Hi,
My three and a half year old has slept like a dream since I sleep-trained him at 6 months (it was quite a gentle training technique where I stayed in the room with him and chanted a key phrase, right next to cot for first three nights, middle of room for next three, by door for next three then bingo by night 10! Naps took a little more sorting but have had 3 years of no problems, except occasionally when he's ill or summat). Until last week. Now he's having bad dreams every night so he's scared to go to bed on his own and wakes up 2 or 3 times a night and either comes to get us or gets into bed. I don't want him to get into the habit of sleeping in our bed (he did til 6 months, but I was single then, there aint enough space for us all in my bed now, and he's all elbows and knees!) as none of us get a decent sleep then.
At the minute we're taking it in turns to sit in the room with him, in the dark, engaging as little as possible, so's he's reassured enough to relax and go to sleep. But even though we explain what's going to happen, he still doesn't like it when he wakes up and we've moved.
Just to take the biscuit he slept at his Gran's with his dad on Sat and went off on his own fine, and slept through 'til morning! How can I teach him to go to sleep on his own at home again?