My 5 year old has being a nightmare at bedtime since I separated from his dad when he was 18 months old.
he used to take over an hour to get to sleep with me staying with him but now his routine is :
630 - Pjs on & 5 mins on tablet
645 - teeth, toilet, story
700 - in bed
730-800 falls asleep
he shouts of me every 5 mins or so to go in and give him a hug/put his cover on him/pass him his drink/his leg hurts/tummy hurts basically just excuses to get me in!
when he’s at his dads he doesn’t shout if him and will talk with his teddy’s for a bit then fall to sleep so I told him I’m not going to keep
coming in, yet he argues with me as me going in is all he has known. Do I need to take a slower approach? When I say “I’ll come in 3 minutes” he counts 1,2,3 then starts shouting of me! I just want bedtime to be me putting him in bed and leaving. Every night I end up laying on my bed at 7 pm until he falls asleep, it’s so frustrating!