While it might sound like fun to have a family sleepover, inviting the kids into your bed once may encourage them to ask for the same special treatment time and time again. In addition to allowing attachment issues to fester, keeping the kids in your bed could also mean unpleasant sleep for you and your partner. And eventually, depending on your number of children and their sizes, you may not have enough room for yourself! Set a goal now to get your children to sleep in their own rooms at night. Here are some tips about what to do when your kids are crowding you out of your own bed at night.
Discover the Source
Some kids simply think that it is fun to spend more time with the family and with you. However, in other cases, serious fears or other issues could be encouraging your kids to want to sleep in your bed. For example, maybe your children heard frightening stories on the news, and are afraid to be alone at night, or perhaps they are afraid of a monster in their closets. Knowing why your kids want to sleep in your bed can assist in crafting a more specific and effective solution. For example, you could come up with fun games or ideas to frighten away monsters, such as creating a ‘monster swatter’ or a brigade of teddy bear defenders.
Make Their Beds More Inviting
You can also assess how comfortable your children’s bedrooms are. Let them pick out the colors and the theme for the room to get them more excited about spending time in that space. Look into tools, such as an adjustable bed base or a special pillow that will fit their needs. They might not feel comfortable in their own beds, and these types of tools can help to keep them in the same bed for longer.
Set a Routine
Having a routine for your children can help them to settle down. While you don’t necessarily need a lengthy schedule of events before bed, a couple of peaceful activities can help them to quiet their minds, thereby allowing them to drift off to sleep in their own beds before they even have time to think about climbing into yours. Some good routines include a light snack, a bedtime story, and playing soft music.
Develop Incentives
Of course, you don’t want your children to need rewards and incentives for all that they do. However, incentives can help in encouraging good habits. For example, you might decide that the entire family can have breakfast in bed on a Sunday after your kids have spent the entire night sleeping in their own room. In the very early stages, you may want to pick one night per week for the kids to still sleep in your bed as you wean them off of this habit.
While having time together with your children is certainly special and heartwarming, you don’t want to make them clingy or unable to deal with nightmares. The right time to employ tactics to get them to sleep in their own beds is now.
