For quite some time, Connor has been sleeping with me in my bed, but I decided a while back that 3 years old was going to be the cut-off. So he has even been telling everyone lately "when I turn 3, I'll be sleeping in my own bed." To prepare, Grandma Barbara got him a nice new mattress, and I got him new Spiderman sheets, comfortor and even appliques to go on his walls. He loves the Spiderman theme and was actually okay with going in there last night. Here's how it went:
He climbed in the bed, I explained to him that he would be sleeping in his own bed from now on, that he would be able to keep his fish aquarium light on all night (it's really bright!), and that I would be in my bed in my room (right next to his room). I told him if he woke up in the night and needed me, just call me and I would come in. So I read him 3 books, turned off the light, and layed with him until he fell asleep (our usual routine).
He woke up at 4:00, called my name, and said, "Can you come sleep with me?" I didn't want to do too much change at once, so I layed down in his bed with him and went back to sleep. We woke up every 30 minutes...him asking if he could get up yet and me paranoid that we were sleeping too late, but the good part is that since we got up so early I made it to the gym this morning. At 6:00 when he asked if he could get up, he said, "I'm ready to be nice now." So basically because I have been sending him to his room for timeout lately, he thought the reason he was sleeping in there is because he had done something bad. Of course I explained to him that wasn't the case, he just sleeps in his own bed now because he's 3, blah blah blah.
So...to all of you readers with kids...any tips/suggestions? Should I have gone in there with him at 4:00 or just tell him to lay down and go back to bed without me and deal with the crying/sobbing/tantrum that will follow (which results in BOTH of us losing sleep)? If I plan to go in and lay down with him over the next week or two, am I just starting a new hard habit to break or do you think he'll eventually stop waking up at 4:00 once he's comfortable? Any particular way of wording things so he'll know he needs to stay in his bed all night?
I'll post pictures of the Spiderman room later this week.
2 comments:
I am the wrong person to give advice, since my child still sleeps in her crib, but maybe you should move Time Out to another place?
Andie, there are some really good websites with hints - here is one http://childcare.about.com/od/behaviors/qt/stayinbed.htm
You may need to break the habit of lying down with him - he may need to pick something else to cuddle, so when he wakes up he will be able to put himself back to sleep. I agree with Lillian - he could sit on the step or even a little chair somewhere for time out. Also as they get older, there are too many fun things to do in the room. Bedtime is a tough issue but I have seen things really change around once you know you will have a few hard nights. There seems to be peace within a week.
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