is kind of going with the flow here but both my boys (3 and 4 1/2) have sippy cups of water next to the bed all night. It's just water so no damage done (tooth decay). The biggest concern would be that making him have to go in the middle of the night but if he is already drinking anyway you are already dealing with whatever the results of the drink are. I say find a good no leaks cup and teach him how to get it for himself. Good Luck

Make a bed for him on the floor by your bed.
Tell him that if he wants to have a drink in the night that he can sleep there, and get a drink himself from a cup just by his pillow.
Do not allow him to wake you up, he is perfectly capable of doing this himself.
He has got you trained....time to reverse the situation!

I agree with most of the responses. My sister is a behavior therapist, so we've tried to be mindful of how we reinforce positive and negative behaviors with our little one.

In this case - child sleeps in the bed, and when he wakes up and fusses, mom gives him sippy cuy. This behavior will continue as long as you reinforce it.
It's also easier for him to fuss and demand what he wants being in your bed instead of his own. The closeness is great, but it is also good for him to establish his own routine.

Be aware - changing the behavior will not come overnight and it will not be easy - but it will better for both you and son in the long run.

Even w our 9mo old, if he gets off schedule and my husband loves to put him in our bed - he then would wake up and fuss and my husband would either give him a bottle or get him and put him in bed with us. It took a couple of nights to get him back on routine - we put him in his own bed. He still woke up, but I just gave him his pacifier. And snuggled for a couple of minutes, and he relaxes and goes back to sleep - put him down and he jumps up again. After rocking him a couple of times, I then would just lay him back down and then left the room and let him cry . This only took a couple of minutes and he put himself to sleep. And after a couple of nights, he was back to sleeping through the night.

Please keep in mind that your little guy has much stronger reinforces behaviors - so it will be harder to break. You have to be consistent and don't give in. The minute crying works to get a need - they will use it again.

If you're not willing to let him cry about it, then there's really nothing that can stop it. If he wants it, and you've been giving it to him when he wakes up crying, he's already been taught that when he cries at night, mommy gives him a sippy. He will cry and cry harder and harder until you break him of it. If he cries for 5 minutes, and you end up giving it to him, the next night he'll cry 10 minutes. You have to just NOT give it to him and let him learn that you are NOT going to give it to him. I don't know why people are so against letting your child cry it out. It works 100% of the time if it's done correctly, and the great thing about it is it works in a matter of 2-3 days. Once it's over, you have a child who sleeps peacefully all night long.

My opinion is that you first need him to sleep in his own bed. Then you let him know when he wakes up for a drink that it is time for bed and he can have a drink in the morning....I'm assuming he is not potty trained either becuase it would be hard while having drinks in the middle of the night. I don't mean to sound harsh but I think at some point he needs to know who is running the show...and it isn't going to be him. Set boundaries. It will be rough with having to work...but it sounds like your current method is working either. Good luck!

Have you tried leaving a sippy of water on the headboard or nightstand where he can reach it? No reason he has to get you up to get his water. Try stopping it on a night you dont' have to work in the morning.
R.

Lots of people get dry mouth at night and need a drink of water, especially in the summer months. I wouldn't advise teaching him not to drink water in the middle of the night it's just finding a way to teach him to find the cup himself. Make sure he knows at bed time he has a cup and were it is. And that he doesn't need to wake anyone up to get a drink. If he wakes you, just remind him he has to find the cup himself. It might take a little time for him to totally understand if you've always gotten up to get him his cup. I understand you need your sleep so a long weekend when you don't have to get up early might be the best time to try to do this. Also try making it sound like it's a big privilege to be able to have your own cup and if the "big boy" concept works with him then make a big deal out of only big boys get to do this. Also I've found some sippy cups are more non-spill than others so experiment with that too, since it sounds like the cup will be in bed with you, no one wants to wake up with a soggy bed cause of a leaky cup. Hope this helps everyone get a good nights sleep.

Hi M.,

I'm with Rosie D. Or even if you have a sippy somewhere close by where you can reach it and just hand it to him, that might work. It would certainly be less disruptive to everyone's sleep than getting up to get water for him. Keep 2 sippies handy if needed.

Maybe a drink of water before bed would keep him going through the night?

I think it is nice that you are co-sleeping. You don't have to apologize for it. ;-)

K. Z.

hi.. i have a lil boy, 5, and he was an awful sleeper when he was lil. needng drinks constantly. he also sleeps with us, and would wake up just to make sure mommy was still there. He has stopped needing drinks at night, try using a regular water bottle, with a sip lid (no spills from sleepy mom or children)and just plain water. and keep it in the room. this way you don't have to wake up, and tromp thru the house at 3 am, and the lil ones don't crave the water and want drinks constantly, but it does appease them. :) good luck

You stop him the same way you stop giving him the bottle at night. You stop it! Do you get up in the night for drinks?

Hes in your bed and waking you up for drinks too,in the night?
Who is the adult here?
Who is the parent in charge here?
You are mom first before you are a working woman!
You tend to your childs need first. And this needs to stop.
Let him cry, it will not go on till hes 18. It is not a crime you are not hurting him. You simply are not giving him a drink at night, it does not matter whether it is from a sippy cup or not!

This child is running the show and he knows it! Of course he cries it works for him. You wouldnt stop it either if your saw you got your way by crying out.

Id tell him if he doesnt stop crying, then he will have to go to his room and sleep, period! And if he cries take him there. If he cried for 30 minutes then go back and tell him he can ONLY sleep in your bed if he will be a big boy and not ask for drinks and he cannot cry.

If the behaviour starts back up in your bed, take him to his bed for the rest of the night. No 2nd or 3 tries. He will scream out but he will tire out too. A baby wll stop crying out after 30 minutes or there about.

Get him out in the fresh air during the day, playground pool with kids around his age at least 2-3 hour a day. If not longer so he is tired, genuinely tired at night.