Sleeping Problems - Saint Johnsville,NY

on an episode of supernanny she just kept putting their kids back into bed without talking to them AT ALL, not one word. It took this family about 2 hours for the kids to realize that it wasn't a game...actually the one girl ended up sleeping in the hallway outside her room and they picked her up and put her in the bed. I don't know....just an idea, I'm sure it didn't take 2 hours every night...it probably got to be less and less time. my son is only 8 mo. so this is what i have to look FORWARD to :)

in a parents magazine i read that you can make up coupons for like one extra hug or an extra glass of water or an extra trip to the bathroom, but the child can only use one coupon a night. I thought that was a cute idea but again, don't know if it will work.

J.-
My daughter is 3 and shares a room with her 1.5yo brother (til we move). She wants to sleep with mommy all the time.... we don't let her.... we did - but the advice the doctor gave us helped - "just because she cries and carries on does not make you a bad parent - giving in to her every want does." So we grinned and bared it and it took about 3 nights of screaming & pleading, but she now sleeps in her own bed. Of course our son had to suffer too since he was in the same room as her.... She is afraid of the dark - so we have a 3 step touch lamp that we use on low and we play a Disney cd soft and it helps both of them to relax and fall asleep. We can't shut the door because she gets way too scared - but if you need to, they have caps you slip over door knobs that you have to push the side button to open or you could put a hook and eye on the outside of his door.... but the longer you let him sleep with you the longer it will take to break the bad habit which is all it is. You might have to suffer for up to about a week - but it will be worth it if you can finally rest easy.....
S. B.

Hi,
Do all three sleep in the same room? If they don't, I would try to put Austin in his own room and the younger ones together. Try to play up the fact that Sklyer is the big brother to Connor and the baby needs him to be close during the night. Did you try leaving on a radio at night? Maybe he needs the noise. Silence can be scary to some kids. Is it possible that he uses nighttime as his special time to spend with you? Maybe he feels left out. Try to schedule time for just the two of you during the day. Even if that means just the two of you go to the store for milk. Maybe if you fulfill his one on one needs during the day, he won't need you so much at night. Hope this helps. My 3 1/2 still tries to climb into my bed. I end up sleeping in her bed. It used to be 3-5 times a night, now it is only once around 4 am. I guess that's progress. I tell her that daddy snores & hogs all the blankets so her bed is more comfy. When she falls asleep, I go back to my bed. Good Luck!

The one way to keep him in his room is put a baby gate in the doorway. When we moved our son into a "big boy" bed we put a gate in his doorway. This way he had to stay in his room. Even if he got up he had to stay in there.

Hi J.,
I had the same problem with my son at the same age. I put stuffed animals in his bed with him. It was good cause it gave him company. And at the same time it kept him in his bed.
I hope this advice helps you

N.

Make sure that the bedtime routine is always the same. I have found that even the small things each night help. My youngest would not go to sleep one night, crying and carrying on because I forgot to give him a hug. (I thought I did, but...)Once I did, he went right to sleep.
Try not to give in. I know it's hard, but keep putting him back in his bed. I had similar problems with my two year old. I would put him back in bed and stand in the hall outside his room. If he came out I would put him back in bed and walk out, or if the screaming got louder (I have an 8yr old and 11yr old-they have to sleep too) I would go in and sit somewhere away from the bed until the crying stopped then go back out to the hall. Luckily this only took 30-40 minutes each night for about a week. I tried very hard not to talk. A kiss and out the door. Now, he goes to bed without any problems and sleeps quite well.
I also let him take one toy to bed with him and we make a point of putting in a special place at the end of his bed so if he "needs" it, he knows where it is. Most mornings it's still there and it's like a big surprise when he sees it.

Everyone has different sleep patterns. To this day I am still a night person. My first son was never a sleeper. My second son slept on schedule ( I thought something was wrong with him!)
I don't think you can force someone to sleep, and in the middle of the night who wants to read to your child when you are so tired.
So maybe this is giving in, but maybe put a small tv in your room or even a radio with some
wireless headphones. Let him come in and watch the cartoon channel or something. I used to fall asleep to classical music on the radio. (So I was a nerd, what can I say?) Maybe just giving him this option to do this will be enough to get him to go back to sleep in time. At least you may get to sleep.