How to get my 4 yr old to sleep at night?

Question

my 4 yr old son says hes not tired at night at bedtime, and wants to stay up all night long till 4 or 5 am, i'm not sure why, but this has been goin' on for about a week now, i'm 38 wks pregnant with a little girl, not sure if this has something to do with it or not. i know him and my older son whom is 7 yrs old will more then likely be jealous at first when shes born, not used to having a sister around let along a baby.

i'm exauseted from bein' up all night with him, any ideas or has this happened to anyone elese? and how can i get him back to sleeping all night long, any suggestions or ideas are greatly appreciated. and thanks, also, when he wakes up he'll come to my room cryin' or sometimes just crawl in my bed, and my bf wakes up complainin' casue he doesnt think kids should be in the same room as the parents. i've tried explaining to him hollowerin' at him doesnt help makes things worse, my kids know i'm here for them if they need me, not sure if its nighmares, or something elese

Answer 1

tell the bf ..kids come 1st. He can leave the bed and find a hole if HE doesnt like it because parenting is your job and YOUR kids can be with mom anytime they feel the need to be.

Answer 2

wake him up early during the day so by nightime he will be sleepy, or try warm milk, mmmm do some things with the boys and bf a couple hrs. b4 night time to make him tired and worn out, and i dont know if he has his own room or sleeps with his brother but you need to make him stay in his room you are the adult he is the child, you dont have to holler jus tell him to go in his room, no explanation or anything jus tell him he a big boy now and big boys sleep in their own bed, sometin like that to make him feel better

Answer 3

Maybe if you bf would play with the 4 yr old, like ball or something he could get the 4 yr old so he is more tired and will sleep better at night.   Also, that would help to get a bond between them and maybe that would help too.

Answer 4

Just make him tired, then only that cute kid can sleep.

You can make him tired by playing with him or by making him study, painting anything.

One more thing I would like to add,

Make him feel that he is a responsible person of the family because when your daughter will born, inspite of your maximum care he will get frustrated because of jealous, give him a task from which he will think that he is responsible and had grown up.

This mechanism is successful in about 70% of the cases.

Answer 5

OK hun, in all seriousness, you need to make sure your getting some rest too. Speak with your pediatrician or family doc. I heard an herbalist recommend a supplement called melatonin in half doses. (Melatonin is a natural chemical in you brain that responds to dark and encourages normal sleep patterns.

Keep the house bright and active by day and totally mellow out with a dim bath, his favorite calm books and so on.

Another trick, every time your guy falls asleep, play the same music. After a week he will associate the music with sleep.

Keep yourself healthy.

Don't be afraid to ask your BF for help... you are, after all, carrying HIS child! Best of luck & congrats on your new baby!

Answer 6

does your 4yo sleep in the afternoon? if he does, dont let him take a nap. and dont give him chocolates or sweets starting late in the afternoon. these will make him  hyper. or ask your pedia about it.

Answer 7

Your bf??? ughhh...biting tongue...owww...owww...deep breath...ok...I think I can answer now...

Uh oh, now I got to the hollowerin' part...bite tongue...really?...are these his kids, because if not...bite tongue...

OK, so, tell your son it's not safe for his little sister in your tummy if he sleeps with you - there's not enough room. That worked for my son.

Next, kids that young can't really stay up all night long, physically. So if he's not getting exhausted and falling asleep within an hour or two, check his diet. Maybe something he's eating or drinking for dinner is keeping him up. Not saying you're feeding him sugary desserts, but fruit and fruit juices and white flour products have a lot of sugar. If that doesn't seem to be the key then you need to take him to the dr.

Answer 8

Give him protine rich food before bed, peanut butter and milk is what i do when my little one is going through growth spirts, she gets hungery part way through the night and gets up. my husband does not really like our little one crawling into bed with us cus we have lots of pillows and beause there is really not room in our bed for one more. i also set up a nighht light for her and nice one that she can see the room with so if she gets up she is not totally in the dark, which freaks her out This may sound bad, but i work at 7 am and full time and am tired, i put a tv in her room and i will turn on cartoons really quite if she cant sleep. sometimes i will crawl into bed with her just so she can sleep, but boy does that hurt my back. and other times i will make a bed on her floor out of extra blankts and pillows and i will sleep on her floor if she is having a really bad night.

Answer 9

Can you just turn off the lights and REFUSE to stay up with him?  Tell him "it's time to sleep" and just go to bed. Refuse to play with him, sit with him, read with him or let him watch TV or anything else. when the lights go out, they stay out, FOR GOOD.

I do this with my daughter when we travel back to the US (we live in Japan) to help her get used to the big time zone change since day is night and night is day. It usually works after a night or two.