Child that refuses to sleep and messes up house at night

[RoseWriter]

So I’m not quite sure what to do to be honest I’ve got a 3 year old that’s not quite your average child we think he may be on the spectrum he can speak but not very well he’s being assessed for a few different things to give a bit of background as He works a bit differently to other children so during the nighttime’s he won’t sleep for long at all I went to the doctors they gave him liquid piriton that failed to help so I’ve just been dealing with it I struggle to sleep myself as I’ve got adhd but the lack of sleep isn’t the whole problem my main issue is when I’m asleep my toddler gets up and runs riot in my house climbing on the kitchen side pulling things out of draws getting naked and peeing and pooing everywhere I genuinely can’t take it I put a childgate on his bedroom door and he pushed it off the frame I just have no idea how to contain him at night as he just doesn’t seem to get it when I’m telling him it’s not acceptable behaviour many thanks for reading look forward to hearing a reply hopefully

I didn't want to read and run. I have a child with autism and they behaved like this when they were younger. If you're concerned there's a developmental issue, start the assessment process as soon as you can. I'm surprised the HV check around 2 1/2 didn't raise some flags. The early years help and a specialist nursery where the most help for us. It may just be pushing boundaries, who knows.

As a positive, the smearing of poo and urinating on the floor were a phase she's grown out of now. It was very much sensory seeking.

We have 'baby proofed' the house as much as possible (secured front door, cupboard locks, knifes locked away) but an adult will always be downstairs with them. We've had floods from taps, close calls with the toaster, escaping down the road)

Things to try for now..don't worry about limiting screen time, have sensory toys available ie. Trampoline, playdoh, kinetic sand, indoor swing, you can try compression sheets or weighted blankets, snooze next to them if you can, music, audiobooks, cartoons and please ask for help where you can.

Stair gate that screws into the frame.

Get some locks for the rooms downstairs.

Oh this is dangerous

I think since he doesn't have the understanding you should focus on child proofing the house in case he escapes the gate on the room again and also bolt the gate to the door frame

Will the team that's assessing him prescribe slow release Melatonin?

Would not usually suggest this but can you childproof his bedroom and lock him in there? Maybe a bolt on the outside of the door?

Didn’t want to read and run
this sounds dangerous and distressing
if you’re uncomfortable with a bolt lock, have you heard of the door monkey from Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Door-Monkey-Lock-Pinch-Guard/dp/B004ECJWK4

Melatonin gummies can help - again can be ordered online. I don’t understand why melatonin is so restricted in the UK. I grew up in a country where it was freely available. But do your own research and assess what you are comfortable with

Agree with PP that this sounds like sensory seeking behaviour at night - so can you investigate sensory diet during the day, and then set up a little sensory room inside one of those black out tents in the child’s room?

good luck OP I hope that you get aome
suppor soon

Our gates are all screwed into the wall/door frame.

Also toddler proof as much as you can downstairs. Magnetic cupboard locks etc.

Lots of hugs, OK. That sounds really hard. a friend of mine had one likke this. He's still challenging age 6, but he doesn't destroy the house any more and manages in a mainstream school.

I agree, you need to find ways of child-proofing the house. His room especially. Could he sleep in the same room as you?

Don't lock the child in the room but you can definitely pop some bolts at the top of the kitchen door, we had to lock ours at night for similar reasons. We also had an enclosed bed as the transition from cot to bed was a nightmare, he didn't like the feeling of being so exposed so we bought a bed that had a 'roof'

Lock the downstairs off and put a cafe bell on their bedroom door (unless they set it off deliberately) just to give you a heads up they are out

Sympathise because I have similar my cooker is chained to the wall my house keys are out of reach my gas fire has been removed and everything is turned off! I have given him his own TV now so he just watches that for the most part

You don't need to put him behind a locked door, you can use a gate screwed into the door frame, although it sound like it would need to be taller than just a stair gate.

thank you for your reply’s we live in a flat so it’s a bit harder as everything is in such close proximity to his bedroom I will be going to b&q tomorrow to get a lock for kitchen door as I think at least that will be the kitchen problem sorted will have to take out the products from the bathroom and the plug as he likes making potions and flooding the bath not ideal but I think it’s a step in the right direction for the time being at least thank you everyone for taking the time out your day to reply it’s much appreciated xx

Can you lock off any rooms you don't want him to access overnight - including the bathroom if needs be. Is he toilet trained?
You can also get mats which alarm when you step on them - they are usually used for adults with dementia etc but could be useful in waking you up if he was some where he shouldn't be.

Are you on your own with him? Does he go to nursery at all?