Hi

I have a 2 1/2 and a almost 4 year old , belive me they both do the same , the best thing is to be firm and take them back to their bed , keep doing it its hard at first , getting up 4 or 5 times is no joke , but if you keep consistent they get use to it, and it makes life easier for the kids and us in the long run.

hope this helps

rushana

The middle night waker can be a hard nut to crack and we have experienced this with both our boys! With the eldest we let it slip into a vicious cycle like your son is in and my husband and I were both wrecks!!!  In the end we ended up getting a baby gate over his door which stopped him from being able to leave his room.  This way he had to call out and one of us would get up for the first few days.  We also left a light on in the hall so he wasn't scared to be alone in the dark.  After a week or so of our persistance about staying in his "big boy" room, he tired of not getting the attention.  We similtanously talked about who sleeps where in the day and read books about big kids going to sleep in their romm and after 10 days of his not calling out and staying in his own bed, we rewarded him with a real big boy activity of his choice, (he chose to go a games arcade, an amazing treat).  Be persistant and keep your humour!!!  Remember they are only little for a very short season, before you know it he'll be running off with his mates and hardly looking back!  Good Luck

Hi Bill

You need to help your wife break the habit... Have dinner together and talk about how the evening will pan out. Discuss your routine and how important it is to sleep the whole night through.  Make sure that your little boy understands that everyone needs their sleep to be healthy and strong.  Remind him of all the wonderful things he will be able to do the next day if he sleeps all night through.

Go to his bed and practice things that he can do to help him go back to sleep and resettle if he wakes during the night... If he is too cold, teach him how to pull his blankets up.  If he needs a cuddle, make sure that he has his favourite cuddle toy on hand to take care of it.  If he is worried about the dark, leave a little night light on or a hall light outsides his room; our wee boy has his own torch to take care of this.

No matter how easy it is to give in at 2am... Your wife has to stay in her own bed, or he will come to expect that this is the norm.  Perhaps you could take over the task of settling him?  It will take time, however persistence and consistency is the only way to nip it in the bud...BTW, I know how your wife feels; give her my commiserations ; )

The only thing I can suggest is that you just keep putting him back into his own bed without his mother. Yes it may take awhile but it will be worth it in the end>

he is testing his limits mine did just put him back in bed without his mum , if might take a few nights but he will learn that mum is not going to get into bed with him and that he will not be allowed in with you,he will still know you love him and that if he needs you that you are both there for him but that he has to stay in his own bed