3 year old not sleeping well after house move

[Evelyn06]

My 3 year old has not been sleeping well since we moved house a month ago.

He used to be a perfect sleeper, but now he wakes up and shouts out loudly for me at least once or twice a night (it was up to 5 times so it does seem to have improved but we still seem stuck on at least once a night now).

He seems to be settled well into the new house otherwise.

When he wakes, he sometimes has a 'reason', usually that teddy has fallen out. He will go back to sleep once I've been in to tell him to go back to sleep.

I know that other people have worse sleep problems, but I had been used to him sleeping right through every night and I'm concerned that he's now got into a bad habit. Any ideas as to how I can stop it? I have tried offering him a sticker if he can sleep all night, but it hasn't really helped (is that making it too much of an issue with him and making it worse?)

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I wouldn't panic. It's only been a month and, as you say, it's gone from five times a night to once or twice. Chances are that as he gets more used to his new home and feels more relaxed, he'll go back to his old patterns. In the meantime, I'd be looking at what I could do with him to make his new bedroom more familiar and friendly. Is there any feature he used to have in his old room that maybe isn't there any more, or is in a different place? Good luck

3 year old dd has started doing the same (no house move though !). The reward chart did work for a while - we had 2 weeks without any wakings (treats after 3 stickers). She has however got a bit bored with the stickers now and has started waking again

I think she is just trying to test boundaries (which makes it all the more annoying - I wouldn't mind so much if she needed comfort because she was upset about something). She has said today, after some serious probing, that it is too dark in her room. She's always slept in pitch black but I'm going to get a night light and see if that makes any difference.

Many thanks for the responses Chil1234 and Tillyscoutsmum. All his usual pictures and posters are up in the new room, but will think of other ways to improve his surroundings. I'll also try to delve deeper into what the problem might be. Good luck with the night light Tillyscoutsmum :)

DS1 was just like this when we moved in Novemeber. He was an awful sleeper for a month or two - in bed with DH in the spare room mostly, as it was the only way any of us got some sleep. It took a while to sort out but basically, as he settled down into his new room and house and accepted that this is where he lives now, he woke less and less. It didn't help that the gas boiler is located in a cupboard in his room, and as it fired up every so often, he'd wake and scream about the robot in his room.

4 months on, he's now 3 and settled pretty well. Hope your DS takes less time, but it does happen eventually!