3yrs old and not sleeping though

[widdles]

Ds is 3.6 and still doesn't sleep through and is up early.

He loves his room and plays happily in it. He has a bath, pj's story and i turn the light off and shut the door, he then goes to sleep alone and happy.

In the night he creeps into my bed and cuddles up to me and is always up between 6 and 7am.

he has said he always wants to be close to me and even touching me. If i am out he won't cuddle up to dh he just wants me.

It is an attachment thing but how can i get him to stay in his bed and not need to touch me all the time.

I think you have to decide if you are really not happy him coming in then be really firm. Let him know that he is going to sleep in his room all night and that in the morning you will see him and have lots more energy for fun games and he can have a reward. Have a good warning system when he comes into your room that will wake you up - some bells on the door handle etc then gently but firmly take him back to his room when he comes in. Keep repeating this calmly but firmly until he stays in own room. Set up a reward system so that if he stays in his own bed until morning time he gets a reward. Have a system so he knows when he is allowed to come in - a special alarm clock that is visually obvious for him - we have a rabbit that wakes up but it is a bit tempermental. 6/7 am in my house is not a bad wake up! It may take a bit of time but it worked with DS2. If he is ill or has wet the bed then we let him into our bed but if it becomes a habit again we reset the boundaries.

I have got a gro clock which he loves and has to have the special story every night before he goes to sleep but he ignores the fact he has to stay in bed until the sun comes up.
I know i have to be firm but when i have tried in the past he gets to about 5am and won't go back and i need the extra couple of hours and let him in my bed.

Think i will get a reward chart and stick it on the back of his bedroom door so he can see he will get a sticker in the morning.

Also putting something on the door so i know if he is coming out is a great idea .

Thanks, feeling a little more determined to do this now

I have found with my boys that they need a fairly concrete and immediate reward. I often link this in with breakfast. If I am feeling healthy they get dried apricots or figs as a treat. If I am feeling naughty they get chocolate sprinkles or hundreds and thousands on their breakfast cereal.

The 5 o-clock wake ups are the worse. With the clock you could set it at 5am then he learns about how great the reward is then gradually set it later and later so he is still getting the positive reinforcement.

I find that with sleep problems you have to be ready yourself to deal with them. All my DSs have been terrible sleepers but we have now got them all sleeping through the night (most nights that is!) although we now need to tackle DS3 going to sleep by himself - once I have the energy though!

I bought some reward charts today and have put it on the back of his bedroom door so he can see it. I told him he needs to stay in his bed until the sun comes up on his clock then he can wake mummy for big kisses and cuddles and he can then coose his sticker for being a good boy.

We shall see how it goes but i feel optimistic