When my son turned 3, he began to struggle staying in his bed alone and would cry for me to stay with him, which I did. I’d leave once he was asleep and he’d usually wake about 2am and come into our bed where he’d sleep for the rest of the night. This was fine by me too and we all slept well.
This became a predictable routine and it was easy to get him off to sleep if I lay in his bed with him for about 10 minutes, then he’d sleep 7pm-2am in his room, before coming into ours.
He has just turned 4 and for the past month I’ve noticed he is sleeping through the night (7pm-7am) in his own room more often. Probably about twice a week he’ll get into our bed now. This is all working fine for us. We do the same before bed with both kids, after dinner it’s play/books/baths/bedtime.
Speaking with my SIL and a friend of the family last week about my sons change, they both had very different views, although not necessarily directed towards my son but just about children’s sleep habits in general.
Family friend thinks kids should Co-sleep for as long as possible. Her son is approaching 10 and still sleeps in her bed.
SIL thinks children should be taken back to their bed each they come in, even if it is only a couple of times a week. She’s in the thick of this stage with her youngest, although she swears this method is best.
They both were giving developmental, psychological facts, essentially having a very lively discussion between themselves. I tried to take both views with a pinch of salt, but am I creating some ambivalent relationship to sleep for my son? Is there a ‘right’ way? My other child loved and still loves sleeping in her bed, she just got into a routine from little and has stuck to it ever since.
Does anyones child have sleep habits like my son? Did they eventually just stay in their beds? I feel like we’re slowly getting there and we are somewhere in the middle of the two experiences mentioned above.