I'm just venting, really. This is not normal, so I'm not looking for suggestions. Just annoyed. I'm sure he's going to be crabby when I wake him to go to daycare. He'll either be a bear tomorrow night or really tired and go down early ... Nah, he'll be a bear.
I'm on my IPad right now, as I sit on the floor in his room hoping he'll settle down soon. So glad I have something to entertain me. Whatever did we do before tablets and ereaders? How did I not lose my mind when my oldest was not going to sleep and I had to just sit in the dark?
Mamazita, actually he is special needs. Every one whose ever tried to give me advise about how to handle him (typical discipline) have later admitted that my son is wired differently. We're learning more and more about what makes him tick and making progress all the time. But me not sitting in the room until he falls sleep almost always accomplishes nothing and just means a very tired, cranky boy the next day. Not a battle worth fighting.
I sat in the doorway in a chair with a TV tray doing puzzle books. I filled them up quite regularly.
Now I just go in and lay down by him until he goes to sleep. If "I" go to sleep first that's okay. I wake up if he gets off the bed.
Why are you sitting in his room? No wonder he's wound up!
My goodness, he's FOUR, read to him, give him a kiss and say good night already. Unless he is special needs he should understand by now how to stay in bed, if not to sleep then do what my kids always did, look at books until their eyes got sleepy.
A simple reading light is easy enough for a four year old to operate.
Parents are supposed to be in charge, not the other way around.
Sorry for the difficult night. May I suggest that you go back to the old days and just rest in the dark with him, if you are committed to staying in the room? I believe the IPad, like all electronics, send out a type of light that keeps the brain circuits firing away. And if he has a t.v. or other electronics in his room that have any light on, even when turned off, please fully cover the light or unplug at night. May not be the answer, but it could be part of the solution. All my best.
Hi Z.,
Talk to your doctor about being able to give him melatonin. It is organic and non narcotic and, unlike Benadryl, should not make him drowsy the next day and there's no danger of OD'ing on it or becoming addicted to it. My son had ADHD, is somewhere on the autism spectrum and has an anxiety disorder to boot. He has always been an early riser, but the med he is currently on makes him wake up at all hours of the night and STAY UP. My doctor recommended the melatonin and it has made a huge difference. He takes a 3 mg tablet at night crushed up in a spoon of juice or yogurt. Ask your doctor, it's worth a shot.
I feel your pain! My oldest was a jack-in-a-box for about a year when she was a preschooler. Put her in bed, she bounced back up in minutes. I was so happy when she grew out of it!
Oh, I feel your pain. It just happens sometimes. Our son has a rash on his private parts (poor guy) and has been waking up Daddy. (Guess I got out of it this time, though I do think Daddy is the right one to handle this particular problem.) Usually I'm the one to get woken up.
It can be tough, because I usually count on an hour or two after the kids go to bed to get things done. If that didn't happen, I'd be a little cranky.
