Can anyone help me get my 5 year old son to stay in his own bed!?

Question

My son is 5 and a half and for the past 10 weeks he has come into my bed everynight.. it started after he'd stayed with his dad for a week as i was in hospital for a minor op.
Now he will just not stay in his own bed though!! and im climbing the walls through broken sleep, Nothing can convince him to stay put.. i even offered to pay him! HELP!!

Answer 1

I can feel your pain!...lol....And sleep deprivation!
I am sure he was pretty scared when you were away...Reassure him that you are now fine and not going to go anywhere...My daughter (now 7) had some issues similar to these too...If he is some what reasonable...Just tell him that you can not sleep very well when he sleeps with you...You have your bed and he has his and you would both sleep better if your in your own beds at night....And tell him you love him and will see him int he morning....Another thing we had to do is go ahead and allow her to stay in our room for a while...But she had to stay on a pallet we made her on the floor....She decided her bed was more comfortable!!..Or maybe make a sleep over night?....You sleep in your own bed all week and you can stay with me on Saturday night?...Make it a "special" occasion.....If he sleeps with dolls or stuffed animals tell him they miss him at night and get lonely when he is gone?.....Good Luck....
P.S. She just sleep with us Sunday night because she had a bad dream and I felt bad for her...But it can and does improve...Besides I just try and be thankful that she still likes me and cuddle her closer....I have a 13 year old too!!...They begin to not like you so much at that age!...lol...ss

Answer 2

Be consistent, it will take a while and you will have more broken sleep initially but make sure his bedroom is nice and warm and cosy when he goes to bed and every time he wakes up and comes to your bed, just take him back to his, don't communicate with him, just say come on, back to bed, tuck him up and leave, keep on doing it every time, if you get into a discussion with him he will learn that it gets him attention, even negative attention is attention to a five year old. Eventually he will get the message that there is no point in getting up, and will learn to sleep in his own bed. And no, don't pay him, however you could over a reward for good behaviour, for instance, offer to let him choose a small toy (small or else you will be setting yourself up in the future) if he stays in his own bed for a whole week, if he doesn't then start over again, don't let him have it for a couple of nights here and there.

Answer 3

Keep putting him in his bed no matter how many times he gets up. Maybe send the sister to the grandparent's house for the weekend ask the boy to help you with some construction, or something as an excuse to get the boy home without waking the sister? Either way, when he gets up, put him back to bed. Don't worry about how long it takes, if you give in, then it'll be even LONGER the next time. Just keep at it, and eventually, he'll fall asleep. Do this the following night too, even though it shouldn't last as long as the previous.

Answer 4

Ask him whats wrong. My then 4 y/o daughter was coming into my bedroom for 3 weeks straight, always at 330 in the morning. She would wake me up, tell me she was there and put her blanket and pillow on the floor next to the bed and sleep there. She told me she was having a bad dream. Come to find out that she was dreaming of a scary part in 101 dalmations. Once we assured her that te movie wasn't real she was able to sleep in her bed again.

Since you can pin point when this started, there's most likely something bothering him. And he's old enough to tell you what it is. Maybe he saw something or heard something at daddys he's not telling you right out.

Answer 5

I put a windchime on my son's door and as soon as it opened the chime would wake me. I would hop out of bed and get to my drousy son before he got near my bed. I would then say nothing at all and just put him back in his own bed. Had to do this frequently for about 5 nights and now he stays where he is put. Give it a go and good luck

Answer 6

Well obviously it sounds like something happened at his dads to suddenly cause this problem and to find a solution you need to find the cause. speak to him ask him did anything happen and also speak to his dad and ask him does he remember anything.
if it was nothing major then the only thing you can really do is keep putting him back into his bed everytime he gets up i know it will be VERY tiring but after a few nights he should get the message you just need to be consistent even if he gets out of his bed 10 times a night just say no back to your bed firmly but gently and put him back. good luck x

Answer 7

Get a super Nanny book and follow her plan! Its hard I did it - but it sorts the problem out. He probably missed you tons when you were away and this is him keeping tabs on you. Tough love, no financial incentive, when he starts to sleep through the night again you BOTH will feel much better. You could reward him with a special trip out somewhere Good Luck
Luv J x

Answer 8

Make a good boy chart and if he stays in his own bed let him put a sticker on the chart and talk to him about what prizes he would like if he gets a weeks worth of stickers in a row.

Answer 9

in my experience kids do this when they feel insecure...
maybe your son was worried about you?
I read some research that stated kids who sleep with their parents at these times of stress, are healthier...
I understand you're not getting enough sleep though!
I'm a great believer in reading a story at bedtime- that puts other things in their head before they go to sleep. If you get in the bed too, that adds to their feeling of security & comfort.
When / if he later gets out of bed to find you, he's worried...
so reassure him everything's OK
& let him sleep with you in your bed... except if he wriggles a lot, then I would warn him he will have to go to his own bed if he doesn't stop, then follow that through.
Believe me, he will get out of the habit naturally when his mind is more at rest.
I'm not into all this forcing kids to do these things, the way we are being told on popular TV... in one epidsode, a woman had to keep putting her kid back into his bed about 54 times!!! Who has the time & patience to do that, & what did that do to the child? he got hysterical, wailing all the time. I can't cope with that...
that's so heartless & unnecessary!

Answer 10

First tell him when he goes to bed to stay in his bed and not to come into yours, Second when he does come to your bed -get up and take him back to his. Keep doing the second one until he gets the picture might take a week.