How to Keep My Child From Coming Out of His Bed at Night

Prevent sleep disturbance with reassuring bedtime routines.

Although children wake frequently for short periods at night during the light stages of their sleep cycles, these interruptions pass unnoticed if children develop healthy sleep habits. Children who experience problems getting back to sleep at night may regularly get out of bed and disturb their parents. Sleep disturbance is sometimes temporary, due to illness or lifestyle changes. However, constant sleep disturbance has consequences of sleep deprivation for both parents and children. Parents can reduce a child's feelings of separation anxiety by providing reassuring bedtime routines and helpful sleep habits.

Things You'll Need

• Crayons
• Pens
• Drawing paper
• Coloring books
• Puzzles
• Children's stories
• Teddy bear
• Blanket
• Nightlight

Instructions

1. Encourage quiet play activities before bedtime, such as drawing, coloring, reading and puzzles. Monitor and limit television viewing and computer use before bedtime because these activities can impede the quality of sleep.

2. Establish a consistent bedtime routine at the same time each night. For example, have your children take a bath, brush their teeth, put on their pajamas, and listen to or read a story, after which you tuck them into bed and say, "Goodnight."

3. Maintain an environment for sleep that is quiet, cool and dark to improve the quality of sleep. Keep televisions and computers out of bedrooms because their presence provides a constant distraction for children.

4. Establish sleep-onset routines that encourage children to fall asleep alone and discourage them from getting out of bed during the night. Sleep-onset routines and associations should not involve you, the parents, says Registered Nurse Kyla Boyse, at the University of Michigan Health System website. Provide an attachment object, such as a teddy bear or soft blanket, or a safe nightlight that is designed for children over three years old.

5. Quickly and briefly check your children for any sign of illness, such as fever or vomiting, if they get out of bed during the night.

6. Return your child swiftly and calmly back to bed. Continue this procedure as many times as necessary until your child falls asleep again. Parents should not let children sleep in their bed because this reinforces the undesired behavior and poor sleep habits, says Dr. Stephen Sulkes, at Merck & Company, Inc.

Tips & Warnings

• Provide special, positive experiences for your children prior to their bedtime. Take an interest in their activities. Give them time to talk to you about their day and to discuss any problems or worries they might have.

• Offer swift reassurance, such as a hug, if your child has had a nightmare. Say gently, but firmly, "Don't worry; everything is fine; you can go back to sleep now" and return your child to his bed. If nightmares occur often, Sulkes recommends that parents keep a diary and try to identify the cause, such as a frightening television progam or a school-related problem.

• Avoid scolding your child if she comes into your room at night. Constant reprimands of night-time behavior can establish a cycle whereby your negative attention reassures your child and prompts continued sleep disturbance.

• Avoid staying with your child to comfort him back to sleep. "These responses reinforce night waking, in which children attempt to reproduce the conditions under which they fell asleep," says Sulkes.

• Limit or reduce your child's daily caffeine intake because it can affect sleep quality, according to SleepForKids.org.

References

• University of Michigan Health System: Sleep Problems
• Merck: Sleep Problems
• Sleep For Kids: Understanding Children's Sleep Habits