HELP!!!
I am at the end of my roap with my oldest child! He will not sleep through the night.
He sleeps on our floor every night and wakes me up at least 3 times a night saying he is scared or had a "naughty thought." It has gotten so bad he won't even go to sleep alone to begin with any more. We have tried everything we know and are going crazy and he is not getting enough sleep! Ideas any one? Please?!?!?
9 comments:
I feel your pain! My oldest went through that exact same thing at the beginning of the year. He would do it at least 3 times a night. We just started putting him back in his bed as soon as he came in our room. We wouldn't say anything to him. As soon as he walked in the room we would just pick him up and lay him back in his bed, re-tuck him in, give him a kiss, say I love you and then go back to bed.
Unfortunately it took him more than 3 months to give in but it worked and he stays in his room fine now.
Aren't kids so hard to figure out? Good Luck!
That's awful Lis! I'm sorry to hear about that. Is he still taking a nap during the day? Maybe that should go if he still is. Also, try "Good Night Sleep Tight, The Sleep Lady's guide to getting your child to sleep" by Kim West. It has suggestions on what to do for children from birth up to Isaac's age and situation. It is like what Shawna from the comment above suggests to do.
Good luck! We'll be praying for you.
PS. He may be Mommy or Daddy deprived during the day and is trying to make up for the missed attention at night, even if it is negative attention he is getting at night, it is still better than feeling starved for attention.
Hi Lisa,
I use this trick with my four year old because she has nightmares almost every night. We check the room to make sure it is safe before she goes to bed. Then we put on primary songs on a CD that she can hear all night. For some reason going to bed with primary songs has made all the difference. I hope this works for you! Just remember, this too shall pass!
My sister e-mailed me the "Sleep Sense" book and it teaches you how to teach your child to sleep without you or any other sleep props. If you want, I can e-mail it to you. I know it's worked for her and for my other sister...
Hmmm, we went through this with Lillian her whole life up until recently. Definitely cut out naps, and follow everyone's advice. We basically made her feel like she was the one putting herself to bed and encouraged her to be the big girl. WE would put all her little stuffed animals to sleep with her. She would think it was hilarious when we would kiss her and all her toys to sleep. Everyone has given great ideas. On another note, I found out that the All School Reunion is this year on Oct. 17th. I have heard that tons of people are going (I dont' know if they are from our class). Anyways I think we will go and check it out and I thought I'd pass on the info. Good luck with Isaac!
Carter went through a stage like this too...it was so frustrating! We finally gave him a blessing, I decided I would have Alan give him one every night if we had to. We also gave him a little flashlight (the kind you can put on a keychain) that he takes to bed and shines the light all over his room to scare away all the scary things. I also read an article recently about a Mom who has her daughter tell her all about the nightmare and then the Mom will pick up at the end of the nightmare and continue the story with a happily ever after ending which would put her mind back on happy things and help sooth her back to sleep. Good Luck!!! Hope you get some sleep soon, if you need a nap you can bring the boys over!
I wish I had some helpful advice....I know Daniel was doing that for a while too at his age.
We kept putting him back in his room, and would never let him get into bed with us(which is hard when they're scared). He stoped asking to sleep with us, but then we'd find him on the floor next to us. So every night I'd have to take him back to his room. Eventually, he stopped coming in altogether.
I'd say a little prayer with him to help and then leave. I had to be diligent--which got tiring--but it worked in the long run. We also pray for 'no bad dreams' every night, even now!
All I can say is they go through phases and he will eventually sleep through the night again...for a time. Tyler would come sleep in our room every night for about 6 months. But we laid some ground rules. He could only sleep on the love seat (other friends have only offered the floor with a blanket....don't let him get too comfy), he could come tell me he was in my room, but could not wake me up otherwise...if he didn't follow the rules he was back to his bed. Pray to know what to do, you will figure it out. Read "go away big scary monster" to him.
Sorry Lisa, There are no quick fixes. Dallin was like that until Sarah was born. He was 8. I just put a sleeping bag on the floor next to me and he would fall asleep holding my hand. If he woke scared in the night, he would find my hand again and be ok. CRAZY.
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