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Any Tips for a 4 year old who won't sleep in his own bed?

Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:18 am
Posted by shel311
McKinney, Texas
Member since Aug 2004
110870 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:18 am
Weird situation, well not really. I have twin 4 year olds(actually 5 in less than a month), they've always slept in theor own beds perfectly fine, no issues. I recently moved from Florida to Texas and the boys and my wife stayed back in Florida for around 4 months or so until we bought a house here. Of course, the wife decided to let them have free reign and sleep in her bed whenever they wanted while I was gone.

Fast forward to moving to Texas, the 1st month the boys were just fine. But the past couple of weeks, one of them is not having it, and there's basically nothing we can do about it lol.

I simply won't allow him to sleep in our bed at night as I certainly don't want to start that habit, but he'll wake up 3/4/5 times a night to come to our bed then scream bloody murder like I've never heard him do about anything once we send him back up to his bed. We go through this for 30 minutes a night a few times every night until he finally falls asleep. And of course with a twin, he's waking his brother up every single time this happens.

I'm basically out of options as we've taken virtually everything away from him from video game time to favorite toys to cartoons but it's pretty obvious he's pretty upset over it and isn't exactly in the right frame of mind when crying at 3am so taking all these things he likes away from him doesn't seem to be the correct course of action.

Obviously this probably stems from the wife letting him sleep in her bed every night for a few months, but at this point, it's probably wayyyy past just a bratty kid and seems like he's legit distraught over it.


Mother f'ing help!!!
Posted by Chad504boy
4 posts
Member since Feb 2005
166298 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:20 am to
keep a stern pimp hand and let that little boy cry his a-hole away. he'll stop eventually. don't let him back in the bed, period.
Posted by Paddyshack
Land of the Free
Member since Sep 2015
8314 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:21 am to
Sounds like it's time to get the belt out. That'll teach him.

ETA: It's your wife's fault it sounds like. Let her handle the monster she created.
This post was edited on 5/17/16 at 11:22 am
Posted by mpar98
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2006
8034 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:22 am to
quote:

Any Tips for a 4 year old who won't sleep in his own bed? by shel311


quote:

We go through this for 30 minutes a night a few times every night until he finally falls asleep. And of course with a twin, he's waking his brother up every single time this happens.


Sounds like youre doing what youre supposed to be doing...doesn't get any easier...its called parenting my friend
Posted by The Pirate King
Pangu
Member since May 2014
57699 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:22 am to
Discipline him. Pretty simple really. Didn't need to read a wall of text to tell you that.
Posted by tylercsbn9
Cypress, TX
Member since Feb 2004
65876 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:22 am to
Definitly understaind the pain of a kid coming in at 3 am and not wanting to deal with that shite so you give in.

Do yall have a dog or something?

We had that problem, but we started forcing our dog to stay in the room with him. It comforted him and he slept fine in his own room.
This post was edited on 5/17/16 at 11:26 am
Posted by Caplewood
Atlanta
Member since Jun 2010
39156 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:23 am to
Slip him a couple Benadryl to keep him asleep
Posted by HoustonGumbeauxGuy
Member since Jul 2011
29527 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:23 am to
Ambien

Posted by TigerFanatic99
South Bend, Indiana
Member since Jan 2007
27602 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:23 am to
Yea, this is all your wife's fault. Period. She fricked this all up.

Try to find a positive reinforcement. Something he enjoys that is a reward for staying in his bed instead of a negative punishment.
Posted by TheAlmightySmash
New Orleans
Member since Jun 2014
5479 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:23 am to
Watch tv with them in their room until they fall asleep then just go to your bed
Posted by tke857
Member since Jan 2012
12195 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:23 am to
whatever you decide to do... DO NOT give in. When my kids did this sort of tempertantrum I would yell at them "We do not negotiate with terrorists!" they had no fricking clue what that meant but they did know I wasnt going to give in.
Posted by CoachChappy
Member since May 2013
32543 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:23 am to
Pump up the twin and reward him for every night he stays in his bed. Jealousy will prevail and the other one will get in line. Also, have the "good" twin talk to the "bad" one.
Posted by shel311
McKinney, Texas
Member since Aug 2004
110870 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:23 am to
quote:

keep a stern pimp hand and let that little boy cry his a-hole away
I would and sometimes have, problem is it's keeping his brother awake every time he does it.

quote:

don't let him back in the bed, period.
Definitely won't. That just means sleepless nights will drive me nuts, but I refuse to lose this fight!

quote:

he'll stop eventually
How can you be so sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by MSMHater
Houston
Member since Oct 2008
22775 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:23 am to
quote:

Of course, the wife decided to let them have free reign and sleep in her bed whenever they wanted while I was gone.


She broke it, she needs to fix it!

quote:

probably wayyyy past just a bratty kid and seems like he's legit distraught over it.


It definitely is. I have no doubt it he is genuinely in alot of distress over it. But you absolutely have to deal with it now. It's hard enough to break that habit in a 2 year old. I'm sorry, man. There is no magic method. You're going to have a rough 2-3 weeks, and even longer if you don't stick with it.
Posted by Tiguar
Montana
Member since Mar 2012
33131 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:24 am to
Lock him in a pitch black room at night and tell him if he screams, Jesus will stop loving him, and to man the frick up.
This post was edited on 5/17/16 at 11:24 am
Posted by shel311
McKinney, Texas
Member since Aug 2004
110870 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:24 am to
quote:

Discipline him. Pretty simple really. Didn't need to read a wall of text to tell you that.
Hasn't worked, not that simple.
Posted by MSMHater
Houston
Member since Oct 2008
22775 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:24 am to
quote:

Pump up the twin and reward him for every night he stays in his bed. Jealousy will prevail and the other one will get in line.


A really good suggestion. Peer pressure can be very effective at that age.
Posted by lsu480
Downtown Scottsdale
Member since Oct 2007
92876 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:24 am to
No video games for a whole weekend
Posted by GeorgeTheGreek
Sparta, Greece
Member since Mar 2008
66443 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:25 am to
Give him a few doses of Sominex.
Posted by shel311
McKinney, Texas
Member since Aug 2004
110870 posts
Posted on 5/17/16 at 11:25 am to
quote:

Do yall have a dog or something? We had that problem, but we started forcing our dog to stay in the room with him. It comforted him and he slept fine in his own room
Hmm...

I have 2 dogs, but they aren't allowed upstairs to the boys' bedrooms. It's certainly something to keep in the back pocket if all else fails.

Thanks
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