My wife and I are in that classic struggle of wanting our little guy to cuddle up with us at night, but also have him sleep in his own bed. For a while, it was ok to have him sleep with us; it didn't bother us too much. Now, it's becoming increasingly harder for us to sleep, whether it's a foot kicking us in the head, or an elbow to the ribs, I can't say I sleep more than 4 or 5 hours a night.
When he was younger, he actually did well sleeping on his own. I would put him in bed, set a timer on my phone, and when the time was up, it was time for me to leave his room, and he would sleep on his own. I'm not sure when that changed, but at some point, he started sleeping in our bed and even demands that he has to sleep with us. It becomes a constant fight that my wife and I always lose. After long days at work, we just don't have the energy to battle over him sleeping in our bed.
I've gotten to my breaking point with it. I get so little sleep, and it seems that his sleep is impacted, too. I often lie awake at night because I can't comfortably get to sleep. I have also noticed that he struggles more in the morning because of the constant battle for space in the bed.
His bedtime is also a concern. With him demanding to be in our bed, he often goes to sleep later than he should. My wife and I want to watch a TV show together at night, but with him there with us, he stays awake late and doesn't get the rest he needs.
Along side this, I get concerned he’s paying more attention to the shows we watch. When he was smaller he didn’t seem to give what we were watching much thought. Now, when he watches what we are watching he asks questions about it, or repeats bad language he hears. When he sees any kind of violence on a tv show he ask questions about it.
I feel like if we don’t pay more attention to the kind of content he see, it may affect his behavior in negative ways.
We decided that It's time that we put our foot down and start enforcing him sleeping in his bed. But how do we make it happen?
Our plan as of now is to try a reward system. If he sleeps in his bed for so many nights, he will get to pick out a toy at the store. He can keep track of his progress by putting a sticker on his Bluey calendar each day he sleeps in his bed.
The most important part of this plan is that my wife and I are on the same page. We have to be consistent and back each other up when we tell him he can't sleep with us.
So far, it has been a struggle. We are able to get him in his bed, but he only sleeps for an hour or two before he wakes up and comes to our room. I believe the problem is that we have to lay with him until he falls sleep. Then he wakes up and sees that we are gone and he gets upset. The next step for us will be to get him to stay in his bed before he falls asleep and we can leave his room.
You can read lots of articles about it. I think in the end, you will have to come up with a way that works best for you. Stick to a plan and be firm but keep a positive attitude towards your child sleeping in their own bed. They need to see it as a reward or positive experience not a punishment.
I have a feeling that it's going to be an uphill battle for some time, hopefully he adjusts quicker than I imagine, and we can all get some rest.