Co-Sleeping HELP!

United States
February 2, 2009 6:33pm CST
I've been fed up for months now with my 6yo & 3yo co-sleeping. It's to the point now that I just sleep with them because otherwise one of us gets kicked out of our bed. And additionally my hubby needs his rest for work as he works with equipment that he could potentially do anything from burn himself, cut himself, break or remove limbs. SO instead of him going with outsleep I would just lay with them & sneak out but I've been falling asleep when I lay with them. So when I did sneak out they were in our bed by 11 & hubby just lets them lay with us instead of walking her back (mind you I'm the one crammed against the wall). I've tried the lil dealie on SuperNanny with sitting in the room on the floor and slowly scoot out. I've tried night lights, sleeping with a glow worm or the alike, a life size elmo, the girls sleeping with each other, a light in the closet ect. I know it was bad of me to allow the now 6yo to sleep with me in the first place but when my hubby is on night shifts and I've spent 3 of the last 5 yrs pg you are exhausted and just don't care since hubby isn't there. But when he is there, there's no room for him. So the 6yo is now saying she's still afraid of the dark as when she was 3 my hubby thought it was a good idea to read "There's an aligator under my bed" as a bed time story and we haven't been able to get her out of our bed. How do I end this cycle of sleeping with us? Or shall I say me sleeping with them as well?
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1 response
Esbatty
@Esbatty (58)
• United States
3 Feb 09
The best method is to create a good bedtime ritual of tucking the children in. Since the six year old is the most insistent of the two, and the three year old is at the cusp of the normal end of Seperation Anxiety, right now is the optimal time to get them used to sleeping on their own. For the first few nights if they get back up and come into your bed, you're going to have to insist they go back or that you'll carry them back. This way they have a choice in the matter. Children enjoy having choices instead of being told what to do. And the nice thing is the choice could be two things they do not want but since they get to pick they feel more confident since they got input into the situation. Now while asking them to go back or carrying them back to bed may be a hassle the first few nights, it'll be worth it in the end. And actually later on after they've successfully stayed in their own bed(s) for consecutive nights tell them during the day you're proud of them that they're being a "Good Big Sister" for setting a good example for the 3 year old.