I am a single mom and I have always allowed my children to sleep with me, probably for me as well as them. Now they are five and three and I cant sleep because they are constantly moving. I have tried everything i can think of including praying with them every night. Also trying the "Get out of bed free cards" as well as letting them pick out their beds and A Puppy nothing has worked. I will stay awake until I think they are asleep and then go to bed and as soon as I turn out the light they will be there. How can I get them to understand that their bed is not scary.
First, Let me thank everyone for their response, I tried it all at one time, and the magic dust, definitally worked for my three year old the first night he went right to sleep,although my five year old looked at me and said yea right. It really worked for Jayden and I finally just sat down with joshua and told him that mommy needed him to sleep in his own bed. It took a couple nights but last night they actually slept through the night. Many thanks to everyone.
Please let me know if you find solution. I am a single mom of 2.5 year old boy, and I have a warm body in my bed every night between 11:30 and 1:30AM. I am needing sleep badly.
Try "Fairy Dust"! My niece was scared of her room and my brother got some berry scented room air freshener and said it was Fairy Dust and when you spray it in the room it takes all the scary night things out. I never thought it would work, but it does! It even works when she is sleeping in a new place like a hotel or a relative's house.
good luck!
You just have to stick with it. If they come to your bed, take them back to theirs. I know you'll lose a lot of sleep doing this at first, but it'll pay off in the long run.
I understand where you are coming from. My son Jayden, who is now 2.5yrs old, has been sleeping with me since he was 2 wks old. It was hard for me to move him out of my bed into his own room but finally I was able to. I started by letting him sleep in his own bed next to mines for a week to let him see it is not bad to sleep by yourself. Then I moved him in his own room but I slept with him on his first night because he would not stop crying. The next couple of nights, I would let him go to bed first so that he knows that I am still up if he needs me. Now will go get in the bed by himself with no trouble, sometimes.. He still calls my name after the first 5 mins or so but I just go in there and talk to him for like a min or so and then he goes right to sleep. He wakes up through the night sometimes wondering where I am at but I just go back in there for a short min and make sure he is ok and he goes back to sleep or he will come to the room and I will say go get back in the bed so we can get up in the morning and watch cartoons and he will say ok and go back to bed. I am still working out the little problems but it is getting better and better. So maybe just take it step by step and give it some time and it will work out. I wish you luck.
I had the same problem at one point. I had read in a magazine that the sound of a fan relaxes children, so I bought one of those small office fans. It seems like the sound blocks out the silence and they don't feel so scared. I had tried a night light before this, but that did not help at all, but once I tried the fan I had no problems getting them to sleep in their own beds. When it's cold, I turn the fan facing the door, oposite direction to them and once they fall asleep I go in and turn the fan off so it doesn't get too cold. I was a single mom too for over 6 years, I know it's hard. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here.
My step-daughter slept with us until she was 5. Finally we could not take it anymore. We put her in her own bed and told her she would not get up for any reason. It took a couple of nights but now she loves it. It will be very difficult. Stick to it and before long you will have your bed back.
One reason we decided it was time to get her in her own bed was that we didn't like the idea of her sleeping with her mommy and her new husband therefore she did not need to be sleeping with us.
I do monster spray (fabreez)with my 5 year old, but when he was 2 I had to put a gate in front of his door to get him to stay in his room. A lot of Moms will tell you not to let them cry it out, but it is the only way! You can't reason with children that age and you need to set boundries. It hurts and it is not easy, but every night it will get better and better. Good luck!
I have a 2.5 years old girl. We went through it as well. At first it was easier for us when she felt asleep with us.... but when she got bigger the tossing and turning has grown on us. So, we decided that was it! It took us almost a week of getting up during the night and bringing her to her bed. Every night before bedtime I explained to her that she needs to sleep in her big bed like a big girl with her "Pluto" pup (stuffed animal). I think she got up about 50 times the first night... no sleep for mommy or daddy... less the next day, and even less the next. After about aweek she was in her bed all night. We stayed strict with her and NO EXCUSES. After about 2 months of her doing good I was out of town for a night and my hubby let her fall asleep in our bed again - I got bed news the next night - she was back in our bed (only with 2 night trips back to her bed ahd was back "on track").
Good luck, you can try this (it is exhausting at first... but definately worth a try! and everybody gets a good night sleep again in my household :)
I am sure with them being so much older than my girl it must be even more commontion. My advise - you may try it and be exhausted for a few days.... or you can keep being exhauseted for a long time if you not going to do something about it (painful but true).
Keep us updated how it went.All the best!
I have this same problem. My daughter sleeps with my husband and I; I hate it my husband on the other hand hates hearing her cry so he puts he right in the middle of us. I would put her in her room, but the crying will start. For the last few nights she has been sleeping in her room, around 2am she would be right back in our bed. We would ask one another did you put her in the bed, than I started noticing her little stool, so now I'll be putting that away at night.
My boys are 5 1/2 and 2 1/2 and this has been ongoing since they were both born. Something that worked for a while was getting them to sleep in a pop up tent in their room. (if it is big enough of course! :-) I would read two books, one for each, sing three songs and then tell them I would see them tomorrow. And it worked for a good month. Then we got visitors and after the visitors left, it was back to mommy and daddy's bed. I am in the middle of trying again and I really wonder sometimes why I spent so much money on their bunk beds! LOL I am going to try a reward chart next, something my neighbor used. Her oldest received a star for every night that he slept in his bed and if he gained a certain amount of stars then he was treated to something like a "Night at Chuckee Cheese" something he LOVED! But he would only get the star if he stayed there the whole night. If he tried to come to her bed for any amount of time, he wouldn't get the star. I kind of like this idea and am planning on going to Michael's to get the supplies this weekend! I am hoping my 2 1/2 year old will then just follow in his big brother's footsteps! Here's hoping!
Do they share a room? My 3 year old has had troubles with nightmares/night terros/sleep walking. I moved her into her little sister's room and they both love it! I know this seems harsh, but you could put some sort of lock on your door so they cannot get in. I tried everything for my daughter-- sound machines, night lights, stuffed animals, a baby gate across her bedroom, but nothing worked at all until I moved the girls together.
Hoping for good sleep for you all, soon!
A.
I just want you to know that it's not just a single mom problem. My 1 yr. old slept with me until last month and it's really hard. For me the only thing that worked was being consistent. I read all the books with the different methods and even asked my pediatrician and nothing worked until I decided to just stick with my plan no matter how long it took. I do the same thing EVERY night at the same time. We start with a bath, the last sippy cup of formula for the day, book, and then bed. It will be harder for you at first because yours are older and can get up but just keep putting them back in bed and reassure yourself even if they cry that you're doing this for everyone's good. That first week is h***! They won't understand why now they have to sleep in their own beds but it's gonna be hard no matter when you do it and you'll be so thankful when you get that first real nights sleep! Good luck girl.
We had the same problem with our 3 yr old about a year ago. He had been sleeping in his own room no problem but then we moved into a new 2 story house. He didn't like staying up stairs by himself, he said there were monsters. Any way we let him sleep in our bed for a week. Then we moved him to the floor in our room for another week. Next he went up stairs and we slept on the trundle bed next to him for another week.
After that we stayed with him until he fell asleep for a week. It's a long month long process but staggering the seperation seemed to help him. Good luck.
