Thread: my youngest is not a good sleeper

My niece who's 6 now wouldn't go to her own bed, go to sleep alone. She was spending the weekend with us one time when she was almost 2.

We did the bedtime ritual thing.....I left the bedroom door open, sat on the floor outside her room where she could see me til she fell asleep. It took maybe 3 nights before she said "Aunt Mel you need to go to bed, go to sleep. Those dark circles under your eyes are starting to scare me"......Yes, she really said that. From that time on she's slept on her own.

Now at 6 she knows what time she has to go to bed. She doesn't have to go to sleep....however, she has to stay in bed. She can read/look at a book, listen to music until she falls asleep when she's here. That's usually around 20 minutes or so and she's asleep.

My brother who's 17 years my junior was an awful sleeper for the longest. Mom did the same thing with him. He took longer maybe 2 weeks or so. It did work however.

Also when my niece is here spending the night I make sure that I leave some kind of light on in the house, give her a flashlight........for getting up in the middle of the night, going to the bathroom on her own.

Way gone are the days of her coming into our room, waking me up, telling me she has to go...........NOW.

One day not to long ago I heard her tell her momma that she's all grown up at our house. She has her own room, flashlight, knows where to find things.

Good luck I know it's tough when they're young. Niece is the first grandchild on both sides plus, a girl. She was babied a lot. Not by me. Now, she has a baby brother....who's 8 months old. She now wonders why he can't fall asleep on his own.

I understand that you want her to sleep through the night, and that raising an independent child is important, but I think we all get spoiling and comforting mixed up. There is nothing wrong with you wanting to go in an comfort her if she is having a difficult time settling in for the night - a couple minutes of rubbing her back certainly beats having to clean the entire crib and baby! Rocking for a few more minutes only soothes, and helps make those bonds stronger!

If this is an every night occurance, then look at the routine - a nice warm bath and snack immediately before bed time relaxes tha baby and fills their belly so they cam rest comfortably.

White noise also helps to soothe the baby - we always had a cool mist vaporizer running to add moisture to the air, but the steady noise was more important.

Remember - you are not spoiling the child when you comfort her. Spoiling is giving them every whim and doing everything for them without allowing them room to grow and learn. She is a baby and may need that additional comfort for a tiny bit longer.