3 Year Old Wakes up at Night like a Newborn

Two things you might try that worked for us. First we put one of the electronic picture frames next to his bed. When he would get up he would see the pictures and be comforted. Second we got a stoplight nightlight. You can set the time on it so that when it is red during the night it means they should stay in bed or can't call for mom and dad and when it turns green then it is time to get up. These are some inexpensive options that might help. Our son used to get up several times during the night. He would call to us when his blankets fell off, he wanted the fan on or off and so forth. Now we only get it occasionally. Good luck...

With my kids, I explain to them that they can only wake me up at night if it is "important." Then we go over the types of things that are "important," such as feeling sick, wetting the bed, having a nightmare, etc. If none of these things happen, they can't wake up mom and dad. (My son once woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me that my cell phone was done charging!)

You may also want to try leaving music on in the child's room, or allowing the family pet to sleep in her room. Or get her favorite book on cd and when she wakes up at night, she can press "play" and get a bedtime story.

She may be doing this to get attention. If she is, ignoring her is the best bet. It's difficult, but it may be the best thing you could do for her and the whole family.
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I went through this with both my kids at age three - they are (developmentally) at the point at age three that their imaginations are kicking in, which leads to nighttime fears. It's not just done as a ploy. It sounds like you're doing all the right things - reassuring her, giving her a night light, etc. I hate the idea of bribes, but honestly, they're the only thing that seems to help take the edge of this with my three (almost four) year old daughter - she has been getting a small present each morning if she sleeps through the night (eg, a silly band, an m&m, a sticker, etc.) That approach didn't work with my son, but it has with my daughter. I've noticed we go through phases where I eventually wean her off the presents, but what I've noticed is that she relapses each time there's a major change at home (visitors come and then leave, heading back to school after a winter break, etc.) and we have to start all over again. Also, know that this WILL pass - my six year old, who was terrified at age three and never slept, now sleeps like a champ. Hang in there.

Mama, as the mother of 5, the grandmother of several, and having been a foster parent I want to share a few things I have learned. When a child is 3 and been used to things way they don't do well with change that is not thier idea. We have one 3 year old grandchild that is the same way. She would rather come with her blankets and sleep on the floor of her parents rm than be away from them. We presented each child a large and small flashlight which they could play with, use to protect themselves from monsters( which by the way we learned later came from aTV show X Files we watched & scobby Do) and find comfort. 3 is a hard age as its transfering from baby,toddler, to little child- 4 becomes emotional and is likea 2yo with a mouth at times and 5 is when they change to little people. You don't need a sleep specialist just more routine bath, storys, talk to the child and give comfort you can even try having baby monittors so tat you can hear what is going on and the child can hear you as well. They just are so busy and curious at this age they don't want to miss a thing. GET A NAP MOM- it will help you get over the hard times in the adventure of parenthood.** the advice of music and the family pet is great I forgot we did that with 2 of our 5 kids.

Our son went through that phase as well, and for quite some time, my husband would sleep on the floor next to his bed. This became a crutch and my son would wake up crying in the middle of the night if he didn't find one of us next to his bed. I tried a number of things - a toy flashlight, a "monster spray" to spray the monsters away, and a Cloud B Twilight Constellation turtle night light. All of us really liked the turtle night light - which displays the stars and moon in a comforting light for 45 minutes. And if, for some reason, he wakes up in the middle of the night and feels alone, he can push the button on the turtle himself, displaying the stars and moon for another 45 minutes. Worked for my son; hopefully it'll work for yours!