Four year old refuses to go to sleep by himself- anyone else?
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My four year old has never fallen asleep alone so no advice but your not alone xx
My 4 year old has never fallen asleep alone either.😭 everynight i have to lay in bed with him for about 20.mins or so until he knocks out.
@Caroline how often do you try to get him to? Or do you just never try? I visited a friend today who has 5 children and she says she just takes each child up every hour depending on age, and then all just basically take themselves to bed 😶 iv only got one and he acts like he’s in hell if he’s in his bedroom alone😭
@Aria how often do you try to get him to?
Also ladies do you think it’s a boy thing? I try not to differentiate kids by gender but I have friends with both genders and only the boys can’t sleep alone
@Lydia i dont! I really should try but just having a chat about it will turn into a big meltdown and i guess iv been avoiding it.
@Aria yes same here. Iv told him he can sleep in my bed tonight if he sleeps alone but he’s just screaming right now:)
My trick is tell the kid mama is going to go do a chore and I will be right back. I leave for 1-5 minutes then come back. I repeat as many times as necessary. I only use that if my girl is bouncing around refusing to lay down. Mostly because I enjoy sitting with her until she falls asleep. But it would probably work really well to help train the kid to go to sleep alone.
@Anna that’s what I did tonight, and he came down screaming after 60 seconds each time
@Lydia that idea backfired on me. One day turned into 4 nights until he went back to his own bed. He still didnt fall asleep alone 🤦♀️
no advice, my children are younger than yours, but i love following heysleepybaby on instagram - she really normalises having to lay/sit with your kids while they fall asleep, and she has loads of great sleep resources, advice and info, might be worth a look to see if she has anything of use to you xx
My daughter is 5 in a couple of months and I still stay in the room until she’s asleep, then I wait another 10 minutes so I’m sure she’s in a deep sleep before I sneak out. I’m currently lay on her bedroom rug on my phone as I type this 😂 I’ve honestly never pushed her to go to sleep without me, sometimes it’s annoying if she takes awhile to go to sleep but I would much rather that than the upset of leaving her. Sometimes you have to weigh up if something is worth the battle or not, they will grow out of it eventually.
My daughter will be 4 at the end of the month, never fallen asleep on her own, I don’t even try now, I just figure she’ll get there at some point. Me and my partner take it in turns every night and I quite like the 20/30 mins of laying there with her, sometimes I get a little Power Nap in too 😂
I will say, I bought her a double bed recently and it’s really upped the experience for me, so I no longer have to lay on the floor 😂
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My little boy is 3.5 and we sit with him every night, only takes him 5/10 mins to go off so it doesn’t feel like an issue for us - I actually like watching him drift off to sleep and I know he won’t always want us there so not in a rush to force it. I think it’s totally normal at this age tbh xxx
@Lydia if I'm super overstimulated or something I'll say I need to get a drink / go to the loo / whatever and he'll often nod off in those few mins. Otherwise though I don't try. He won't want me there forever.
I lie w him every night, it’s our “thing”. After we chat for 10 or so minutes about our day I say “ok it’s time for sleep now” and he’ll take another 10mins or so to actually sleep. I like lying down w him- I know that it won’t last long and it’ll come to a time when he just wants lights off and a kiss. He’s my last baby. I’m devouring every cute second I can get w him because he still talks SO cute I love those bedtime chats w him. The only time he sleeps himself is when I’m out for the night and hubby does bedtime routine- he’ll sit by his bed until he falls alseep but doesn’t chat and hug him to sleep like I do. I’ll do it until he doesn’t want to anymore, I’m not forcing it. By the time I blink he’ll be 19 😂 like my oldest. He doesn’t take long though. If he’s tired, he’ll sleep. It’s never taken me an hour.
I have to sit on the floor until my 4 year old and nearly 3 year old fall asleep, and then crawl away. Every night. Every nap time. It feels never ending :(
I don’t think I’m looking for advice I just want to hear from parents of young children who are similar x