Getting a three year old to stay in bed

chatty woman

Can anyone tell me how exactly someone is ment to get a three year old to stay in bed. He goes to sleep ok but wakes up at 4am every morning and gets up no matter what we say, ive tried putting a stair gate infront of his door .... he picked the lock, ive tried using rewars ..... he doesnt care, ive tried using the rapid return .... i was there till 7.30am putting him back, ive tried using black out curtins ..... he opens them, short of straping him to the bed or drugging him i dont know what to do, any advice i really could use it .... im knackered.:(

I'd say most of us have been there! The stair gate - tie something(wire?) around the handle and he can't lift it up.

zoey

Can understand this must be very frustrating for you and as you said very tiring.

In relation to the rapid return, from anything I have heard from family and friends' experiences it is something that requires a lot of time and patience- it won't get better over night, you will need to stick at it. Unfortunately for you this would be very tiring especially if your a working parent or have other children to tend to.

The only other thing I would say is that you mentioned your child took no notice of rewards- have you tried taking little things that he already has away from him instead? This may be no tv in his room, no trip to the park, taking away a favourite toy(obviously nothing with major emotional attachment such as a cuddly toy), desserts, sweets- I'm sure you'll be able to think of something that he wouldn't like to miss out on! Maybe doing out a chart starting week 1 he needs 3 stars(rewards for staying in his room) to make sure his priviledges aren't withdrawn and gradually building this up to 7 stars. It something you need to stick at and don't go back on your threat if he does not stick to his side of the deal.

Good luck!

BostonB

3 hrs of Hurly Burlys (Play and Party Centre) the day before.

LolaLuv

I work at a daycare with three-year-olds, and one thing we do to get the kids to sleep at naptime is play some soft lullaby music. We also pat or rub their backs until they drift off. It works for most of them, but some just refuse to sleep.

chatty woman

Thank you to all i will be trying everything. Anything for a quite night lol. I do have another little boy so ill have to try and keep things quite but if it means getting him sleeping through the night on a regular basis ill do anything lol:D

paulksnn

Hi OP.
Sorry to hear about your troubles. Our daughter does the same for 2 or 3 nights in a row sometimes. I don't know how you're handling it all the time!
Something you might want to address is his sleep pattern.
Does he nap during the day and for how long? What time do you put him to bed?

Maybe less naps and later to bed might solve the problem?
Sorry I can't help more

Roots-Sinead

Hi Chatty Woman,
I've a DD who'll be 3 in September. She used to do this to me too thankfully only from about 6 or 6:30 though.
I told her she wasn't allowed out of bed until the radio came on {that's my alarm radio}. I have a collapsable stair gate which I used in the doorway with the release on the outside where she couldn't reach it. I also put in up about two or three inches from the door saddle so she couldn't try to get over it.
She was rewarded when she stayed put and didn't shout. I told her it was okay to play in her room but she wasn't allowed to make noise and waken anyone. For each night she did it, she got a star. For each night she didn't I took away one of her bedrooms toys/books etc., and she still stayed put.
I think it's important to get down on the hunkers and speak to him, making sure he understands what you're planning and not allowing even the slightest of slides on your part - not even for an easy life!
Good luck

shazza07

Hi

Not sure if your child has a soother. I had same problem with my 3 year old. Kept waking up for her soother so we stopped giving it to her (cruel, I know). Had a nightmare of a week, like she was going through withdrawals I felt so bad cos I was the one who gave it to her in the first place. Anyway since that week we haven't had a problem. She's asleep within minutes of going to bed (7.30pm) and wakes up at 8/9am.. She doesn't have a nap during the day either.

Hope something works for you, sleep deprivation theres nothing as bad.

Good luck