Sleep holding onto my earlobe

[Bozzle]

My DS is 2.2 years and holds onto my earlobe to help him fall sleep. Not always but most nights. This is particularly bad when he awakes during the night and wants only me and not his Dad. So, I either stay by his bed ( with him holding on for dear life) or take him in to our bed where he will either go straight to sleep or pull and fondle my ear lobe. This is quite annoying and I can't sleep while this goes on.

I do move him away and remove his hand - but this upsets him terribly and the screams and thrashing about can last some time. It is upsetting for both of us- like taking away a beloved teddy. He looks so lost and hurt.

Has anyone had a child with this habit? What can I do to help him move on to another 'cuddly'
PS - I have tried other soft toys - of all sizes and descriptions. Hard plastic digger is the only thing that comes close

similar. DD would hold onto my neck and get quite anxious if I moved away. So I tried subsituting with a cuddly toy and lots of praise etc but that did not really work altho I know it has with others. In the end i said she couldn't do it any more and sat up in bed next to her so she couldnt really reach. I told her i would stroke / hold her hand instead. It took a few nights of gentle persistance but it gradually worked and she fell asleep quicker. I then just stroked her hand for a few minutes and sat next to her till she was drowzy and got up and left, if she woke as I got up I just said I'll be back in a minute and she settled.

if she woke in the night sometimes she would call out but settle herself quiet quickly. If I have to go in, I sort of tuck her in / stroke her head say goodnight again and leave quickly, leaviing her to settle herself again.

It took several weeks overall, but the key is to be determined yourself that he cant hold on to your ear anymore, and mean it, even if initially it takes longer to settle him.

hope he got to sleep ok tonight.

thanks for experience and tips. You are right its me who has to be firm with myself and not give in at 2 am!
Think I will chat to him today and explain - some might filter through.

aw bless, I know it must be annoying, but it sounds so sweet!

I heard of someone who did this. She even used to hold her dads earlobe while watching TV in her teens apparently.

If you don't like it then of course you should try and wean him off. If his Dad is supportive, would he sort him out in the evenings for a while to break the habit? It might be heart wrenching at first but could pay off in the long run.

I WAS a child with an earlobe habit . Seem to have dropped it at some point though as I clearly don't do it any more.

Can you get him to hold his own ear? There are even pictures of me asleep holding the cat's ear - that was one patient cat!

MIL is fond of telling me how my DH used to do this to her. He's 39 now and hasn't ever tried to do it to me in the 20 years we've been together so he will grow out of it!

It is quite sweet. Especially when he is being read to or drinking bedtime milk- his little hand goes up and he is attached. I can feel him relax. And that is the problem, it is hard to stop him then but at 3 in the morning I just need to sleep and even more so now as I'm in early stages of pregnancy with no. 2!
Gosh - patient cat indeed.... at least I know that he will stop at some point.
Dad is brilliant but we still need to break habit as hard as it is... thanks again for wise words!

have you tried one of those small taggy blankets? my DS althought not a lobe lover cannot sleep without running his fingers over the taggs on his blankie. of course i made him three identical blankies so we never have a missing one.