I would also like to read the answers to this one....My 4 year old still wakes about 2 to 3 times a night and has been an awful sleeper since birth....I have tried everything, from sleep school to peadiatricians and medication (that just made her doppy and was not fair...) I am hoping now that she is at kinder she will start to sleep better but so far no luck has actually got a bit worse again...

The main thing I do that seems to have helped is to be consistent with her. If she wakes she goes straight back to her bed she does not get in ours. I do not talk to her I just put her back to bed. She has also been told that she can get herself her drink or go to the toilet without waking the whole house. Or she is to roll over talk to her bear and go back to sleep. Most importantly it is the same thing everytime she wakes, I do not get things for her and also try to get her to put herself back to bed...

It is a hard thing to deal with and after 4 years of constant broken sleep I sometimes do not function to well but it is better than her being doped up on medication or all the fights that you end up having with them as they are very stubborn in the middle of the night - dont buy into it, just put them into bed and leave the room...(my 4 yr old shares with her 2 yr old sister - this can sometimes be used as a bargaining tool, Please don't wake up your sister as that would make lots of people sad...)

Hope this helps or you get some sleep (if so catch a couple of zzzz for me...haha)

cheers Spinnychic

it could be a little dehydration my eldest suffered irratability through thr night after we made more of a concerted effort to keep the fluids up during the day the problem pretty much dissapeared.

Research shows children can start dreaming around 2 so nightmares are possible they are able to understand what they like and dont, i have two boys 2 1/2 and 7 mnths my baby is very ill and it has a knock on effect and change in routine can unsettle a child hes also become very aware of tv recently, so bare in mind whats happening from your childs point of view and what there being exposed to, just a thought but is it possible your older child has played a trick thats frightened your son, or do you ever say something like nite nite sleep tight dont let the bed bugs bite? also possible teething my son has had all his teeth from 18 mnths but they cld still be having a final push?

Hope he sleeps soon x