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! 🤦🏻‍♀️) 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 I’m 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 everyone’s 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
K bb