Sleeping Problems - Greenville, MS

I wouldn't fight it. When my kids were two - I started putting a sleeping bag out at night by my bed. When they came down, they would crawl into the sleeping bag and sleep through the night. Everyone was happy. Eventually, they started staying in their room.

I'm 58 and had problems with my son. When my granddaughter got to that stage, I saw or read somewhere to get a spray bottle and put water in it, and even food coloring if I needed to, and give it to the child for them to spray away the "monsters" or what ever they called it at the time. Then I heard that a child was afraid and the family kept looking for what was wrong and found that a mouse was in the wall scratching and the child could hear it and the parents couldn't from their room. Good luck!

I feel your pain! My older son did the same thing, went from sleeping great to waking every night. Now my 2 1/2 year old son is doing it as well. He's not waking every night, but close. With our older one, it worked itself out (unfortunately it took almost a year). We just stayed consistent, and always took him back to his bed, even if it took 5 times. You might ask him why he thinks his room is creepy. I know our 2 1/2 year old is just now getting into "monsters". He's always telling us that a monster scared him. I just tell him to tell the monster to go home that we're going to bed or eating or whatever that monster had the nerve to interrupt and he can come back another day to play. I just wanted you to know you're not alone. Good Luck!

I'm not sure if you're using one, but try a night light. My toddler has had one in her room since she was a baby. Also, maybe ask him what is so creepy in his room. Try laying in or near his bed, and see if you can see any weird shapes/shadows/stuffed animals that he may be seeing at night that makes him scared.

Hi A., I just read an article that espoused getting into bed with your child and seeing the room the way they see it at night. Have him point out what he finds "creepy" and come up with new ways for him to look at the shadows and such. Turned out we had a stuffed animal that made a huge scary shadow over my daughter's crib when I got down there, I could see it. No wonder she was a little freaked! Once you find out what is bugging him, you can 'fix' it. We like Moster Spray. It is water and a little linen water (hey, I have to smell it, so now it smells good)in a small spray bottle that I wrote on with a sharpie. I haven't used it on my daughter yet, but it works on my nephews.

I have a 5yo that started this a few yrs ago and we just recently won the battle! Heres how. She came in one night and said there was a wolf in her room. So we snuck up on it, captured it, tamed it and named it 'Nicole's jacket'! This made her laugh, but did not fix the problem. 'What ever you should bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatever you loose, shall be loosed. We 'bound' very loudly and with much authority, a spirit of fear, and loosed a spirit of 'power, love, and sound mind', based on 2Timothy 1:7. God's word does not lie.

Hey A.,
Can you think of anything that could have scared your son (a movie, a story he heard, etc. )? Has he been sick lately? How long has this been going on? What time does he go to bed? What is his bedtime routine? Just a few questions to try to get a better understanding.

My mother used to turn on my light, she would then let me help her look for anything scary in the room, after I saw that nothing was there after turning on the light I was okay to go back to bed.

He's at the right age for night terrors. Take inventory of what he might be exposed to on TV/DVD etc. Next, try "Calms Forte 4 Kids" and/or "Bad Dream Sprinkels". They're both homeopathic and have no side effects. I'd try the Calms Forte first, then, the sprinkles. You can get Calms Forte 4 Kids from many different places online, and at good "natural" foods stores locally (Whole Foods, Wild Oats, etc). You can only buy the sprinkles online at www.nativeremedies.com .

Good luck.

I am having my first baby in March, so I'm not speaking from mothering experience, but Ive thought about your question and had some ideas for you. Have you asked him what makes his room creepy? If it's monsters under the bed, then maybe going through a routine at bedtime of checking the bed and closets would help. Or if he's waking up and it's dark, or there are scary shadows, then maybe a nite light or lamp would help him sort out easier in the "waking up fog". I hope he gets back to sleeping!!!!

My answer isn't the right one for everyone. But I have had the same problem with both of my girls (one is 6 - she is in her own room and my "baby" will be 2 in April). My oldest went through this phase and now my baby is going through it. What we did is we put a toddler bed in our room beside our bed. She isn't in the bed with us but if she has nights she needs to be close to us, she can sleep beside us, without actually being in the bed with us. She will come in there and get in the toddler bed without even waking us sometimes. My oldest did that until we moved into our new house where she has a nice room that she wants to stay in all the time. It's just a thought, it's not the answer for everyone though.

Make a sticker chart and put it on his door. Make a big deal about putting one on his chart everymorning. This got my twins out of my bed.

Do what i did for my grand daughter ,I took glow in the dark stars and stuff and made a scenery on the ceiing. Spray painted the angle in flight with them and that's all she wanted to do then was lay there and let her imagination run wild.

A.,

I am a mom of 5, grandmother of 10 and great grandmother of 3. 10 of them are boys. A., it is a boy thing to be afraid. I think they have more active minds at that age, and what a imagination. I really have no advice for you except be patient and understanding. For him it is a very real thing. Maybe before bed time help him look all through the room and closets and under the bed to check it all out. Good luck.
been there done that, J.

Two suggestions, both of which I have tried:

First, I have raised 3 children. My daughter (now 8) and my twin cousins (now 16, I raised from 4 until 14). With the boys, I had just got them when they turned 4 but it still might work for you. They had previously been raised in a very strong Christian background. Their mother had been told she was dying and was very ill and their father was not around enough to care for them as he was either working or taking care of their mother so I took the boys in although I was only 21 at the time. Anyway, I used that strong belief in God and Jesus to help with thier fears. We utilized scripture in our prayers that specifically addressed whatever fears they were having or ones stating how powerful God is and I added how he can overcome any problem we have especially nightmares (or creepy rooms) This worked very well for the boys. It made God and Jesus even more real for them and taught them how to rely on Him when in need which is something they still carry with them today in thier everyday life. (By the way their mother did not die, she recovered fully and they are now back with their parents after being with me for 10 years, which while sad is really a wonderful thing.) The prayers did not however always work with my daughter. I know there are people who will shoot me for saying this but when it didn't work I let her sleep with me. It is only in our culture that it is not appropriate for children to sleep with their parents. The world over there are children sleeping with their parents when they get frightened or simply because there is no other bed. It doesn't harm them in any way. And if you don't make a big deal out of it it never is one. When my daughter felt she was ready she went back to sleeping in her own room by herself with no encouragement from me or her father. If he and I needed alone time we found other areas of the house, it made things interesting. As the other poster stated, this is very real for your son so continue to talk to him about it and help him manage that fear. This type of situation is where children learn to manage their emotions, skills they use for the rest of their life. So you have a great opportunity to teach here. Let him know how real God and Jesus are to you. How you rely on them when you are afraid. I hope you find some suggestions that will work for you and your family. Good luck!

3 a.m must be the magic hour because my daughter has woken up at this time since she was about a year, she is two now. i tried eveything, night time bubble bath and lotion, shorter naps, no naps. Have you tried a nightlight? Try letting your child pick his own light, then maybe it won't be so creepy to him. Sometimes children get scared when they wake up alone. Just stay strong and let him know that he is abig boy now and needs to sleep in his own bed. Hope this helps.

I have a three year old boy who does that too and he shares a room with his older brother. The other morning he said the bear that has been sitting on his dresser scared him, now mind you this bear has been on his dresser for almost a year and never bothered him before. Since I moved the bear there haven't been any problems. My boys do have a night light in their room and that seems to help. I don't know what causes it but both my boys went through a phase where they wanted their mommy and nothing would do, sometimes I tell them that a bear or stuffed animal they sleep with will keep the bad dreams away and I have even curled up with them for a few minutes until they fall a sleep again and then when they are sleeping I get up and go back to bed. It might help, and sometimes it just helps to change the shows you watch in the evenings with them. I try not to let them watch things that might scare them before they go to bed, however that isn't always a possibility and so what I will do is I will tell them a silly story to get their minds off of the TV show and I will tell them that what they saw wasn't real, and that seems to help too. At their age their imaginations run wild and sometimes that is all it is, you might have a few sleepless mornings but if your little one is anything like my two boys it is a stage and they will out grow it, you just have to be firm and let him know he is a big boy and should sleep in his own bed. That seemed to help my boys. I hope this helps.

Is there some chance in his room are in his life that may ancount for this. I would also take him back to his room and ask him why he feels this why want he comes into your room. Once you put your finger on the issue you will know how to go about making the chance you need to.

Hi, children are so special each one different but still children. This will probably pass in time. My son was a mamas boy. Boys seem to need their moms at different stages. This could be something he is going through. Also, one of my grandsons was afraid of a small light on a dvd player. After putting tape over the light to block it our he was fine thereafter. Sometimes children see things differently than we do. Just love him and let him sleep with you. There is nothing wrong with it, this too will pass.

A., you can try laying on the floor in his room til he goes back to sleep.
Being a Christian myself, praying over the baby's room befor putting him to bed is good. Ask God what my b scaring him. Are there shadows or sounds? Have you tried to play softly lulaby music in his room? You can teach him to pray a little prayer to say w/you or dad?
" Now I lay me down to sleep. I ask you Lord my soul to keep. Angels watch me through the night and wake me in the morning light. Amen" May God bless you & your family

I remember being little at my aunts home. Since I started staying with them as a baby I slept in their bed until I was 3 yrs old. Then given a room all to myself. I went to sleep ok but woke during the night and found my way to their room. Bless my aunt she put me on the day bed in their room and I slept sound. I was loney more than scared.

The suggestions of finding out what is scaring them (sound, shadow, loneliness etc and fix it. But make sure they stay in their room. M.