Perfect Sleeper Now Waking at Night

Sometimes this is the age when kids have their first nightmares. I got my kids a bear (or tiger, lion, or brave type animal) and went to the library. There I found a book that had the same animal doing something brave and strong for a boy or girl.

Take the book home, read the book home, while holding the animal. Then tell your son that this animal is his special animal and he or her will protect him in the night, even in his dreams.

Good luck.

My 4 year old occasionally goes through a little phase like this too. If it's only a night or two, I let him crawl in bed with me. I figure, he's such a wonderful sleeper, that I won't mess him up too much. ;) Then after a couple of nights he sleeps just fine in his own bed all night. I know he is seeking out a little more security and cuddles on those nights and I am fine with that. Another option would be to put him back to bed, but sit on his bed for a moment, or lay down with him to give him a couple minutes of cuddles. Since he's such a good sleeper, you probably won't have trouble getting him back to his routine after the short phase is over.

My daughter who is also 4 was doing the same thing about a month ago. It took about 2 weeks and it stopped. I think she may have been having bad dreams. Hopefully its just something your son is going through. She is back to sleeping all through the night with no problems. I just let it pass, just another thing she went through. If it continues you may want to consider having music play or a sound machine because I know with my little little girl sometimes a noise will wake her up but if her little sound machine is going it soothes her back to sleep. Good luck.

I wish I could tell you that I know the answer to this, but I only have empathy to offer! My four-year old just started doing the exact same thing, and my friend's son (same age) did too. It must be a developmental stage, because my daughter has never wanted to sleep with us before. Good luck...we're just going to ride it out :-)

My 3 year old has never been a perfect sleeper, and we have been going through this cycle on and off for a year, ever since we moved her into a big girl bed. I've found that once I get up and help her back into bed, the situation escalates every night from there (i.e she wants to be rocked, she wants me to lie down with her, she wakes up more frequently). I've resorted to putting up a baby gate and letting her cry, after telling her beforehand that mama wouldn't be coming in until Mr. Sun woke up, then we could have a cuddle. Not an optimum choice, but for us, the only thing that worked to break the cycle. Now when it happens, I just have to tell her before bed the next night that the gate is going to be up, and that seems to reassure her and she sleeps through. The other thing I've resorted to in the past in sheer bribery - "if you stay in your bed all night without waking mama, you can have a jellybean in the morning." For a while, the reward was a good incentive, then she stopped caring about it. Other things that have helped:

Extra cuddle time before bed and making sure I leave her while she's still awake so she's not startled waking up alone in her own bed.

A nightlight.

Big snack before bed to keep her tummy full.

Leaving the blinds halfway open so she can tell if it's day or night.

A lamp and a cd player that she can turn on and off by herself if she needs extra comfort.

Taking a friend (stuffed toy) to bed.

That said, I still count myself lucky every single night she sleeps through!

Good luck!

You are not alone! My daughter is the exact same way - which I have to admit makes it way harder for me since she has been sleeping through the night at 4 months old.

Basically - I've been told it is either a growth spurt or dreams. I happened for about 2 weeks - then back to normal.

hmmm, have there been any big changes around the house, his life?

night terrors? or just sleep walking...he may need a "chime" on his door to wake him up..in case he doesnt make it into your room, and goes elsewhere..and harms himself on accident...

just a thought.. good luck.