Advice on getting 3yo to sleep on their own

[SouperLou]

We currently lay with 3.5yo until they fall asleep. It’s not too bad but obviously eats in to our evening time.

any tips on how to prepare her for changing routine ? Book recommendations? Routine recommendations?

she is moving room soon so we think it’s a good idea to start a new routine. This will be over the Easter holidays so we have capacity for long winded bed time (eg if she cries out for us 50 million times)

No good advice , our 4 year old is now night 3 into sleeping on her own bed with a bribe. And that's gone from being in our bed for months to going to bed, falling asleep on her own and not getting out of bed. I's working, we're all sleeping better for it too.

We have a chart to record each day ( success of sleeping alone or not) which she loves .

My eldest is 3.5yo and has created a very specific routine for himself at bedtime, it’s evolved, but he counts kisses, says “night night see you later” 3 times and some other bits. He controls the bedtime routine a bit in that sense, but there’s a hard line for things like stories (only 2) or “mummy can you stay with me?” (no, mummy has to go to bed too).

Just did this with my 21mo despite advice telling me he might not get it (been staying in the room since the side came off his cot at 18mo). Consistency is key. It’s likely that for the first night or so she’ll get up (or get upset). We said “back to bed, night night time” every time my youngest pushed. He changed tactic. Some nights he fell asleep behind the door. But he got it in less than a week and now goes to sleep alone.

Good luck, I’m sure she will be fine.

Thank you!

we want her to control the parts of bedtime she can. She knows the boundary of two books only so I think adding one extra hard no should be okay. I’m off over Easter so can cope with her getting up at least. She’s a bright girl so I think will get it but she’s also very strong willed.

any good kids books or kids tv episodes that talk about it to help prepare? I feel like preparing her with it like we did with potty training.

@Lilaclavendar what is your reward chart like? Just stickers? Any big reward at the end?

might give it a go without rewards first then at least we have a plan b

My eldest was 3 in December. Has had someone laying next to her until she falls aswell every night of her life.

Floor bed, read books both laying in bed & stay there til she falls asleep.

On Saturday I refigured the bed into a bunk, but she staged on the floor bed. Sunday I made large steps (too young for the ladder to be safe). All weekend we bigger it up, about when I made the steps she'd have a big girl bed and sleep alone like a big girl!!

Sunday, stories on the floor, then up to yoto player in bed. she was up & down,then fell asleep next to partner down the bottom. Woke up 3am (she 95% sleeps through), but she was up the top but no duvet (this was put on her down the bottom when I went to bed)... so she'd woken up, taken herself up the top and woke up cold lol. Went back to sleep up there alone.

Monday, her 3 stories down on the floor, up the top to yoto, told me to go on bottom bed, and she fell asleep no prob. Tues and now Wed the same.

So... second night of laying on her own to go to sleep and success! We'll move younger sister into her room and bottom floorbed soon & hopefully won't need to stay in the room anymore (younger sister goes to sleep alone)

I've got it in my head that when we move our 3.5 out of her toddler bed into a proper bed that'll be the time. My DH doesn't stay with her when it's his turn but on my nights, I always do but I have progressed from lying on the floor to sitting in the rocking chair (which there won't be room for when she gets a bigger bed...).

So we did it. We had two nights of sitting by her bed then two nights sitting in a chair on the far side of the room. She coped really well with that so tried sitting outside her door with the door open. First night was horrendous. 90minutes of walking her back to bed on repeat. The past three nights she’s gone down well but wakes at 3am crying and spending 90 minutes calling for us to get in bed with her.

many tips for that? We won’t let her cry it out because she starts a crying loop that can go on for hours so we had to explain why we weren’t coming back in for it to eventually stop. It doesn’t help she’s got a cough and it’s waking her up.