How My 5 Yr Old Interacts Is Beautiful but When It Comes Tme to to Go to Sleep ?

First off, not all your childrens' problems is your fault. Especially medically. Bedwetting is usually hereditary as well as emotionally induced. Sometimes the kidneys and bladder takes longer to mature and develop and this can cause delayed control of night time bed wetting. My son was diagnosed with this and the dr. gave him a nose spray and he took the meds for 3 months and hasn't wet the bed since he was 12 years old. He happened to sleep very deeply too which didn't help the situation when we were told to get him up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom!So go to the doctor and ask him/her about nose spray that helps with bed wetting. Now for your original question. How can you get your 5 year old from needing to twirl your hair at night to calm himself? If you haven't tried a doll with hair don't worry that he is a boy and dolls are for girls according to society. It's a crock! Try it, they make boy dolls now but long hair is probably his preference. It may not work because your son is using this time to be near you. If you already tried it and you don't mind him twirling your hair then let him. Is it making your hair fall out? Not likely unless he is pulling it real hard! Are you hurting him emotionally? Not in my opinion. You are helping him cope and relax. Will he grow out of it? Most likely, but I knew a grown man that loved twirling hair and was not a deviant( bad guy) in any way. So it isn't necessarly a sign of bad things to come! Picky eater? Try offering something new to try before he gets his favorite food but if he tries it and doesn't like it then you have to give him his favorite food in place of it if he actually tries it. He sounds like a really smart little boy so you can't fool him as easily as most five year olds. Good luck and don't be so hard on yourself. Parenting is the hardest job on earth and we all make mistakes. Your concern for him shows that you try and that is really what is important.

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Hi C., I am not clear what your main concern is. Is your son still trying to nurse? Or is he just needing to touch you to help him get to sleep? My neice does that but usually she wants to put her hand on your chest and then instantly she is asleep. No one is concerned about this although she is only three.

If your hair is falling out then you are probably deficient in vitamins and especially minerals. Go to a good health food store and get a good multivitamin/mineral combination. Prenatal vitamins are wonderful for hair.

The third problem, the older bedwetters- would make my hair fall out!! Take away all sugar, pop, caffeine drinks and fast food. Really work on nutrition and rest.
Good luck!

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Hi C.! I have six children, ages 15,10,9,8,6 and my only daughter is 4! I have a bedwetter, too, my 4 yr old....my 15 yr old was a bed wetter as well. I was told to give him a teaspoon of honey before bed so that worked and I'm doing it with my daughter and it is seems to be helping her. I also don't let her drink ANYTHING an hour before bed time and make sure she goes to the bathroom before bed. My Dr. also said to wake her up about an hour after she goes to sleep to have her go to the bathroom again, I honestly haven't tried it b/c the honey is working. My daughter also says she will miss me too much at night and sleeps in our bedroom floor. I've recently gotten her to sleep in her brother's room, but she comes in ours in the middle of the night...so I started going to sleep with her in her bed and if I do that, she stays their all night....I have to wait until she is in a deep sleep, though. I hope this helps you!
Also, I've found a work at home job, I've been with the company since 7/26/07 and I love it! I actually get a GOOD paycheck every month! I was working as a mortgage broker full time and going to college full time for nursing...I don't want to work crazy hours, but it was for the money! I set up customer accounts for a wellness company and the best part is I SET MY OWN HOURS!!! You can visit my website at www.workathome-socanu.com if you would like more info! Good luck!

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My daughter had a very hard time going to sleep. She is a very hyperactive child. When she was in her crib she could jump in her bed for up to 2 hours and then would fall asleep. When we moved her to a toddler bed it was just a nightmare. A night time routine picture board really helped her a lot. It also helps to blame the picture board so it isn't just mommy and daddy being mean....that is what the rules are. We have 6 things on it: Night Light On, 3 books, Warm Milk, Pajamas, Brush Teeth, and Potty. My daughter has a snack and then we spend 30 minutes doing the 'routine'. After 2 weeks it was incredible how receptive she was to it. We had some crying and tantrums. I had to sit outside her bedroom door and send her back to bed for almost an hour every night, but then she just assumed I was there and stopped getting up.

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If your hair is falling out you need to explain to him that he can't do that anymore. He will grow out of it but some of this you are going to have to tell him that he can't do. He is 5 and he isn't a baby anymore.

Is there something medically wrong with your 14 yr. Old that wets the bed? I would start with a trip to the urologist first of all.

You five year old, make sure that he isn't drinking anything while he is going to sleep, first of all that isn't good for them, especially milk, it is terrible for their teeth and hard on their sinus's and ears. Sounds crazy but it's true.

Good luck!

Hi C.,

In regards to your hair falling out, you might want to get your thyroid levels checked (a simple blood test). You may have hypothyroidism, which is easily managed with medication. Just a suggestion.

I don't really have much advice about your 5 year olds sleeping problems. Our 5 yr old daughter still won't go to sleep by herself and almost ALWAYS ends up in our bed by 3 a.m. We've done what the "supernanny" suggests for more than 2 weeks but I just she's just more persistant than we are.

However, I have have a sister who is in her early 20's and she still has problems with bedwetting. She has to take medication to help control it. Don't beat yourself up about it, sometimes it is a physical problem, perhaps as simple as an infection or a really tiny bladder.

The smartest advice I read when my son was small was "you can tell a child to go to bed but you can't tell anyone to go to sleep". I would put my son to bed at the same time every night. He had stuffed animals and he had books to read/ and look at. We ALWAYS read him a bed time story (my husband and I took turns doing this). We let our children pick the story. So I believe a routine is a must. If he got out of bed we just marched him back but did not get mad. I think Nanny 911 has a great method and she insists that you not get into conversation with them after the first time you tuck them in. As for bedtime snacks...just say no to waffles and french fries.

At 5 your son needs to develop a pattern of putting himself to sleep. Have him choose a toy or blanket to sleep with and explain to him it's time he goes to bed like his brothers and sister. He may fight you for a while, but it will be worth it in the end. You might also start wearing your hair up where he can't get at it for awhile.

The 14 year old is old enough to set the alarm to wake up during the night. He is also big enough to wash his own linens. I do this with my 11 year old who has a smaller than normal bladder. We rarely have a problem any more. If he's a heavy sleeper you may need to wake him up when his alarm goes off. You may also want to make sure there is nothing physically wrong with his bladder. I would also talk to his doctor if you haven't already.

The 5 year old may need to be wearing pullups with rubber pants over them or you could wake him up to go also.

I hope this helps

A friend of mine had the same problem, and this may sound wierd, but in order to wean her son off, she went and bought a poneytail holder made out of hair, you know the ones you put on to make you look like you have a long ponytail, and used that while sitting nest to him for a while and slowly took herself out of the room. The kid still sleeps with this fake hair(new one of course, they only last so long) instead of Mom,
sounds funny, but at this point, you just never know what will work!

One thought for bedtime is this....we co-slept for a long time and our youngest two are getting too fidgity during their sleep. I also wanted to help the 5 (almost 6) year old learn to sleep on her own before sleepovers came along. So, to let them transition "on their own", we bought a bunk bed for them and I made a chart. We are not making this a battle, bedtime should be calm and restful, not tearful. Anyway...the chart. We set individual goals - after one week they get to go to the only a dollar store and buy 3 items. (this is individual charts). After 2 weeks - they get to pick out 5 things and then after a month they get to pick out a barbie. So far...so good.

With regards to your bed-wetting - I'd check with your pediatrician for the 12 year old and use good nights with the 5 year old. Our 5 year old is unable to go all night, every night...if it is not every night for you - try making a goal chart for that too -- new sheets or new underwear after a month of dry nights---and just remember to not make it a big deal if they have an accident.

My husband and a cousin of mine were bed-wetters until they were 10ish and they both say that it was had - they never meant to have accidents -- they would simply wake up wet, no matter how much they tried or what they did before bed....their bodies just slept hard!

Sorry for being so long-winded.....Good luck!!!!