Sleeping - Princeton,MA

My son also went through this.We pray with him each night "about his nightmares", but if your family doesn't pray then another option is to help him think of some "happy" dreams before bed. Like have him make up "bedtime stories" before bed so he can have pleasant thoughts before bed.
I am not about kids sleeping in my room, so that would not be an option for me. If a child comes into my room, I take them back to bed- and tuck them in. Sometimes soft music is helpful to drown out any "scary noises".

My daughter is 7... she sometimes gets scared of things too.. typical night-time fears of the dark/noises/etc.
When she was 5 & 6 she also had that too.
It is developmental based.
My friends kids, of that same age, say the same thing.

When I was that age, I too got afraid of the dark/night time/noises etc.
And yes, kids imaginations are very vivid.... so yes, they get scared.
Also, sometimes in school, the other kids tell other kids scary things. My daughter's classmate, had a habit of telling other kids scary ghost stories that she heard from her older sister... or other kids telling each other scary things. So, then my daughter would come home "scared."

I used to sleep in my parent's room. They let me. I grew out of it.
No biggie.

If he wants to sleep in your room, just have him sleep on the floor or something, in a padded mat or something. Not in your bed.

And yes, kids can't always articulate what their dreams are... even adult can't always do that. But they know if they had a bad dream or not.

Unless his life is the same and he is not having other kinds of problems or stresses... I would just assume that it is they typical night-time fears that kids have at times.

All the best,
Susan

I am firm with my children, no kids in the adult bed. My boys have tried, and they are always sent back to bed. If they are shaken I will get up and tuck them in, but them I go back to my own bed.

See if you can get him to drink a cup of warm milk alone or with a little "pure" maple syrup in it. It's good and will relax him before bed. Make sure it's on an empty stomach and not with salty dinner foods.
It also will be a good idea to sit with him every night and ask him how his day went. Ask him "what his favorite thing that happened to him today". Expressing his feelings is good and may surface something that is bothering him. Sit with him for about 15 minutes "every" night in his bed. Plan not to give up as he gets older. Children need it even more as they get older. Starting with reading to him is a wonderful thing too. Just make sure you have your little talk after.
This committed task will prove to have many good rewards as he grows up.
Good Luck, Sue

Hi my daughter had a similar situation. She started doing this when she was 5. I talked with her doctor about it and she told me to try this. Since she always wanted to sleep with me in my bed and I really didn't want that she suggested that we get her a sleeping bag and put it on the floor next to my bed. She said to explain to her that if she were to wake up in the middle of the night and could not get back to sleep in her room by herself that she could go and use the sleeping bag in my room on the floor to sleep in but that she was not to wake my husband or myself up. She could not take the sleeping bag into our bed she had to sleep on the floor. The waking up has almost completely stopped and she now rarely gets out of her comfy bed. I put the sleeping bad on the floor in her room just in case now but I usually find her in her bed in the morning. I hope that this helps.