Sleeping Issues at Age 4

I'm thinking he's either scared or not used to his new home...You need to be assertive with him and let him know that you are there with him and nothing will happen to happen and you're far away in another room. It's great to stay with him til he falls asleep, then try to slip away.

I have a 3 yo who does the same thing, great independent sleeper turned clingy sleeper. She comes into bed with us around 10 every night. We welcome her in our bed, and are sure she will grow out of it. I did the same thing as a child and my parents welcomed me into their bed when I would wander in in the middle of the night. I grew out of it and I was fine. We always put her to bed in her own room, but she ends up in ours just about all the time. No big deal, this too will pass!

Hi H., I am not sure if your son is still not sleeping well, but I thought I'd share my story with you that worked. We moved to a new house when my daughter was four. Every night my daughter would wake us up in the middle of the night not wanting to go back to bed. After two weeks of this I told her, each night she stayed in bed I would put a quarter under her pillow that she could find there in the morning, and we would save it to buy her a new toy. It worked that night! I left quarters for about two weeks,we bought a new toy and she slept well after that. Good luck with the new home.

My 6 year old son has had this problem on and off since he was about 3 and he has always shared a room with his younger brothers. We use a kitchen timer in his room and it's been very effective. When we started, we set the timer for 1 minute and then go and check on him. We would slowly increase the amount. Currently, we start with 5 or 6 minutes on the timer and increase it until he (and his brothers) fall asleep. You don't mention if he wakes at night and won't go back to sleep, but we do the same at night without setting the timer (we're afraid that it'll wake his brothers)- we go and check on him after a few minutes. Also, I found that at night, having his dad get up and put him back to bed works a lot better than having me do it. He doesn't put up a fuss and my husband doesn't even go back to check on him - and my son doesn't seem to care! Good Luck!

H. . i have costody of the grandchildre i moved to holbrook last jear . and toni and jocelyn they are both girls. we bought them all new bed room sets and her room is just beaaaaaaaaaaaaatifull . but jet she ends up between me and my husband every night this has been going on for a long time now . then i tell her to sleep on the couch witch is right next to my room . but i wake up during the night . and here she is betwwen me and my husband . they other one is 13 th jears old and did the same thing . what i thing is something on tv scared her . but she cant tell me . but it is so hard to have her do this every night . they other one out grow it . try having him sleep next to your room if you can leave the tv on and once he is a sleep shut it of or leave it on low. this might help you . thanks B.

Perhaps there are new noises outside that he is not used to hearing. Every location has their own unique sounds, ie, trains, planes, apt buildings, sirens.
We live in a condo and my daughter doesn't like to hear the sounds outside especially when I have the windows open. She listens to stories on CD every night. This blocks out any sounds inside or out and she sleeps great. She knows the stories off by heart too!
White noise may also help but stories are more fun. Some of the stories we have are, Huckleberry Fin, Black Beauty, Tom Sawyer, Alice in Wonderland.
Perhaps he has a favourite story or character, something special to him.
Good luck,

Hello H.
did you try to leave a night light or even a bigger light been movint to a strange house maybe he is affraid, or if he still want to be next to you, get a lounge chair in his room and sit there and relax with him been the lounge chair you might take a nap too.
GOOD LUCK

Hello H.,
yes, i dealt with sleep issues as well as several couples that attended parenting classes in my home. I know this may sound strange but when your husband comes home from work be sure you and him have what we call "couch time" this means you and him go off to the side, the children may be present in the room but they are not allowed to interupt your "couch time"

"couch time" may only take 15-20 mins. But this is mommy and daddy's time. This builds security into the child. They are able to watch mom and dad communicate, laugh, share time together. When you are through let them children know mom and dad are available for them.

Hope this helps. It did for many of us. Even those who were at their wit's end!!!!!

H.,

You may check the placement of his bed in his room. There is a lot of credence to Feng Shui. For best sleeping place the bed so the head of the bed can see the door opening, but do not have it in front of the doorway.

Not sure where you stand on this, however, I grew up in a home with alot of spiritual activity, I could tell you stories for days. It sounds very familiar to me the way he cant sleep and just wants someone close by. You may want to have your house blessed by a priest or a shaman. Until then, buy some sage, burn it, and "waft" the smoke into every corner of every room you house. This may sound bizarre if youve never lived through it, however, if you are the one experiencing it, you will do anything to make it go away! Good luck and feel free to contact me if you have any other qusetion about this...

Can he help you re-do his "special" room? Go to a paint dept. and have him pick out paint and buy a new throw rug. It is incredible the difference this makes in making a room feel like his special place!

My mom did this with me when I was little and had to move upstairs in our house. I was 4yrs old and it was scary. My parents were downstairs and my older siblings were upstairs, but I wanted mommy. Well, my wise mom took me and let me do the above mentioned things and it worked. It was my special place. Of course, I picked out bright purple rugs and lavender walls with blue trim!! Yikes! I thought it was beautiful and I felt safe!!

My brothers 4yo went through the same thing, they gave him a sticker chart where he got a sticker for staying in his own bed all night and eventually earned a small toy. They do let him come get in their bed for a cuddle in the morning after a certain time if he wants to (they showed him what it looks like on an analog clock). Good luck!