My four year old daughter wont sleep in her own room.

Amy - posted on 03/16/2009

I had a hard time with my oldest when it came to sleeping in her own bed. I broke her of it, at first I would lay down in her bed with her till she would sleep for about two weeks. She would get up in the middle of the night and come into my bed still, I would get up and carry her back to bed. Then we found a stuffed animal she liked and would spray the room with a spray bottle with monster spray (water) for monsters and left a night light on. Eventually it worked but it took a while. I never had the heart to leave her crying so we found a way to work through it.

Maria Eugenia - posted on 03/02/2009

Unfortunately I agree with the first reply. You have to be tough. I went thru some of that. We let my daughter sleep on the floor in my room for a while thinking that it was just a phase, but she got too comfortable, so it was very difficult to get her out. We tried talking and rewarding with very little success. Eventually my husband just put his foot down and didn't allow her to come in our room at night. She cried at first, but in just a matter of days she got the idea. We still lay down with her a night and read some books so we can reassure her that we are there still. We read in a book that it is also a good idea to make a chart for her room called the " (your daughter's name's) Sleep Rules". You can make it pretty colorful and with a theme that she would choose. You can use stars or stickers and some sort of treat to be more motivational.The chart says something like At bed time we..... 1. Stay in bed, 2. Close our eyes, 3. Stay very quiet, 4. Go to sleep. You need to go over it every night before you put her in bed and if she obeys the rules, the next morning, you give her a star or sticker and let her pick out a treat. If she doesn't follow the rules she misses out on the star and the treat. I have not personally try this because I didn't read about it until recently, but if I ever have the problem again I will definitely give it a try. Sounds like a smooth way to set important rules!

My daughter went thru the monsters phase when she was three and it was pretty bad. We talked to the pediatrician about it and he gave us some wise advise when I told him that I was looking under the bed and in the closet to make sure there are no monsters. He said that if I do that she will beleive that they exist. Instead, he suggested that we talk to her and explain to her that there are no such things as monsters or ghosts, and they are just make believe. She understood and we have not had any problems since. We don't let her watch scary things or movies. We want to make sure we don't give reasons to be scared of have nightmares.

Good luck and hopefully the transition goes smoothly!

Viki - posted on 03/02/2009

We gave our daughter a stuffed animal monster. It can beat up any 'not nice monsters' It sleep with her every night.

Lisa - posted on 12/20/2008

My friend wrapped a spray can of air freshener with paper and told her son it was a monster zapper and everytime he was afraid he would spray away the monsters....his room smelled really pretty for a while.....make sure you use a fragrance you like she said....it worked quite well

Chandra - posted on 12/19/2008

I hate to tell you this, but you can't ease her into it. It works best if you are tough. I have tried being nice. It just wore me out. You have to tell her tonight is the night you sleep in your room, Mommy isn't coming in again. Then stick to it. She will yell and or cry for a while, but eventually she will give up and fall asleep. The next night will be quicker. Within 3 or 4 nights it will be over.

As for the monsters....I give my 4 yr old the power to vanquish the monsters. We walk around her room yelling in the closet and under the bed at all the monsters that might be hiding. We tell them there is a spell on the room, any monsters that try to come in will be zapped away to a monster neverland. I do different variations on it whenever it comes up. Usually Izzy is giggling by the time we are done.

Good Luck, and Hang tough,

She will still love you in the morning. I promise.