well what can anyone say? but, been there! done that!.

What makes a good parent? Maybe one that has lots of patience, skill, technique and doesnt take short cuts!. Then thats a parent who was lucky to have a child that slept all night. Most will know exactely how tiresome and frustrating it is to not get sleep and still try to be the greastest parent one can be for their child.

Sometimes the best thing to do in some instances, is to take a short cut, and I reckon most would not admit to taking a shortcut in this instance (non Minti members, mind you).

My wife and I decided to put our first born into bed with us, mainly so WE could get some sleep. She is now six and sleeps in her own bed. We were very lucky with our second who is now three. We were GREAT parents with her, only because she slept all night when little and even slept through some feeds.

Sometimes one needs to do what is best for themselves to benefit others in the end. To have lack of sleep only to be tired and frustrated and therefore angry at a child, when they cant help it, is not going to benefit a child. To be completely honest I can tell you I had taken my frustration out on my daughter, by blaming her and even calling her an ugly name or two, which to this day Im not happy about in myself. Maybe I could have avoided getting so angry if I had put her in bed with us sooner then we had and not let tiredness and frustration set in first.

One other thing I know for sure, because we did it too, and that is to STOP giving anything to eat or drink, unless the child is due for a feed, as this will only condition the child to wake for a drink during what should be sleeping hours.

Remember your not doing the best for your child if your not doing the best for yourself first.

you may need to get him back into routine, a story and a cuddle in bed, making it a place he wants to go.