Hello I am the mom of a 4 1/2 yo boy who up to this point has gone to bed no problem. His bedtime is anywhere from 8:15 to 8:45pm and we have a regular routine established. Just recently, within the last 5 days we have had a horrible time getting him to go to bed. He constantly gets out of bed saying he wants to stay up all night. We don't give in and let him sleep with us, but always put him back in his bed. He keeps telling us he is not tired and wants to stay up all night, then we start the battle of him acting out and kicking, sreaming, crying etc.
I know this is a phase or something, but he is wearing us down as I work alot of hours during the holidays. Nothing has changed in his routine or with us, other than he told me the other morning he is just so excited for Christmas to come that he cannot relax himself. Last night I gave him a warm bath, warm milk and read to him in bed. I did rub his hair until he finally fell asleep, but now I am very tired and don't want to start a pattern! HELP!!
What I find has worked with my three boys is a night light near his bed. (My sons have the Moon shaped ones from IKEA that you can hang on the wall) and some books. I tell them they can read until they are tired but they must stay in bed. Usually they are asleep in 5 minutes.
My 4.5 year old has done this a few times, and I've told her she can stay up as long as she stays in her room/bed, and doesn't wake anyone up. Hopefully it won't last long! Sorry I'm not more help.
K.
Hi S.,
I have 2 little girls ages 5 and 7 who have gone through this. They go to bed at 7:00 and 7:30. What I told them when they said they wanted to stay up was, as long as you stay in your room, you may stay awake. That way, they felt like they were in control. Both, at different times, really tried hard to stay awake, but they eventually fell asleep. A couple of nights of this, and they stopped asking to stay up. They think they are in control, but you are the one who really is. I even put books and little toys in their rooms, and that way, they realized I was serious about not forcing them to go to sleep. I think the latest they have ever stayed awake was maybe 8:30.
Hope this helps! J.
Sorry about your recent problem. Sleep issues are one of the most posted issues on this site along with potty training. That's probably because there are some many causes of the problems and there can be lots of solutions. I've already read a couple that may work. I have told my son that if he wants to stay up, fine, but he has to stay in bed and be quite. Not only is there a good chance he will get bored and go to sleep, but he also needs to learn that he is part of a family and the family has needs. He needs to understand that his desire to stay up can't interfere with your need to get sleep.
I did find out once that my son had had a nightmare. He didn't tell me this until a few nights of fighting him to go to sleep. Coincidently, I had recently returned from a trip to Minnesota where I had bought a dreamcatcher as a souvenir. I liked the way it looked, but hadn't really decided who to give it to. When he mentioned nightmare, i went and got it, explained its purpose and tacked it over his bed. He went to sleep with no problem from then on.
Dreamcatchers are interesting things, my son was very into nature and I liked the spider web look to them. But, I really could have done anything and told him that it kept away nightmares. I could have sprinkled glitter around his bed and told him it was sleep dust and would keep away nightmares. All he needed to know was that he could sleep and not have another nightmare. Yes, it's kind of deceptive, but, to me, it's on the level of Santa Claus and the tooth fairy.
So, even if his issue isn't nightmares and who knows what it is, think of something you can do in his room and tell him it will help him sleep IF he stays in bed. Santa's watching!
Maybe your kid is responding to you working so much during the holidays as well as santa and the excitement during this time of year. Maybe if you slow down a bit then he will also. I'm sure he'll calm down after Christmas. Maybe have him go to bed around 9 or 9:30. 8:15 seems a bit too early for a 4 1/2 year old.
