light sleeper

Candice - posted on 08/14/2009

well, i guess i have nothing left to add. i agree with both Kayliecia and Marnie...in combination. get to the root of it, make it comfortable, stay with them a bit...and also DON'T CAVE about bringing them back to their room. (i like the reward system too...and HUGE praise for nights she stays in bed all night).



my daughter is 15 mos. i was sooooo tired when she would wake up that i'd just bring her into my bed. when i stopped picking her up, and started just laying her back down...a million times a night the first few nights...she now stays in her bed all night, and when she wakes all i have to say is "go back to bed" and she lays herself back down. she knows i'm not gonna cave, so she stopped trying.

Marnie - posted on 08/14/2009

At 3 years she is more than able to understand that its time to sleep in her own bed and stay there. Put her in her own bed first and don't give in when she gets upset. If you have too, sit by her door so she knows you are still there. Then when she gets up in the night, it is very important that you or your husband (my husband worked best for us) take her immediately back to bed. I know you are tired but you should only have to do this for maybe a week. Remember, you are depriving her of sleep as well by letting her do this. She needs a full nights sleep at this age for proper development so maybe try to think of it like you are doing this for her health. I hope this helps, it worked with my son. At first he would get so mad when daddy would take him back to his room, he would keep saying "I want mommy, I want mommy" but daddy would say "No mommy is sleeping and we are going back to your bed so you can sleep" and he never wavered with this. My son is 4 now and finally gets a proper nights sleep and so do I except for the occasional nightmare, in which case I go into his room and rub his head until he is soothed. Now in the morning you can tell her what a big girl she was sleeping in her own bed and snuggle with her in your bed and watch cartoon essentially making a new routine. Good Luck!

Kayliecia - posted on 08/14/2009

Step 1:

Make him comfortable. The first thing to work on is the child's bed and bedroom. You want to make sure the bed is comfortable enough for your kid to be able to sleep through the night. Also look at what you can do with his room to make him feel safe in it. If you have to, put up some nightlights or have some sound playing in the background. This is a great way to take his mind off of being alone, and comfort any fears he has.



Step 2:

Talk to him. If he continues to sneak into your room, it may be time to talk to him. Ask him what makes him come into your room every night. Is it something he is scared of? Get to the root of the problem; this way you can address the issue faster and help him sleep in his own room.



Step 3:

Sleep in your child's room. When you are first trying to get him to sleep in his room, you may have to make some sacrifices. A great way to make him feel comfortable in his room is for you to sleep in there with him. This doesn't mean you have to stay the whole night, but at least stay until he falls asleep. This will get him used to sleeping in his room and not running to your room for comfort.



Step 4:

Bargain. Once you start to see some results, but he still has not made the full transition to staying in his room the whole night, you may want to try and bargain with him. Set a goal that if he stays in his room for a consecutive number of nights that he will earn something. You will not believe what some kids will do for their favorite toy.