natural consequences for night time misbehaviour

[BakedBeansAndChips]

My DS2 is just turned four. He is and always has been a terrible sleeper. However, in the last few weeks he is now deliberately misbehaving at night. Last night he woke me seven times. He also wakes his brother as they share a room.

The behaviour I mean is deliberately chucking his covers and pillow on the floor then screaming that he wants it back, kicking the walls and coming into my room for “reasons” including (and I’m not joking) to tell me he doesn’t like asparagus. I never react and always silently put blankets back or move him back into bed with a quiet “it’s sleep time”. So it’s not like he’s getting loads of attention from it.

I am beyond exhausted. I’ve been taking privileges from him - eg favourite toy gets removed for a day, but some people have suggested I need a natural consequence rather than one which isn’t related. What consequences can I give him which related to what he’s done? Being tired the next day doesn’t exactly matter to him.

TIA

Can you be too tired to do xyz with him the next day because he kept you up? That sort of thing?

But I would go with a star chart sort of thing as well personally.

The thing is I work four days a week so “I’m too tired to…” doesn’t work that well, because I’m too tired to function at work isn’t something he cares about 😂 god it’s exhausting

@BakedBeansAndChips Have you rewarded Ds1 who is trying to sleep through the night? Give him something he wants and tell him in front of Ds2 that because he sleeps in his bed and doesn't disturb others who are also trying to sleep he gets something. Reward the behaviour you want to see.

The star chart/reward chart would help correlate sleeping gets you stuff.

I think what take means is not the day you work but the days you are at home with him, you are too tired to do the things he wants to do because you haven't had enough sleep. So he wants to go bike riding and you say I am just too tired because you kept waking me up so we are not going bike riding. Repeat for a bit.

Lack of sleep is awful, just awful.

Natural consequences would be stuff like: You’re out of his favourite breakfast cereal because Daddy was too tired to go to the shops because DS woke everyone up. No Mummy can’t take him to the park on Saturday because Mummy is too tired because he woke everyone up. Sticker charts in the morning for staying in bed so DS2 gets his sticker and DS1 does not. That sort of thing.

We did stickers then a Big Treat (new Paw Patrol back pack ) if he managed a week