Help,,,Help....How do you get your kids to sleep in their OWN room.

[Angie]

OK,,,I must admitt.....I made this mess myself...however,,when you have kids with special needs...you sometimes "bend" the rules...So,,now that my son is 8 and my girls are 6 I need....need.....need....need.....them to sleep in their own room....Right now they fall sleep downstairs on a bed,,,but not thier bed....My son is scared to death to sleep by himself and the girls,,,when they do go to bed,,,creep downstairs at night...See,,,Dad sleeps downstairs b/c I have to get up early for work...so...anyone got any ideas..........HELP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[Susan Guest Childers]

If anyone ever gets a WORKABLE solution to this problem, they should be featured in every baby/child/parenting magazine, and then given a HUGE award of some sort. I created my own "bed" (pun intended!) by letting our first two sleep with me, since hubby worked night shift. What he didn't understand was that since I do require at least some semblance of sleep, it was easier on me to let them join me than to fight the battle of returning them to their bed(s) all night long, several times during the night. Eventually, they "graduated" to a stack of blankets/makeshift bed beside our bed. Then, just before Christmas, they got (bribery) NEW TWIN BEDS with their own cool blankets & theme sheets....

Fast forward a month, and they're occasionally sleeping in ONE of the beds (together), but usually they're downstairs anyway - especially since the arrival of their new baby sister. Anna Claire (3) sleeps with me, while Alex (not quite 5) sleeps on the couch (downstairs) in the living room.

We've tried (1) asking them to stay in their rooms, putting them there, and expecting them to stay (2) begging them to stay in their rooms, and hanging out with them there until we think they're asleep - and then sneaking out (3) putting them back and/or spanking them when they follow us back downstairs (4) spanking them repeatedly when they won't stay upstairs after being put there multiple times (5) bribing them to stay up there (6) threatening them (and taking favorite toys or privileges away from them) when they don't stay up there (7) etc, etc, etc. Nothing works. We've tried all the "Nanny 911" techniques, and they simply refuse to stay in their rooms. I see no solution in sight.

We've come to the conclusion that having children is the best form of birth control, since we never have any alone time!!

I don't know what to do..... But it all comes down to this (at least in our house): If Mama doesn't sleep, Mama is a big bad bear. Therefore, whatever it takes to get Mama some sleep is all that counts. LOL!!

[Angie]

thanks for the info.....I am gonna give it a try..........soon,,,I promise :)

[Zicea Becks]

hmm...i don't know.

i guess bite the bullet and make everyone sleep in their respective room...tears and all.


all the kids, except Mesa-13, have night lights in their rooms. and as long myself of my husband checks for monsters under the bed and in the closets, then they're good.

i remember last year when Penelope-7 was afraid despite the nightlight. she would think every noise she heard was the monsters or ghost. so i got her this rainforest CD and i play it for her at night.

so if she hears sounds, she thinks it's the harmless macau or rain falling on the CD.

maybe that can help with your son. just need some things to distract his mind from being alone in a room at night.


with Penelope-7 and Daniella-8 their rooms are right next to each other, and every now and then they creep into each others rooms and sleep together.

at one point, i asked them if they would like to shara a room. THAT didn't go well. they HAVE TO HAVE THEIR OWN ROOM! they bit my head off! (lol)

i think that sometimes they just want to feel the love.

i think with your girls, you're just going to have to tell them that you would really appreciate it if they slept in their own room...Big girls sleep in their own beds.

you may have to get up in the middle of the night and check and make them get up and go to their own beds.


i dunno!