Hellobee Boards

Unfortunately I don't have any solutions that have worked for us. But wanted you to know you are not alone - we have been going through this with my 3.5 year old for the past 2 months and it has been exhausting

We've gone through this off and on since my son turned 2. A few different things we've done:

1. Okay to wake clock paired with a M&M bribe
2. Sticker chart
3. Acceptance - telling him he can come in our room silently and get in bed with us, but must start in his own bed
4. Threatening a lock on his door (low point)
5. Re-addressing his evening routine (we decided he needed more physical stimulation in the evening) and limiting nap to 2.5 hours

All of these have worked for a period of time. Right now I explain that I set a timer (an alarm) in the morning and I will come get him when it goes off. If he stays he gets a piece of his Halloween candy after dinner. We also talk about if he wakes up before Mama comes to get him that he can play in his room or read. We usually pick out 1 or 2 books each night before bed that he can read on his own. He has a flashlight on his bedside table.

Lastly, we play this weird game that he made-up. I lay in bed then he has me call for him and he comes in and asks what's wrong. I then say different things that he has said before - I thought I saw a spider, the shadows scare me, etc - and he rationalizes the fears for me. I think it's helped a lot for him to discuss things (through this weird game) in the light of day.

Sorry for the novel. You have all my sympathies!

Oh my gosh, I feel you! I wrote a similar post a few months ago, except it was at bedtime we were struggling so much rather than the middle of the night. It's so hard to be super consistent and non-reactive/emotional when you're really tired, even though that's what all the advice I got points to. It will pass though, especially if you're as consistent as possible! Good luck:)

We've been going through staying in bed trouble with our almost three year old...it's no fun! The okay to wake clock helped us for a couple weeks and then its magic wore off. A combination of things ended up helping us:

1. Reading the book "The Magic Bunny" over and over again...and giving her a light up elephant that plays lullabies/projects stars that she thinks is like her own version of the bunny in the book that keeps her safe at night. We do hear the elephant turn on when she wakes up through the middle of the night, but I'd rather her use that than come get us.

2. A couple of structured times to get out of bed at the start of the night. (This mainly started because she kept asking for water, to use the bathroom, etc at the start of the night...but I do think it helped to keep her in bed in general through the night/morning). I was totally against it initially because I wanted bedtime to really be bedtime, but it's been helpful for our situation, so here we are. Since the visual cue from the okay to wake clock had initially helped, we opted to try something along those lines. We plugged in a nightlight into a WiFi outlet plug that we can turn on/off from our phones. We tell her as we tuck her in for bed that when her nightlight turns on, she can come out to get us if she needs anything. Usually, we turn it on about 10-15 minutes after tucking her in to bed, and she asks to use the potty when she gets out of bed that time. If she is still awake after another half hour, I'll turn the nightlight on one more time to let her come out of her room again. It's put her getting out of bed on our terms a little more at the start of the evening, but still gave her the sense that she had an out if she needed it. Obviously, I'm hoping to wean our way off of this at some point...but for now, it's working.

Good luck! I hope you get to a better place with your son's sleep soon.

@antonia27: try a sticker chart with a simple reward if lo stays in bed for, say, 3 nights in a row. Worked like a charm for my 4yo dd.