5 year old wakes up constantly

[Samk79]

My 5 year old boy wakes up numerous times a night and am despairing!
he has never been good at sleeping,
we made the mistake of sitting with him while he goes to sleep.
he usually goes to sleep and am some point during the night would get up and come into our bed.
we live in a 3 storey house, his bedroom used to be on the floor below us.,
we have now moved him into the room next to us

his sleep has got so much worse over the last few weeks. He will go to sleep but within an hour he is awake, he wakes up crying and scared.
i have to sit with him for him to go back to sleep, but often as soon as i move, he wakes up.
some evenings I’m sat with him for up to an hour and a half.

sometimes he will eventually go back to sleep and other times, I end up taking him in with me to get some sleep.

we have a good routine of getting ready for bed and having a story,’we also set a timer so he knows when it is bedtime. He has a night light and I’ve tried a reward chart but nothing seems to work.

I can’t carry on like this as I get no time to myself in the evenings but I really don’t know what to do!

He is old enough for you to explain that he needs to sleep in his bed and to have a star chart or similar to reward successful independent sleeping.
Personally I would go cold turkey on the sitting with him while he sleeps. You can try leaving
and then going back in to check on him after 1 second, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute etc if he is upset by you leaving. But remind him it is time to sleep each time and keep it brief…

My DS (also 5) used to do this on and off. Things I have tried, which have helped - purchased a Tonie box to keep him company as he drifts off, bought a night time projector so there is some light in the room and I also purchased a 'worry monster' for him to cuddle in bed (which he loves)

https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/soft-toys/large-worry-monster---assorted-colours/5052089204485.html?srsltid=AfmBOopAbaxDpx1Z_x6hfkRMhEZ8OfAwN_cA-EQJlc0_sT9zp20gCxI0

What is he scared of?

@DontTellMamawhen I ask him what he is scared of, he says he doesn’t know

My little boy woke constantly through the night until we tried a magnesium supplement. About 3 nights in he started sleeping through. That was 3 years ago he’s 8 now and apart from occasionally if he’s ill he sleeps through.

@nicolagrayphotography can I ask which exact supplement/brand it is?
I also have a bad sleeper, so always trying to get to the bottom of why….

this was the one we bought.

https://mightykidssupplements.co.uk/product/magnesium/?attribute_flavour=Berry&sg=EAIaIQobChMIvfOekfuTlAMVoKRQBh01GT18EAQYASABEgI2VfD_BwE&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=20647767774&utm_term=&utm_content=__&device=m&network=x&placement=&adpos=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21382231390&gbraid=0AAAAAqS90qAF6lrqwnz3oUTEorFXHI-V2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvfOekfuTlAMVoKRQBh01GT18EAQYASABEgI2VfD_BwE
it might not work for everyone but it was like a miracle for us.

He will grow out of it. Just do what you need to do to get through it. We had our eldest on a mattress on the floor in our room for 6 months while when she had a period of night terrors.

I couldn’t be sitting in a child’s room in the middle of the night or doing some ridiculous sleep training thing where everyone’s 100 x more stressed than they need to be.