[ana-mom]

We put Ana to bed 1/2 hour ago and she has been downstairs for another kiss, another hug, a drink of water, to go potty....you get the picture...at least 10 times. This has been going on for 2 weeks now.

Ana was never a problem sleeper before this.

What am I going to do?!

[joepegcamp]

Timothy hasn't started this yet, but I'm ready. My sister put a jar of stickers on the kitchen counter. She put 7 stickers in the jar on Sunday night. If her daughter got up after her official bedtime, my sister too a sticker out of the jar. If there were any stickers left in the jar on Saturday, my niece could put them into her sticker book.

That seemed to work. I think my sister got the stickers at the dollar store, so the system didn't break the bank.

[SKL]

My kids have done this off and on. I let them know that I will humor them 1 time but beyond that I won't tolerate it. Usually it happens when they are wound up or not really tired enough to go to sleep yet. So part of the deal is to make sure they are good & tired at bedtime, and I try not to over-stimulate them at that time (sometimes easier said than done). Upon tucking them in, I tell them to get a good sleep and come & wake me up after the sun comes up. That way they can plan on getting up but at a time that is acceptable to me. If they get up sooner, I point out that the sun isn't up and unceremoniously put them back in bed. If it continues too long, they will lose a privilege the next day. So far that has kept it pretty well under control.

I don't want to forbid them from coming out of their room at night, because they do need to have access to the bathroom and to let me know if they are sick or anything else I really need to know.

[bhouston]

We havent had much problems with Brooklyn getting out of bed but she did got thru a time...that she was getting up at around 4...she is now 6...we do all the *last* before she goes to bed...last drink...last kiss...last hug...good night....unless you need to go potty do not get back up....and that has seemed to work...if she gets up to go potty we do not have long conversations if any....she goes in takes care of business and gets back into bed...I do not tuck her in again after the first time....that way there is no reward for her getting back up....it can become a game for her if she is not really tired....I might have trouble tonight since she took a nap today....which never happens because it will prolong her bed time...

I think there should be a definite schedule for bed We are pretty diligent about that because I love the time between her bedtime and my bedtime to have with my husband....or some alone time....Beth

[JustBarbara]

Has anything changed in the past two weeks or so in your household? It seems to be working for Ana, yes? I too am quite orderly about bedtime schedule and now that it gets darker earlier bedtime is also easier. We do all the 'lasts' before he gets into bed - with the exception of reading a few books. We always end with the same book - he 'reads' the last page including 'THE END' and that's it. It is the end and time for sleeping. Does she still take a nap - if so, have you had to change the time of the nap? I find if I change his afternoon naptime it can really disrupt bedtime at night. He still naps in preschool - and they all have quiet, lie-down even if not sleeping time - so I try to keep the same schedule but it's not always easy. Once he was so tired he took a nap from 3-5pm and boy did that cause havoc that night. Lesson learned. Good luck!

[ana-mom]

It isn't because of naps because she is also refusing to nap alone - she is up and down with them also.

Bedtime routine has not changed...2 stories, pj's, brush teeth, drink of water/rocking with me and then in bed.

Maybe it's just her age? She is scared of witches in the house (I want to tell her that is just me but she wouldn't get the joke) and the train whistle in the distance. Every noise in the house is greeted with 'whats that'. Her imagination is growing by leaps and bounds which is fantastic because her play is fascinating to watch - is this just the flip side?

I wish the bedrooms in our house were bigger so I could just move Josie in with Ana. I think that would help but it just isn't feasible.

[DPline]

Lauren will have been home for 5 years next month and has never been a good sleeper. Possibly the worst sleeper ever - with the exception of myself as my mother would be happy to tell you!

One thing that has worked well for staying in bed at least is sticker charts. A sticker in the morning when she stayed in bed all night, and then after 5 days she can pick out a treat. Popsicles from the store, stickers from the Dollar Store, that sort of thing. Usually a week is enough to get into the habit, and then we go a few months before starting the cycle again. Though if your daughter has been a good sleeper up to now, just breaking the cycle may be enough.

If it is an issue of her imagination and being scard it may be just something you need to work through and no amount of 'motivation' is going to overcome it, but it might be worth a try.

Good luck!

[SKL]

We're definitely seeing the imagination / fears coming out at this age. Here, it's mostly a raccoon fear - which stems from the fact that raccoons do play on our patio after the sun goes down. In a way, I'm glad it scares them, because they know how to unlock/open the front door, but I don't think they want to go out and play with the raccoons and coyotes after dark . . . .

What I do is tell the girls that I would never let a raccoon (or whatever other horrible creature) into the house because I am here to protect them. I do think they have fears and nightmares sometimes, but after checking in with me, they generally go back to bed without a fuss. I do think it helps that they are together in the room.

What kind of beds do your girls sleep in? If either sleeps in a single bed, maybe they could share one. When I was a kid, I shared a single bed with my sister until we were probably 7 and 5. We each slept at opposite ends of the bed.

Another thought is to talk a lot about "real" and "pretend" during the sunny hours of the day. Make sure your kids know that monsters, etc., are "pretend." It's fun to pretend, but pretend things cannot really do anything. You will still have to remind her sometimes in the dark, but it will be easier if she understands the concept solidly.

[Saya]

We also started a sticker chart to deal with this, and it has worked great.

Every night she "sleeps like a big girl" (defined as going to bed when she's supposed to and not getting out of bed till morning) she gets to put a gold star sticker on her star chart. When she fills up the chart, she gets a little prize (usually a pack of gum).

It was a real lifesaver for us - after about six months of middle of the night wake ups for water, hugs, etc., she started sleeping through the night again literally the very night we implemented the sticker chart. . .

[ana-mom]

Originally Posted by Saya

It was a real lifesaver for us - after about six months of middle of the night wake ups for water, hugs, etc., she started sleeping through the night again literally the very night we implemented the sticker chart. . .

6 months!!!!???

I know I can't do this that long.

[linda512]

When Benji was about that age, he started doing the same thing after being a dream to put to bed. I had to get rid of his nap, with much reluctance on my part. It worked beautifully. He was not tired at night before, when we got rid of the nap, he went down very easily. It was hard to give up that naptime for me, because I liked the down time, but the not going to sleep at night was torture for me. Just a thought.

[Mommy K]

Our daughter has done this when she is not tired enough to go to bed. We adjusted the length of naps etc. and it stopped for her.

[lisaf1]

One thing that may have caused this recently could be all the decorations and halloween talk. This happen to me last year with my daugher around halloween time. She was 3.5. She started to be afraid of "ghosts" in the house. I have noticed even the preschool children's shows reference ghost in their story lines around this time of year....Just a thought.

Lisa

[ana-mom]

Originally Posted by lisaf1

One thing that may have caused this recently could be all the decorations and halloween talk. This happen to me last year with my daugher around halloween time. She was 3.5. She started to be afraid of "ghosts" in the house. I have noticed even the preschool children's shows reference ghost in their story lines around this time of year....Just a thought.

Lisa

I did speak with her teacher and told her that Ana is very sensitive to this type of info. I asked her to not exclude Ana from stories, art, etc. but to make sure that she stresses that it is all make believe and for fun.

[MkMw]

I agree - I think it's the age. And Halloween. My DD is also 3, she goes down for her nap fine, will read a book and play quietly for a few minutes, but bedtime has become an up and down thing. Part of it is Halloween - with 2 older brothers the ghost stories fly fast and furious. I've had to take nearly everything out of her room. Shadows can be scary.

I hope she gets through this phase quickly!