3 year olds sleeping time?

Question

Hello all

My 3 year old son doesnt want to go to sleep alone in his bed.
He was good fr couple of weeks but now when its bedtime, after reading a story, he gets scared and hops out of bed all the time.
He will come out with silly excuses, but when we are persistant, he sounds so scared to be int there, right up to the point he nearly chokes of screaming and crying so much.
What can we do ?

Thanks

Answer 1

My 4 year old cousin didnt want to sleep in his room because he said he was scarred of monsters. So I took some air freshener and told him it was monster spray. I sprayed it in his room and told him it will kill any monters that try to come in, and he told me where he wanted me to spray it. Even if he isnt scared of monsters you could just say nothing can go through the spay except mommy and daddy. Hope this Helps!!

Answer 2

What we do with my 2 year old son (and bedtime has been so much easier now that we do this) is put him in bed with his nightlight on right next to the bed, his Curious George stuffed animal, and his blanket. We tell him to stay in bed - it's time to go to sleep, and give him the warning that if he gets out of bed, then we're closing the door. Being in a dark room with the door closed is much scarier than being in a bed since there's more light with the door open. The first 2 nights we did this we did have to close the door. He cried a little bit, but saw that he wasn't going to get his way, so he climbed back into bed, pulled the blankets up over himself, and within 15 minutes of us initially putting him to bed, he was sound asleep (at which point the door remains open for the rest of the night). It's tough when they start crying, but it gets less every night, especially if you are consistent and don't give in. It's a power struggle with children that age. Good luck. Hope you find something that works.

Answer 3

Hi this is a very rocky road yu are going down i did this with my son and he never got out of my bed till he was 7 yrs old! And guess what me and his Dad are no longer together... I now have a 2 yr old and she has been going to her own bed at 7.30pm every night. A routine of a warm bath and then we read 3 books i sing hr a song and kiss her goodnight and leave the room. But the problem is getting him to this stage so i suggest making a wee bed next to you both first of all and then transferring it to his room and making it a really exciting place to sleep, then doing the routine along with the controlled crying (keep putting him back to bed) it could take a week or so and is very very stressful but it will work if you persevere. Hope this helps

Answer 4

It's normal for a 3-yr-old to feel scare to sleep by himself. First a night-light would definately help. Second, there're lots of "new ages" music (that is: sound of waves, rain forest, soud of nature), you may found in any Music store, some with music, some just plain sound, it depends on your child. My kid loves the sound of ocean or waterfall with music background. Then he wouldn't feel so scare. If still doesn't work, it'll take some time, first put his bed close to yours but tell him to sleep in his own bed eventually move it further and further away. I'm sure you get the idea. :)

Answer 5

My daughter does the same thing. I bought her a pretty night light so that it wasn't dark, told her that she was a big girl who got to sleep in her own bed now, and read to her every night until she fell asleep...Be consistent! If he knows that screaming and crying works on you, he will continue to do it! Talk to him about it a few times throughout the day to prepare him. Do not let him get up once you tell him its bedtime- YOU ARE IN CHARGE! Be firm but loving and tell him that he will be in trouble if he gets out of bed again. If he can't handle it emotionally, cuddle with him until he falls asleep and he will eventually be comfortable in his own bed alone.

Answer 6

Alot of people might disagree with me but I put a t.v. in my sons room when he was 3 and put on his faviorate movie... He never makes it all the way through the movie and he stays alsleep! I know that people will argue that this is not right but it worked for me!!

Answer 7

Try a night light or leaving the hall light on.

Can I ask do you leave the windows open at night so there are flying curtains or a tree casts a shadow or something?

Answer 8

My three yr old son plays quietly with his night light on and will go to sleep when he's ready. He knows when he's exhausted.

Answer 9

the night light and a favorite stuffed toy both sound great you might also want to try a CD, something soothing

Answer 10

he is using your emotions to control the situation. He needs to be told that he will sleep in his bed, period. Give him a night light and a comfortaing stuffed toy, and make him stay there.