4 year old son won't sleep - please help Post Reply

[BusyEarlsfieldmum]

Dear Nappy Valley parents
I have a 4 year old son who, for the last few months, is becoming increasingly clingy and won't stay in his bed. Each night he struggles to sleep unless i sit in the room with him and then each time he wakes up in the night he comes out crying saying mama. Even if I then sit with him again, it is a struggle to get him back to sleep. In the end we play a game of musical beds in order to get some rest as I work full time. If I'm out and our nanny puts him to bed then he is asleep almost instantly - although he will then wake up in the night.
If anyone has any handy tips they can share to help get through this difficult time, it is much appreciated.
One sleepy mum!

[dudette]

My son went through a phase of getting up every night when he was about four. He just came into our bed and we went back to sleep (although you need a big bed!). It was a bit of a pain but he eventually grew out of it and it means you don't have to get up in the night and disturb your own rest. In terms of getting him to sleep in the first place maybe you could come up with some sort of bedtime routine that you follow every night and he knows that at the end of it you leave? e.g. reading a story, singing a song, having a cuddle (maybe not in that order) and then you go.