My almost 2 1/2 yr old son has never been a great sleeper, but he was sleeping through the nightly regularly until about 6 months ago. He has started waking up during the night, usually only once but sometimes more often, and crying. He doesn't stop until we go into his room & tell him he is okay and to go back to sleep. I have tried letting him "cry it out" for about 15 minutes or so, but his cries get more and more upset and urgent as he goes on. I can hear him doing this so it is impossible for me to ignore and sleep through. We have tried not touching him, and standing at his door way to tell him to go back to sleep. None of this has extinguished the behavior. He doesn't do it every night, he'll wake up a few nights in a row and then we'll get a night or two off. The only thing this has coincided with is my switching from Graveyard to day shift, so I am at home during the night now. I thought maybe making his dad deal with him would get him to stop, because maybe this is a way to get moms attention, but that doesn't seem to be working either. My husband is getting so angry because he thinks our son is too old to be acting this way. I am at a total loss.
K.,
He could be having what they call Night Terror's. It is like having a bad dream. My son went through the same thing around that age. He grew out of it for the most part. But still wakes up crying sometimes. I just go in and tell him it's ok. And rub his back alittle bit and he goes back to sleep. Hope this helps.
B.
He is not too young to be acting this way. First off I would consult a doctor to rule out an ear infection. If it's not an ear infection then it may be a sign of anxiety (change of schedules) or he may be having bad dreams. At this age children cannot distinguish reality from make-believe... so if he is watching tv or movies (even if they are educational) anytime before bed it might be interfering with his sleep. My son is a very good sleeper but whenever my son does this I go in and let him know that I'm there... I don't pick him up but I just softly run my fingers thru his hair to comfort him make sure he has his favorite blankie etc. I've read never to let them come into your bed if this happens it's best that you just let them know that you're there and to lay on the floor next to the bed until he goes back to sleep.
Keep in mind this is only a phase... hope this helps. Good luck!
My daughter has always been a great sleeper, but she still does wake up from time to time in the night. My method of dealing with it was always to respond quickly... the sooner she knew I was there, the more quickly she'd fall back to sleep. Like adults, kids can wake up for no reason in the night and for them, that's scary when it's mostly dark and they're tired and can't see anyone near them.
Have you talked with him about it, asked him if his ears hurt at night or why he get's sad? Sometimes giving my daughter another way of "getting my attention" is all it takes for her. (I.e., If you wake up at night and want mommy, all you need to do is call for me - I can hear you and there's no reason to cry and feel sad - it makes mommy sad when you cry.")
Another thought might be to buy a noise activiated musical aparatus, like the ones they have for a baby's crib - if you think music might loll him back to sleep.
It's frustrating when we can't get enough sleep, but I'd remind your husband that he's still mostly a baby and that he'll outgrow this phase, to please be more patient with him.
Best of luck!
I guess I'm at a loss, because I've always gone into comfort my daughter when she woke crying. She also, was never a great sleeper (she never slept or more than an hour at a time until she was almost 18 months).
In my opinion, children cry for a need and it's our jobs to address that need. Obviously, something is upsetting to him. And sometimes (especially in the middle of the night) it's hard for us to determine or even empathize with what that is. Just know that it won't last forever, and he will outgrow it.
As for your DH, remind him your son IS still a very young child.... and getting angry at him for this is very unhealthy. Many times (especially in men it seems) their expectations for their children are far too unrealistic.
Try a night light. That seems to be helping with my 2 year old.
LOL.
At this age crying it out only results in screaming, and then they wake up fully. My 2 1/2 year old does this every now and then too, and usually if I go in and hold his hand he will calm back down. Rarely--usually at 5:00 in the morning or so--he won't go back down, and then I take him as far from our master bedroom as possible so it won't wake my husband (this task always falls to the mom--it's both our pleasure and our pain to be the "go-to" parent!) Sometimes he will go back to sleep on the couch or guest room, but at least he's quiet because he's with me, and dad can keep sleeping. From what I've heard, this phase will pass--don't let dad expect too much from him at this point, but also removing him if it's close to wake-up time may alleviate the disruption dad is experiencing. Just don't take him from his bed in the middle of the night, or he won't learn to comfort himself in his own bed (and you'll never get any sleep). lots of luck--remember that most moms go through this and it does pass!
My boy did this at the exact same age. After I got him calmed down, I would ask if he wanted to go back in his bed and he always would. I believe it just was a night terror phase. It happened for just a few weeks and than it stopped. I think you have to be the judge if he is doing it for attention or if he really needs your comfort. I think you need to comfort, tell him it's okay and put him back to bed. I just think if I was crying I would want comfort, wouldn't you? Just make sure he isn't playing games for attention!
My daughter 8 and son 4 have sleep issues also, the dr said to try benadryl, and when that didn't work I had to take them to spokane mental health to have an intake appt so that they could see the dr there that works with meds. My 8 year old is growing out of her problem with out the help of meds anymore. But my son is on what is called clondine. It is only 0.1 mg so nothing big, but believe me it sure helps with naps and bet time. He also needs his sleep because he has sever ADHD. If you have any questions about this please feel free to contact me on this issue.. A.
K., I am a mother of 4 boys, 5, almost 3, 18 mo, and 7 weeks. I have noticed with my almost 3 year old that he will wake up just screaming and crying because he has had a bad dream. So I have done some reading about this and what I have found is that it is a stage that he is going through. I also went through a period of time with my oldest son when he was 2 of the same thing. Now he has pretty much grown out of it with a bad dream only every once and a while. I wish you good luck on getting a good nights sleep and I hope this has helped.
try putting on a lullabye or some soft classical music at bedtime. we 2 cd's we change every couple of weeks since we brought our son home. helped him sleep through the night. we play at nap time too. try it see if works for you!! Good luck
My son started doing that and he actually had night terrors. He wasnt awake, even though his eyes were open. My Doc told us to est. a very solid night routine because it happens a lot if kids are overstimulated before bed. We would have down time about an hour before bed, no TV, no rough playing, and we would read and talk and cuddle, and it actually worked. Good luck
My son is 4 1/2 now (or 4 and 2/3 as he'll tell you) and I found that the half years were always tougher. That seemed like when he'd go through a growth spurt, his language skills would improve and his behavior would take a nose dive. I think it's sort of cyclical that way, they get it all figured out and then their body changes on them again and he doesn't know how to cope. He's now going through a little bit of "mom is best" now which he has never really done since about 9 months old. Dad has always been the favorite. So we cuddle a lot and it seems to help. Lately he doesn't want to sleep in his own bed, but will fall asleep in ours and then we'll move him. I have found that if we take 5 minutes in the morning for good snuggles and cuddling it makes the rest of the day go SOOO much better for both of us.
he is only two if cries in the night comfort him just make sure he sleeps in his own bed. chidren are easliy upset by change. the cry it out method is for babies. your husband just doesn't want to lose sleep. rememeber they areonly little for a short time.
