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Pre-School and Daycare
Night Time Bedtime Issues
My son who's 4 1/2 yrs old no longer stays in his room at night. I've tried taking things away that he really enjoys & will miss & prize sticker reward. It works at the beginning but he's once again getting out of his room. Now instead of falling asleep around 9pm instead it's b'tween 11pm to midnight. When he does fall asleep he does later on through out the a.m. hours he ends up in our bed which we don't mind. Of course that's where he really wants to sleep. Since I'm a stay at home mom my bed & bedtime is my only place to finally relax after a busy day w/my kids. My DH is now trying to keep him up until 10pm & then laying w/him until he falls asleep something I don't agree with.
What else can we do to keep our son in his room??? Any advice is helpful 
Thanks!!! 
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Re: Night Time Bedtime Issues
What time is he waking? Does he nap? Is he unbearable when he wakes up? DD will pull that kind of stuff when she is getting too much sleep. If he naps, it may be time to cut them out. If he is sleeping in, it may be time to wake him at a set time every day.
We had a lot of trouble with DD. We finally told her, we don't care what she does at bedtime if she only comes out to use the bathroom. She will look at books, and play with stuffed animals for awhile before settling in for the night. We read stories, do "lights out" (turn off her overhead light, but leave a lamp on for her), and tuck her in, then we leave the room, and don't go back in unless we hear a commotion. I can't make her sleep, but a few days of waking at a reasonable time, and she generally doesn't last too long in her room without falling asleep. That way, I get my alone time, even if she doesn't fall asleep right away.
The past few weeks, we have been pretty lax on bedtimes, so she has been going to bed later, and waking up later, which is no problem for me, since it's summer vacation, but during the school year, she lays down between 7-8, and naturally sleeps about 12 hours a night.
My DD has been getting out of bed a night, multiple times a night and sleeping on our floor for almost a year now. We have tried EVERYTHING. She has a night light, we keep a light on in the kitchen, we leave her door open (something she has asked for), and we've done sticker charts. The charts work for a little while but then once a chart is completed and a treat is received, she reverts back to her old ways. I have even taken away stuff that we have gotten her as her treat since she is not keeping up her end of the bargin. I don't know if it's because we are on a different floor, she is lonely or what. She has been asking for her little sister to room in with her and we plan to in a few months but I am just not ready to have 2 crappy sleepers instead of just the one!
My DD goes to bed about 9 and naps half the time. She is up around 7:30 so I just can't see how with all the night waking that she is getting enough sleep!
There's no secret to this - you either need to lock him in his room w/ door knob cover or start silently walking him back to his room at night - no matter what he does. Don't start feeling all guilty or like you are harming him - he needs sleep and so do you.
This.
Midnight for a 4 year old? Yikes.
Put the kid in his room at 8 and make him stay there. He's going to protest for a while but if you don't put a stop to it now, you will both suffer in the long run.
Absolutely! I kept my son in his room with a door knob cover for a long time. We recently stopped so he could get up to go to the bathroom at night. But I do threaten to lock him in if he gets out of his room. Its worked. & I also allow him to read or play while he is in his room. He just cant come out, he always settles and goes to sleep with in 30min or earlier.
Ditto this.
You are giving him mixed signals by insisting that he stay in his own bed at times but also allowing him to crawl in bed with you.
Guilt is the great enemy of good parenting. Don't let your guilt over him being temporarily upset about being sent back to his room rob him of much-needed consistency and sleep!
DS goes to bed at 7 and wakes up around 7:30ish. He gets up every now and then and we tell him that it is our bed and he needs to sleep in his own bed. We no longer walk him back to his room, dark or not. If he can walk into our room--he can take himself back. He doesn't come in our room very often anymore. It is really just being consistent.
We have had the same routine since he was a year old: bath, book, go to his room, say his prayer, we "swing" him into bed (daddy gets the arms, I get the legs) and we tuck him in. I can recite word for word what he says after we tuck him in because it is such a routine.
DD is almost 2 and has the same routine for the same time.