Trying to Get Soon to Be 3 Yr Old to Sleep in His Own Room

Gotta love their imagination at this age! We used "monster spray" (water in a cool spray bottle) before bed and presto! No more monsters. It worked.

Good luck!

S.

Its a mental game... The only problem is that at that age their imagination is a huge part of them.
Take him to the store and get some "monster b gone dust" aka carpet powder. Let him sprinkle it in the areas he feels the monsters are staying in. See, cause monsters don't like the smell so they leave... And vacuuming it up scares them away faster.

Or, get some "scarygone" aka airfreshner... spray it all around his room and in the closet.

Make sure you "read " the lables that say how NO monsters will return and they will all leave. Make sure HE gets the spots HE feels most scared of... This gives HIM the power.

Maybe have him pick out an army/ kungfu fighter doll to put in the closet/ under the bed/ or sleep with him to protect him. Only use this one AFTER the others don't work.

As for him coming to your room... My kids do this too at times. There is no place as cozy as mom and dads bed.:-) Is it a comfort thing, a scared thing, just a wanting to be close to you, or habit? Just keep putting him back in his room. As for the going to sleep in your room, Circle a date on the calender about a week from now... Tell him NOW that thats the national "big boy " day and all almost 3 year olds have to sleep in their OWN beds from then on. Or use his birthday... No 3 year olds sleep with mommy, right. lol DO NOT GIVE IN EVER!!! If he gets up, put him back. This will be hard and tiring on you and hubby. Hubby NEEDS to help with this. If he climbs in your bed... One of you needs to take him back. (Hate to say this but 99 times out of 100 it will be you probibly)

Try many things... And don't let him watch MONSTER INC for a few years...

Good luck!

My kids had the "ghosts in the bedroom", they also love the Harry Potter stories/movies and we're Christian. So what I did was told them that God put a "force field" around the house so that ghosts would run into it and explode. Okay, so it's a bit of a stretch of the imagination - but it worked!! Our bedroom is right next to theirs, so I also told them that mommy and daddy were right next door if they needed us. Just having that reassurance seemed to be enough.

I'm not sure what your beliefs are and how far you're willing to stretch them, but you may be able to try something similar. We also let them check out the closets really well before bed time to see that there wasn't anything in there.

We have never let our girls sleep with us. If they get a "stay up late night" that includes watching movies in our room they know that when they get sleepy they need to go to their own room. You need to set that standard and hold to it. When the girls have bad dreams, which they occasionally do, they stay in their room and just cry. I hear them and go to them. We don't even need a monitor for it. And it happens very rarely that I need to go to them. Most of the time, if they wake up they go right back to sleep on their own.

It's understandable that a new place is scary. But keep taking him back to his room. Have him help place noisy stuff in the closet so that the monsters will make noise if they're around.
Or explain they don't have the right address. They got left behind at the old house.

I wish I knew who invented these monsters in the closets in the first place.

But you need to stick to your guns and gently take him back to his bed. Check around for worries for his peace of mind.

I found that with my step daughter.. obviously going through a lot of changes after the divorce staying at Dad's house etc.. that going to her room helped. If she came to me scared I would go lay in her bed with her and move back to my room after she went to sleep. We got through it pretty quickly. A couple of months tops but she was only with us every other weekend. To be honest I can remember going through something when I was young... older than 3 probably more like 10 but my Mom would do the same thing. She would come to my room. I don't remember ever going to their bed. Just a thought. Also harder if he is in a toddler bed. Not much room for Mom in one of those.

These things often take a lot of time. He's at a very imaginative age. Sounds like you're doing fine with it. He probably has to grow out of this. I doubt there's anything you can do to make it happen except make his room a happy place for whenever he's ready to stay in it. Giving him a nightlight and/or flashlight might help. You've probably already tried that. Hang in there!

I also have a soon to be three year old who refuses to sleep in her room. I have tried everything and the best I've found is a bribe. We went to a garage sale and bought her a doll that talks and eats. She absolutely loves this doll. We allow her to play with the doll if she sleeps in her "big girl bed". That also includes nap times. All it took was one day where she could see the doll and not play with her to change her mind to where she wanted to sleep. Oh and we also bought her one of those lamps that have fish going around and around. That way she has something to look at while she goes to sleep. We are two nights in!! Good luck!!! B.

Why is it causing such stress on you and your husband? You could make up a little bed next to yours...blankies etc. and tell him just to go there if he gets scared. Monsters in the closet, need a drink of water, just scared...all things telling you he just doesn't want to be alone. Adults don't sleep alone yet so many send their babies off to a dark lonely room. Just go with it ...he will gradually want to sleep in a big boy bed...he's just not a big boy yet. Be patient.

T.,

This seems normal since his routine has been changed. What Randy Carlson always says is put a sleeping bag on the floor of your room and gradually move him to his own room. Another thing you might do is give him some monster spray and tell him he can be very brave and spray the monsters so they will go away. I hope this helps.

Best advice is to show your child that monsters don't exist. To do this, I found it is best to show them how monster movies are made. Most scary movies have a "making of the movie" that you can show him. Also, take him to the store and show him masks and that they are just made of rubber and paint. Find a craft store and get stuff to make your own masks. Remember to laugh a lot and make it funny...take the fear away and replace it with laughter. My kids have never had fear of monsters because they have always understood that they don't really exist...by using this method.

If he is sleeping in your bed, start moving him closer and closer to his own room by letting him sleep on the floor near your bed and every couple of nights move him closer to his own room. If it is not working, then you will need to lay on the floor with him and once he is asleep, then you can move to your bed.

Once he is in is own bed, if he still comes into your room at night, just comfort him with hugs and kisses and tell him how much you love him and put him back in his bed.

Note: Even if he is seriously sick, you should not let him into your bed...sleep on the floor in his room if he is seriously sick and needs you to be there.

I dont really have any advice for you because my 3 year old son does the same thing so if you really find something that works please let me know

We also used the "Monster Be Gone" dust and this worked for a while and than the bad dreams started, so we made dream catchers. So for the longest time, part of our bedtime routine was emptying the dream catcher and dusting under the bed. Than the boys seen the movie Monsters Inc. and they weren't afraid of the monsters, but they still empty their dreamcatchers on the weekend. I also remind them before they go to sleep that we are in the other room, that the dogs will not let anyone in the house, so they are protected.

To move my boys into their own rooms, I transferred them right to a twin bed and would lay with them until they fell asleep. I would also run the ceiling fan (reverse in the winter) and still do.