7 Yr Old Wont Sleep in Her Own Room

Havent tried this but how about a bug net canopy around her bed. Pink peach walls are nice and enveloping. A nightlight that she picks out is good too.

I saw this on Super Nanny. She is, sorry to say, manipulting you, you need to put her in bed and be firm, say goodnight and give her a kiss and a hug and leave the room, when she gets out of bed take her back to bed say, it's time for bed and put her back in bed and leave quickly, if she gets out of bed again, say nothing and take her back to bed and leave quickly, and keep doing this, but say nothing. It could take a long time but don't give in. Just keep taking her back to bed. You can also give her some "magic" spray to keep her safe she can spray it around her room before bed. You could make it a thing she does before bed. Or you can try this:
Give her 3 coupons for getting out of bed and once they are used up that's it, if she doesn't use any of them up they can be redeemed for stickers or candy etc.
HTH!

Have you tried monster spray? Get a plain spray bottle and fill it with water and a few drops of perfume or aftershave (whatever scent you have in your house). Every night before bed, spray the closet, around the windows and doors and under the bed and announce that the scary things won't come into the room now that you have used the repellent. They don't like the smell and know that girls that use the spray are really well protected. Make it a big deal. If one spray doesn't work for robbers and spiders, get two bottles and use two different scents - whatever works.
We also made dream catchers. I bought circle picture frames from the craft store along with different colors of ribbons. We painted the frames and wound the ribbons around them. We looked up dream catchers on the internet and I let my kids know that they would catch all the bad dreams before they could get into their heads while they was asleep. We hung these in both my kids rooms for as long as they wanted. It was a fun craft activity and a good way to address a problem.

Hi K.,
We don't have an on-going issue like this at our house, but when one of our boys (3 & 5) gets scared at night they are allowed to sleep on our bedroom floor in a sleeping bag. Could that be an option? Or maybe she could bunk with her little brother for awhile. I remember being scared of monsters when I was little & I don't see any harm in letting her have a roommate until she's a tween & ready for some privacy. My boys will be sharing a room when their baby sister arrives in 2 mos. My older one is thrilled because he doesn't like being alone in his room.
Hope this helped!

My daughter, same age, and does the EXACT thing...Although my husband and I dont care that she is there...We first Clean out her room...pray, decob, fix the windows, you know it makes kids feels safe that we are EVEN listening. However, We have set up an award system. Only started a couple weeks ago. Worked on the others. Everynight that she sleeps in her bed all night she gets something...Mine likes quarters...so, this gives her the CHOICE to be a big girl and the responsibility is HERS...Now if she comes to our room we will remind her that she will not get that treat...she often has chose to stay wth us but she is getting better...Baby steps.

I am with you...But I am savorying this time as one day she isnt going to want to be there.

The best advice I can give is one that I read on here a while back. Have an area in your room in the corner or along the wall that she can bring (or leave) a blanket & pillow in. If she ever needs the security of being in your room, she can quietly come in and sleep there. That way you're not disturbed (I'd lock the door while you're spending quality time with your husband though!) during the night and she has the security of feeling safe.

Hope that works.

I went through this with two kids, and here's what worked for me: I have a few stuffed animals that I've made clear to my kids are mine. When they were afraid to be alone in their rooms, I let them choose one of my stuffed animals to sleep with, and made a big deal out of the fact that it was mine and I was just lending it to them. The stuffed animals seemed to work for them as a substitute for me. My 13-year old has been sleeping with my stuffed dog "Pepper" since she was six! And she knows that it's still mine. If you don't have a stuffed animal, maybe your pillow, or a bathrobe - whatever your child will associate with you - might work as well.

Good luck!

My son (almost 5) was like that for a while, and he still has his nights, but we asked him what would make his room better and he said he wanted it painted green like our bedroom is. So we painted his room. He responded really well, and slept there without incident for the first few days, then was getting all riled up again, and we would let him fall asleep on our bed and then move him. He's mostly good about staying in his room now- he also needs the light on (a night light). Maybe there is something you can do to make her room feel special or cozy? New sheets or a blanket, or maybe a new stuffed toy. Even rearranging the furniture so the bed is in a new place.

Good luck!

I have a 5 year old and 7 year old boys. my 5 year old has never been afraid to sleep in his room however my seven year old has been afraid to for about 5 years now.He is afraid of the dark(monsters in the closet) and zombies, over the years we have tried many things to make him comfortable though almost everything led him back to our room. We didn't want to make it worse by pressuring him, I made a bed on my floor, the living room floor and even tried the sofa, then about 2 years ago my husband brought home an old style roll away bed and put it in the living room each night...he loved it. I eventually made him his own space in the living room so it's like his own little room in part of the living room tucked away and with no closets but even with the nightlight he recently started to get scared again, it was just too dark and the zombie thing that I thought we had passed came back so I replaced one of his light bulbs with a blue one which would be too much for me but he loves it and as long as I leave it on all night he stays in his bed. I hope this helps and is not too discouraging. Try and find the fear and then something to comfort that fear, maybe it is just the falling asleep she has problems with, I always liked to listen to music softly however my husband and kids fall asleep to the TV. Good Luck!

Hi K.,

I hope you believe that this is normal for your daughter to feel and behave this way :o) It truly is. The real question is why? At her age, it is something she's seen on TV, or a story that she overheard. Then her mind takes it from there.........and her mind creates the fear.

I am saying this in the most loving way..... As her mother, it is your job to make her feel loved and safe. I mean, NOBODBY else can give her the security that you give her, right? Well, it's time to figure out a way for you to give her that security.

First off, I would go and lay in her bed at night. Use the same lights as when she goes to bed. Look around and listen. There could be real reason for her to be scared. Maybe a shadow, or a noise. Who knows, it could be absolutely nothing, but tha'ts what you need to find out :O)

I really don't see anything wrong with sleeping on your floor on the bad nights. It's better than sleeping in your bed :O) But, even then, I would allow it. I'm a mom that tries super hard to make sure my kids feel secure. At 7, there is only a year or so left of her really "needing you" at night. Then other things will distract her and become more important and the last she will do is want to sleep with you :O)

Let her get through this tough time however she needs to. No matter how "silly" her fears sound, they are very real to her and need to be taken seriously, as you are doing very well at that.

I'm sure this will all be over soon.

~N. :o)

I think most kids go through this. Here's what my daughter has done with her two girls who share a room. She has three flamingoes... I believe they are like a party favor type of thing, perhaps the kind that you might find in an alcholohic drink at an adult party. Anyway, they are something a little out of the ordinary for a child's room. Those are set on a high shelf in the girls' closet where they can see them, but not reach them. They are told that if they stay in bed (with reasonable getting out to go to the bathroom or get a drink) all night, they will get a special treat in the morning. Each time one of them gets up, or call out for their parents unnecessarily during the night, one flamingo is taken out of the closet and if they lose all three during a night, neither girl gets a treat in the morning. It gives them a reason to think about whether they really need to get up, or have Mom and Dad come into their room, and also a reason to work together to keep their flamingoes and get their treat. I often am greeted with "we had all our flamingoes this morning!" When that's the first words a grandchild greets their grandmother with, you know it's working.

My almost 7 year old went through this exact same thing about a year ago. It was after a couple of fires around Morgan Hill and hearing stories of a friend's house that have burned down while the family was away on vacation. Nothing we did would aleve her fears so we finally talked to her older sister and asked her if it would be ok for her to have a bed in her room for a while for her sister to sleep on. So, my younger daughter slept with her older sister in her roon, but still had all of her stuff in her own room, including her bed. We just put a raised twin aerobed in her sister's room and I have to say that she probably slept in her sister's room for a good 9 months before she was comfortable sleeping in her room again. She slept in her sister's room all of her Kinder year. After the summer we went and let her pick out a special night light and alarm clock just for her room and on the night before 1st grade she slept in her own room again. I thought she might never grow out of it either, but she did and we were so proud of our older daughter for sharing her room at night for so long. I wouldn't stress about it and just let her sleep with a sibling if it makes her feel more secure at night.