My son won't sleep

[SL1031]

Parents out there...help me. My 2 1/2 yr old son won't sleep. This has been going on since Tuesday (Monday night) and I don't know what to do. He was always such a good sleeper... I mean, he would take an awesome 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon and he would go to bed around 8pm and sleep until 9:30am the next morning...then, all of the sudden he stopped. He is scared of his bed. He would rather stand at his door and yell for us or sleep on the floor. We (dh and I) have tried everything!!!

These are things that have been going on in my family lately:

9 friends/relatives passing away in 2 weeks (2 very close ones that we have gone to funerals--kept the kids away from the casket though)

my son got a bad shock -- static electricity...shocked me too (at the same time).

hubby has been working LONG hours



So, PLEASE give me advice. I have called the pediatrician..he said just to wait it out and make sure he stays in bed...it is SO HARD though, it is not like he is a baby in a crib.

-Sarah

[Marie]

Throw his mattress on the floor next to your bed. :)

[SL1031]

He has a double bed, mattress won't fit in our room...and, I want to fix the problem, not just make a temporary solution that we will regret later. I love having him co-sleep..both babies co slept for quite awhile, but now with my schedule and staying up late, waking up early..it will be a disservice to him to make him sleep in our room.

Thanks for the friendly suggestion though,
Sarah

[veg*nfrog]

I am not a parent, so my advice doesn't hold much weight. I did, however, go through the same thing when I was around 4. My parents tried everything known to man, eventually got tired and let me sleep on a palate next to their bed. After a couple weeks I just sort of migrated back to my own room, got over the whole thing. So it worked for me and didn't create a bad habit.

I understand that this isn't feasible for your family, though. You mentioned that you have another child. Is she/he older than the 2 1/2 year old? If so, maybe they could sleep in the same room for a while. If he's scared at night, just having someone/anyone else in the room may help. Or the dog? A special new large toy?

I suppose he hasn't named a specific fear, just scared of his bed at night? No fear of monsters under the bed or strange noises?

It sounds like he's probably reacting to the current stress in your family and the phase will pass. The question is, can you survive until it does?:worried:

sorry this isn't much help..

[AuroraLily]

The doctor I work with said that his 6 month old has gone on a sleep strike too. Poor parents!! It sounds like there is a lot going on in your lives right now :hug: and your son is just feeling some of the stress. Can he tell you why the bed is scary? Are there monsters? I know when I babysat a little kid who was scared about monsters, I tried everything. The one thing that worked was giving him a spray bottle filled with purple water and telling him to spray around his bed (lightly) and the 'magic potion' would protect him.
Just give lots of hugs and I'm sure this too shall pass!

[rabid_child]

Try getting him a sleeping bag and let him sleep on the floor.

[Kreeli]

my 2 1/2 year old girl ends up in our bed most every night these days, even after being in her own room fairly consistently for about a year prior. it's got everything to do with growth spurts and daily stress, plus with all that's going on in your family right now, i am pretty sure it's completely normal and will pass eventually. your child needs some extra comfort right now. it's much easier for everyone in the family for you to give it to him rather than fight him on it.

the mama mantra that has gotten me through a million hard times: "this too shall pass."

[kristadb]

When my bf's kids went through this (they both did), he would let them fall asleep in his bed and then would carry them to their own when he was ready to go to bed. After a few weeks, he migrated them back to their beds, laid down w/ them in there for about 1/2 hour. Eventually, they got out of it.

[grain_girl]

I never slept as child, myself. This is common in we prodigies; we stay up all night long basking in our sagacious glory. Do not fret.

[vegan_hottie07]

Yea, I used to sleep in my parents room all of the time. I would have nightmares or just bad thoughts and it scared me. I'm not a parent or anything but if I had a kid that wouldn't sleep, I would talk to him/her about it and offer them to sleep with me. Actually (this might sound really dumb) but a couple months ago I had a horrible nightmare(about my parents)....I got really scared, I woke up out of breath and sweating. I actually slept with my parents the rest of the night. He just needs to be with you right now, I never handled funerals very well :(

[Wiccanveg]

I had an odd childhood. My parents fought all of the time, and for the last 5 years of their marriage my mom slept on the couch downstairs. They divorced when I was 13. But when I was around 8 maybe, I got in the habitt of stripping my bed completely, sneaking into my parents room and making myself a spot on the floor. It was odd but really just happened when my mom and dad were together in bed for once or twice. It ended soon after when my mom got tired of waking up to go to the bathroom and nearly tripping over me.

[outbackbaby]

For most of the past 6 months i've slept on the floor instead of in my bed...i'm 17.

[eggplant]

I'm also not a parent, but I had some strange sleeping habits growing up and I turned out ok. I used to sleep with my parents or my brother when I got scared, and at bedtime I had to have someone (mom or dad) sit with me for a while and talk. Usually my dad would end up falling asleep before I did! Later, I used to sleep in the living room a lot for some reason. I guess my point is that I would let him sleep wherever he's comfortable and not worry too much about his strange sleep habits as long as he's sleeping, although I'm not a parent so my advice may be too nonchalant...

[rabid_child]

Do you know what he's afraid of? You could make him some "Monster spray" which is just a spray bottle with water + something scented and some fancy stickers and/or writing on the outside, and you spray it around your room and under your bed before you go to bed to take care of scary things that might be around. :)

[Marie]

That's a good idea.

[clairebear]

I used to crawl into my parents bed to sleep at night sometimes, especially if I had a babysitter, or one of them was out. I'd either be woken up to go to sleep when they went to bed, or just be carried to my own bed.

I'd also do things like periodically switch which end of the bed my head was at.

When I got older it was easier, if I couldn't sleep I'd just turn on the light and start reading or playing. I realise that you probably don't want to encourage him to be awake, but perhaps he could have some picture books to look at, or allow him to keep one toy out at night that he can play with for a while if he can't sleep?

[Ocean]

I remember when I was a kid someone passed away that was somewhat close to me. I think I really had a hard time falling asleep after that for a while...

I am sure that losing your friends and relatives have a big part of his sleeping problem.

What is his response when you ask him "Why are you afraid of your bed?"
I'm not a child psychologist, but maybe he is afraid of sleeping in his own bed because he is afraid of being separated by you. Does he have a night light? Maybe you could put a picture of you and your husband by his bed, and this might give him comfort. Or you could try staying with him till he falls asleep for the first couple of nights...Anything that assures him that you and your husband are there, and that you both won't be leaving him.
I hope things work out soon :)

[SL1031]

okay, here is an update...

I think things are starting to get a little better. He is sleeping okay at nap and at night, when he falls asleep (on the floor or otherwise) I put him into bed and so he wakes up in bed in the morning. I think it is good for him to see that his bed is okay.
As of right now, he has one of my shirts and one of my husband's shirts and a stuffed kitty, big bird and elmo..along w/a stuffed "big truck"--he has a double bed so there is PLENTY of room. I sing to him..his favorites are "edel weiss" "frosty the snowman" and "tu rah lu rah lu rah" (did I spell that right?)

I KNOW things are getting better. I thank you all SO MUCH for the encouraging words and advice. The monster spray idea is good...

I have asked him why he is scared...he really doesn't answer me straight on it...One thing is he cries about my grandma's cat. He keeps saying he is "not there" (he really loves her cat) and I tell him..yes he is..yes he is. I think I need to take him out to see the cat. We just haven't had a chance in awhile.

TTYL,
Sarah