Sleeping arrangements for children on/after holiday.....

[Earlybird]

DD and I have just come back from a wonderful 6 week break visiting family. While we were away, we mainly stayed with friends/relatives in their homes, so dd and I usually were in the same bedroom.

We've been home for 4 days. Perhaps due to jetlag, she wakes every night and wants to come sleep in my bed as she says she is "scared" to sleep in her own room. Am I making a rod for my own back if I allow it? She's 4 1/2 by the way, and prior to this trip only slept with me on rare occasions....

suspect she really enjoyed sleeping close to her mum and is reluctant to stop: would knock it on the head asap as I know of many 6 year olds who still want to sleep with their parents and their parents are too tired to get up and put them back to bed. But then I love my sleep!

Don't know if this helps (and I know it's not quite the same situation) but when my 4 1/2 year old ds1 goes through phases of coming into our bed at night we generally:

• let him without fuss, but let him know that it's only for a little cuddle until he's calmer (usually after a nightmare for us)
• he then has to go back to his own bed without fuss after the cuddle (or when we next wake up and notice he's still there!)
• he HAS to then have a nap in the day sometime the next day (or if he plays and doesn't sleep at that nap time then he'll go to bed earlier the next evening instead).

The nap the next day seems to break out of the cycle of overtiredness that caused more night wakings, and also was a natural consequence (rather than punishment) of broken sleep. At the same time, it doesn't stop him coming in if he genuinely needs us because he's scared. Does tend to nip it in the bud fairly quickly.