My three-year-old and a 17-month-old girls have been sharing a bedroom since the youngest was born. They have both been sleeping through the night since they have been just weeks old without a nightlight. However, now my three-year-old requests a night light on in the room and my 17 month old is having a difficult time sleeping with a night light. With a night light on, my 17 month just plays around in her crib and does not fall asleep. If I take the nightlight out she falls asleep within minutes. My three all now refuses to go to sleep unless there is a night light on. What have others done in a situation like this?
Other details, I have two older daughters that share another bedroom together and they sleep with a nightlight on in their room. However, if I would move the three-year-old in their room the three-year-old would wake up early when they have to get up for school.
Can you maybe put some type of canopy over the 3 year olds bed with some Christmas type lights so she can see them but they are shielded from the younger child? Or put up some kind of divider in the room to keep the crib out of the light?
I would try to put the 17 month old to bed first without the nightlight, let her fall asleep, then turn on the nightlight and have the 3 year old go to bed.
this is the power struggle.
Your 3 year old is testing your boundaries and seeing how firm you are on them.
Stand your ground. Either have it or don't.
Your 1.5 year old CAN adapt to the night light.
Stop making a mountain out of a mole hill. YOU are the parent. Figure out what you want to do and do it.
Put the 17 month old in bed first. Then put the 3 year old in the bed with the light on. As soon as she falls asleep, turn out the light.
We did a staggered bedtime for a while. The baby went to bed and hour before the pre-schooler, and the baby was asleep by the time the older child went to bed. Put the baby to bed and turn the night light on after she goes to sleep.
My kids are also less than 2 years apart in age and share a room. The older one likes a night light, the younger one prefers dark. Our solution was to use the dimmest possible type of light, more of a soft glow than an illumination, as well as situating the room so the one who does not prefer the light is shielded from it.
You say "no" to the 3 year old. This is not difficult.
Can you do something to block the light from shining so brightly in the crib?
For my 2 that share a room, I have bunks. I hang a sheet from the bottom of the top bunk so that the bottom bunk is closed in and the light from one child doesn't bother the other.
Can you do something similar? Somehow attach something to the outside of the crib on the rails so that the light is blocked?
Or, can you use a very dim nightlight? There are those one that don't have a traditional bulb and put out a very dim blue or green light. They don't put out enough light to play in, but might be enough for your 3 year old so she has something to look at.
When did this need for a night light develop? I'm guessing they didn't have one until suddenly now they want it? Sounds like that child wants to be like the "big" kids. I'd just say no. It really isn't good to have ambient light glowing in the space where you sleep anyway. I started turning my LED alarm clock face away from the bed a few years go, and finally opted to unplug it and just use my phone, which I place face down, so that even when it goes off, I don't see light.
My oldest liked having a little light from the cracked doorway. My youngest, by about age 5, liked it dark, and would complain if I didn't close her door b/c light got into her room and she couldn't sleep. She's a teen now, and loves her blackout curtains, too.
Just say no on the nightlight. Put one in the hall outside the room, or in the bathroom if it makes you feel better about the 3 year old needing to get up during the night for the bathroom of whatever, but really, it isn't necessary. Without extra lighting, it's amazing how much you can see in the "dark" when your eyes are adjusted and not subjected to bright lights first.
What about getting a motion sensor nightlight and putting it by the 3 year old? Then if she is scared in the night she can wave it on?
Otherwise put younger one to bed early, or just let her adjust to having a nightlight on when she goes to sleep.
Mine use night lights..probably helps me more when I check on them in the dark long after they have fallen sleep.
I didn't have this exactly but I had two in bunks at one point and the younger one read so required having a very small clamp light on his bed.
Older one went to sleep easily - so if he felt disturbed by younger one, he went to bed earlier and crashed before younger one flipped pages, etc.
I just positioned light so that it was blocked from older one
I only went so far to accommodate them.
* If you absolutely have to, there are other things (like a clock, etc.) that light up that could be faced towards 3 year old.
Can you place the 3 year old's bed such that only she can see the nightlight and it is blocked from the 17 month old? Put the dimmest bulb in it you can find...very soft. Or find a very soft light type of night light. Like a Forever Glow which is very soft. Some are too bright! Can you put a canopy around the 17 month old's bed to block out light? Another idea is have the 17 month old go to bed first. Good luck.
Fear of the dark is a normal thing for kids that age. They make pillows with a built in night light that shuts off after a certain amount of time. I would try one of those.
Maybe get the three yr old one of those puck lights that you can stick to the wall and turn on by pushing it when she needs it. You could put it in a place where it might not shine so brightly on the baby. Or possibly one of those tents that go over the bed would keep it darker and you could have a light in there for the three yr old.
