Between the newspaper delivery motorbike (without a silencer) that makes its rounds in the early hours and my four year old’s noctural migratory habits, there seems to be a conspiracy to prevent me from getting a full night’s sleep. It seems like years since I slept through the night like a normal person. My husband copes better than I do because he goes back to sleep very quickly, but if I am woken from deep sleep I almost always remain wide awake for hours. Sleep deprivation is not the only problem, but let’s not go there.
It’s got to the point where I’m too tired to muster the wit and wisdom required to catch you dopers’ attention with a dazzling OP, so I may well have to resort to the sympathy vote.
Dopers who have successfully dealt with children who insist on climbing into Mum and Dad’s bed in the middle of the night, every single night. Please help me.
What did you do?
(Tips for tackling the motorbike also gratefully accepted).
Well, I can’t help you with the kid, but as for tackling the motorbike, your best bet is to come in low, at a good angle to the plane of motion. Takes 'em out every time.
I would reduce the length of the leash lead. The critter can’t crawl into their parents bed if the leash is tighened up a bit.
As for the motorbike, picker’s comment is very good. I was thinking of a boomerang. If you miss, it will return so you can try again the next morning. A direct hit and he’ll never know what hit them.
Our solution was to have another kid and put them in the same room to keep each other company.
Seriously, at 4 you should be able to have a discussion about the issues with the kid at a “Tired Mommy is not Happy Mommy” level. Then have him/her help you come up with a plan. For instance he/she could go with you to choose a night light, decide on what the bedtime ritual is going to be, talk about pleasant things they can think about when trying to get back to sleep, and so on. Then be prepared to be firm on the back-to-your-own bed issue. Don’t let the kid get any extras out of getting up–just lead him/her gently back to bed, quick kiss and good night. As a bonus you could have some sort of sticker-board thing, with a special treat for a week of uninterrupted nights. And of course, remind him/her that you will certainly be there if there is a real problem.
Good luck. My kid’s aren’t easy in a lot of ways, but they are champion sleepers. I appreciate that every night.
(We don’t have a motor bike problem, but I’d almost prefer it. Our delivery guy likes to launch the paper at our iron screen-door at 4 in the morning, 4 feet from the head of our bed.)
My nephew loves to roam the house at night. Luckily his parents sleep like the dead. It only became a problem last vacation when they got the bright idea of putting him in the same room with his two-year-old sister. Because, of course, he figured if he was up, she’d love to come play with him. He was right, but she’s not nearly as quiet as he is. I think new heights of sleep deprivation were reached.
-Lil
Thanks cher3, it is pretty much commonsense, isn’t it? We’ve tried all of the above, but clearly not with the degree of determination needed for it to yield results.
