Getting my 6 year old to sleep in his bed through the night
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My son tries this often. He cries and says he's lonely. I tell him tough, he has to learn to sleep alone. I remind him that he's growing up, and he has to go through feeling lonely to become a big boy. If he wants to act like a baby he get's treated like one: no park play dates, no big boy toys, no big boy TV, no big boy food. It is really hard to bring the hammer down, but you NEED your husband. You NEED to decompress. Your marriage is suffering without that time together. Your son will cry, he will suffer a tiny bit, but it's not helping him either by letting him bully you into giving him what he wants. It may take a few nights of the super nanny bedtime method. Every time he gets out of bed take him back without eye contact or saying a word. It will be really hard. Your husband could take one night and you could take another. You need a united front. Getting him to go through this is going to be good for him I promise.
Ugh going through the same thing my son is also 6
Must be a 6yo thing. She suddenly claims to be afraid of the dark. We've cut back on Roblox (and I figured out the parental controls once I realized how not-little-kid friendly a lot of it is! š¤¦š»āāļø) and any other scary shows, etc. I've put my foot down about making her go back to bed if it's the middle of the night, but it's still a major sleep interruption for me. I have a clock on my nightstand and she's learning to tell time, so she knows she's allowed in once it's 6:00, but I swear sometimes she just sits around or creeps in the hallway until then. I woke up around 3am this morning and saw her crouched in the hallway. I finally gave her a melatonin gummy one night last week because I HAD to get one decent night's sleep, but I try to avoid them. We've been using the Chillax gummies from Olly for years for both kids at bedtime, but I'm not as consistent when we have an otherwise good bedtime routine and solid sleep phase. She's had these phases before & they pass eventually, but ugh it's exhausting!
This is physiologically normal and developmentally appropriate. You are their safe place, and being loved and feeling secure is very typical (my 5 and 6 yr old are currently doing this also, so Iām not some mom with a 20yr old that can easily say this and not have to deal with it). We let my son sleep on a chaise chair at the end of the bed. It is adversely affecting everyoneās mental health to fight about it and isolate him through his very normal feelings of fear and anxiety. If I was feeling lonely and scared, and the one person I needed kept telling me to tough it out, I imagine I would be very confused and angry. I try and remember this when he is desperate to be with us 24/7. And remind myself that no child goes to college still sleeping in their parents bedroom. I understand your feelings, momma. Solidarity, my friend.
Thank you all for your advice and insight. Honestly, I'm just glad to know I'm not struggling alone if anything lol
I keep a bed on the floor/side of my bed. Its a tri fold mattress. When my daughter is feeling scared or lonely she knows she has a place next to me without having to interrrup my sleep. I lock the door when im cuddling with hubby of course. Its a win win for everyone.
Dealing with the same with my 6 year old son. He keeps saying heās scared of the dark and hates being aloneā¦ we have tried EVERYTHING. Some nights he makes it but then he goes right back to creeping in my room or grandmas bed. I have a 5 month old now whoās crib is in my room so I donāt have much extra space for a chase or side bed for him I just need him to be a big boy and realize heās not alone. We are all here to protect him and he has tons of lights on in his room. I have noticed the YouTube and Roblox scare him so I had to take away YouTube . Again. But he begs for it back . Glad to know Iām not alone here
Iām not sure if I have much advice, but my 6 yr old daughter sleeps on her own. But she definitely needs comfort items. For example, I fill her bed with stuffed animals, lots of blankets and pillows, a Hatch night light which I let her pick the colors sometimes, and music. She also grabs little lights that sheās picked out randomly. For example, she got a little tea light at church, and a cloud night light that she took from grandma š¹. The lights seem to comfort her a lot. I also bought her a mini Yoto player which we both love so much. I bought her Moshi yoto cards for sleep, and she puts whichever she wants and she loves it. I also recently discovered that I can put our own music on blank cards (which comes out cheaper bc you can buy for example 5 blank cards, and just alternate the music on there to whatever you want. I use yt downloads) To me it seems the night lights and sleep music comfort her a lot. She never gets up unless she has to use the potty
@Brittany we use music to help my daughter. I bought her a Mini yoto player, we both love it so much. I bought her Moshi sleep cards and she picks and put the ones she wants. Maybe something like that could help your son? My daughter uses night lights too
K bb