Keeping My 3 1/2 Year Old Boy in Bed All Night

My daughter did the same thing and I think it was just because she thought it was morning. So...I tried putting a nightlight on a timer that went off at the time she normally woke up in the morning. We call it her "magic lamp" and made it big deal about how special it was because it knew when it was morning and time to get up. There were a few times she still got up at night but it was much easier to get her back to bed because the magic lamp wasn't on yet. I hope this helps!! Good Luck!
L.

my daughter did the same thing .. it took me about to months till she figured it out that she wasnt going to sleep with mommy and daddy .. he will get the hint .. but have you tried talking to him when you lay him down??? and telling him that he is a big boy ..??? my daughter would get up and ask me if she could have green eggs and ham for breakfast .. and i would tell her no and tell her that she could have them when she slept in her bed all night like a big girl finally she did it and she got her green eggs and ham and it was pricelice

Hi, I seen an idea in Parenting Magazine's "It worked for me" section in the last issue I recieved that might work your you :-) The mom purchased an inexpensive wall clock and colored the sections from 5 until 7 in red and from 7 to 8 in green. She also put a gold star on the small hand. The idea is that when the small hand is in the red area the child can't go to mom and dads room when it is in the green the child is welcome to find mom and dad. If your son is going to your room earlier, color earlier hours too. At 3 1/2 he should beable to get the idea. I was considering it for my son, also 3 1/2, but he seems to be getting away from coming to our room. Hope it helps!

Have you tried to put a baby gate in the door so he can't get out? My son has always slept with the door closed since he was about 6 months old (because we have dogs and cats and I never wanted them in the room with him) and when we moved him into his big bed and new room (since we were having another baby) he had no problems. He doesn't even get out of the bed in the morning, he will start talking so we know he is up and we go and open the door and get him out of his bed. I would try the gate first, since he may get scared if you try to close the door on him.

Wow, it is so great to hear from a mom who isn't twentysomething that has younger children. I'm 44 with a almost 5yr old and it is so hard to meet other (shall I say older moms). Anyway, I have one daughter who still wants to sleep with mom and dad every night. Usually I have to lay with her in her twin bed until she falls asleep and then quietly tip toe out of the room. We have let her sleep with us far to long, but to tell you the truth I kind of like it (cuddling with her). My husband has a problem with it and thinks we are screwing up her development (oh brother). A friend of mine I believe put up a half door on thier son's bedroom so he couldn't get out. They had to wait out quite a few crying nights before he got the message. I know the whole sleeping in thier own beds issue is a tough one but good luck. If I think of anything else ( I have several friends that have young boys so I will ask around) I'll let you know.
T.

Hey another 40 something mom with young kids weighing in..I love the idea of the tickets. My dtr just got into her big girl bed @ 3 1/2. She loved her crib and would still be in it if we didn't finally push her to move. Thankfully, she is sleeping thru the night. I would try the ticket idea. The clock sounds good too but I wonder if it's still hard for them to grasp that idea. I used the gate with my son but since my dtr was much older going into a bed, she could climb over the gate without problem. Let us know what worked for you...
L.

Sometimes it is a matter of security not whether they like it or not. Does he have a nightlight? Have you tried giving him a picture of you and your husband to sleep with so he feels like you are in the room with him? My oldest will be 5 in July and she use to do the same thing. Shortly after her fourth birthday, I noticed that she stopped getting up as often. Instead of telling him he has to wait for you to get up (which he has to get out of bed to check for) try telling him it is still dark out and until it is light outside you need to stay in bed. I hope this helps.

Hi R. -

Have you tried putting a pressure gate across his doorway? I remember my mom doing that when my brothers were little so they wouldn't walk out of their room and end up falling down the stairs in the middle of the night. He might not like it, but it would keep him in his room.

I've been listening to some people talk about sleep training infants/toddlers and if he got up and cried because he couldn't get to you, you might be able to adapt some of the same techniques to this situation as well. If you google 'infant sleep training' you should be able to find all kinds of information on sleep training.

Good Luck!

An idea I saw in Family fun magazine, was to make a "get out of bed ticket" which allows the child to get out of bed once, for one more hug, kiss, glass of water, one more book, etc. but when they have used that ticket up, they can't get up anymore, and you just remind them when they do try, that they have all ready used their ticket for the night.