How to Get 5 Yr Old to Sleep in His Own Bed.

I had part of this problem with my second. She would go to sleep in her bed but would come to ours in the early (3 to 4 am) to climb in the bed. I found out that her covers would come off of her and she would get cold and want the warm heat of mom or dad and feel safe. I then made the bed different and she stayed in the bed. It is nice to have them close when they are small and you are breastfeeding. But if you can get them a bassinet or something of their own in your room and not have them in the bed it is easier to put them in their own bed. Good luck on breaking both kids out of your "family" bed.

Hi, I'm in the same boat! We are going to put his bed in our bedroom and see if that helps. Let me know what worked for you! :-)

Well first of all, u can't give in! Doing this gives your child mixed signals and tells him that if he throws a fit or argues w/ u, that he will eventually get his way! And guess what? It's working for him! You need to put your foot down and put him in his bed and make him stay there! If he gets up, put him back down again and again until he eventually stays there. It will probably take a while (but u say u stay up late anyway, so...) and he will continue to try it for several nights, but after that there should be no more problems! You just have to stick to your guns, b/c if u give in now, he will grow up thinking that this is how things work, and it will become a BIG problem later, say anytime he wants ANYTHING, and not just w/ u! Also keep in mind that this is affecting your other child as well. She may see this as favoritism, that her brother gets whatever he wants, gets extra love and cuddles all night from mommy and daddy...I'm sure u can see how this could make her feel! That will start to cause other problems, like rebellion later on to try to get your attention or get back at u for it, trust me! Also, while you're trying the stay in your bed thing, u may also try something like staying w/ him until just after he falls asleep, and making him a deal that u will snuggle w/ him until then, but once he falls asleep he doesn't need u anymore b/c he's a big boy- lots of kids don't want to be alone in their own beds b/c there's no one to love on!

I am a mother of 3 girls 3 1/2, 7 and 11 and I have the same problem with my youngest child. So I have no advice due to this is the first time I have had this problem my other 2 I did not have to break of this problem so if you find a stategy that works with your son please let me know so I can try it with my 3 1/2 little girl.

Thanks,

T.

I saw this scenario on Super Nanny and I thought she had a really good idea, and it worked too.

What she suggested is to put a chair next to the bed. The first night you put them in their own bed and sit in the chair close to their bed, then each night you move it further and further away from the bed, until you are finally in the hall. It may take a week or two but it seems to work. You definitely have to have patience and need to be consistent and not give in. The first few night may be rough but it will get easier!

Good luck!

J.,
I can say this sounds a lot like our situation just a few months ago. I was so worried about my son not going to sleep early and wanting to get him in bed earlier. First don't stress to much on the bedtime. We started about a week before the first day of school. The first night we got him in bed at 9:00 and I put a movie on for him to watch. He fell asleep about 10:45! The next morning I woke him up at 7:30. I made sure he didn't have any down time and that night he had taken his bath and was in bed by 8:00. I read a story. He fell asleep about 9:00. The next morning he woke up at 7:00 and had a bath and was in bed by 8:00. He had a story and was asleep around 9:00 The next morning I woke him up at 6:45 and did the same routine at bedtime and he was asleep by 8:30. Once school started we kept the same routine and most nights he is asleep by 8:15. School really does help with getting them on a schedule. As far as sleeping in his own bed, make sure you get into a routine and story time really helped us out. There are still many nights when he comes into our room in the early morning hours. We made a rule that he could come to our room after he fell asleep in his bed and woke up. The other part is he has to bring a blanket and pillow for the floor. This works most of the time. Good luck!
H. M

let me know what you do and if it works, reading your request was like reading my own story, its all my fault though, i never got a crib, didn't want to be separated from her as a baby, or toddler, but now sheis 5, and she has her own room, and queen size bed she never uses