My 8 year old does not want to sleep in his room all night. He will be in my room in the am.. help?

Question

I walk him back to bed and he still comes in my room.... is this normal? he has developemental problems so should I ignore this?

Answer 1

Step 1: Lay down the law. Lovingly tell him that he is not allowed to come into your room any more at night time.

(allthough it might be exhausting, you MUST enforce it or it wont work)

Step 2: Once he wanders in to your room, gently carry him, or lead him back to his bed. NO TALKING! If he talks, ignore him completely (he will try desparately to get your attention!!). Then leave the room. He knows exactly what things will get your attention- just ignore them. (this is hard).

Step 3: He will probably make a fit over the matter for hours. Every time he gets out of bed (could be 100 times or more), GENTLY lead him back to his bed, without talking! Eventually, he will get the idea that YOU are in charge and holding firm! Don't get frustrated, or he will think he is breaking you!

In order for this to work, you have to commit to this for a while. It might take several days or even a week or more! It will work, as long as you stick to it.

My wife and I had the same problem with our son, who is constantly challenging EVERYTHING. This method worked for us!

Answer 2

I'm a single dad of an 8yr.old girl. She was abused by her mother when she was 5 and still has nightmares about it. Sometimes she will wake me up and I put her back in her bed and hold her hand or rub her back until she falls asleep. Other times I wake up and she is sleeping on the other side of my bed with one foot touching me. She has been in therapy because of the abuse and her therapist says this normal behavior and will get better as time goes by. Not to push her away if she is feeling really scared and does not want to sleep alone. They had suggested that I put a pallet on the floor in my room and every night move it farther and farther away until she was back in her room. But after stepping on her a couple of times cus I forgot she was there I usually just get up and take her back to bed like I said before. I also bought her a cd of rain noises and one of the ocean surf and she seems to sleep better when they are played. I have faith that as she gets thru therapy and feels more secure at night that her sleep walling will quit. Good Luck

Answer 3

Hi .. "normal" or not my 8 year old son has recently decided he doesn't want to sleep in his room either. He does not have developmental problems but he has decided that their are ghosts in his room.

I don't think you should ignore it. Talk to a doctor just to see if there is some kind of underlying medical reason. If not, then I would recommend being consistent - firm yet compassionate.

Good luck! :)

Answer 4

I went through the same thing with my daughter, she didn't want to stay in her bed and she would not go to sleep unless we laid down with her. Something was scaring her, but she wouldn't tell me what it was. If he has developemental problems, I wouldn't be to worried about it. Has anything tragic happened or has something changed in his life that may have caused him to revert back to a baby stage? When I got married and moved my daughter was 2 she was potty trained and slept in her own bed before this happened, but after the change she went back to pull-ups and sleeping with me. We got her back on track, but it took until she was comfortable with all the changes. Last year when I gave birth to her baby sister, she reverted back and started having to sleep with me again, it took me 6 months to get her back in her bed. A lot of kids go through this, so you are not alone.

Answer 5

hi hun my son has developmental problems too and he is 8 he sleeps in his room . But he was like your 8 yr old when he was only 5. It was hard to break him of it but we did we just told him he was a big boy and big boys sleep in there own bed. Our counsalor says that my son did this because he was suffering from anxiety separation. If you want to chat more just email me maybe we can help each other through the developmental problems you have and i have with our children. my email add is [e-mail]

Answer 6

It's completely normal for a child to want to sleep in his parents bed. My son will be 7 next month and he sleeps in my bed. I fortunately have a king, lol.
It's all up to what you want to do. If he won't sleep in his bed, find out why. Is he scared of being alone or afraid of the dark? Is there adequate lighting for him if he wakes up? There could be a lot of factors.
All in all, it's not a big deal.

Answer 7

Have you try letting him pick out a night light? While you shopping for his nite light ask him, why he do not want to sleep in his bed, take him out for ice cream while you two take this over but if this do not work after a two week time, when you take him back to the doctor ask him what you can do.. I wish you the best.

Answer 8

Get a lock on your door. Lol, just kidding. Ask him why he doesn't want to sleep in his room. Maybe he's afraid of the dark, or maybe he has bad dreams. When I was little, my mom installed easter egg lights (like Christmas lights) around my bed. When I woke up or was afraid on the dark, I could just flip the switch and turn them on. I remember it really helping me.

Answer 9

It's perfectly normal. Just continue to walk him back to bed when he gets into your bed. And if he's coming because he's scared of the dark, get him a nightlight & a radio for his room.

Answer 10

Lock your door from the inside....

If he has developemental problems, he is "not normal".

I'm sure you both have doctors.... ask them...... not Yahoo Q & A!

I'd hate to be your synificant other!