I need help my 5 yr old keeps getting up in the middle of the night and not wanting to go back to sleep?

Question

well he does'nt take a nap anymore he is bright eyed and bushy tailed when he wakes up and he goes to sleep perfectly ive even tried giving him a later bed time im running out of ideas

Answer 1

we need more info please!!!  what does he do when he wakes up.....cry?  want to play?  wants to crawl in bed with you?  asks for food or drink???  please elaborate!

okay, if he's not scared or crying i would put him back into his bed immediately.  no food or drink, that will only encourage him.  if you are consistent then you will definately see a change.  try saying something like, you don't have to go to sleep, but you do have to lay here and be quiet.  he's bound to fall back to sleep.   don't let him manipulate you.  i know it's not as easy as it sounds.  you love your child and want to know that he's safe and comfortable at night.  again consistency is the key.  good luck!

Answer 2

Is he really awake? It almost sounds like he is sleepwalking if he is just wandering around. My son sleepwalks and talks and will have a conversation with you. I just redirect him back to bed. Good luck.

Answer 3

Humm....actually I had a similar problem when my son was younger.  He would end up wondering around the house, and then I'd find him sleeping in all kinds of weird places.  I decided to hang a bell on his door, so I could hear it if he was up.  When I caught him I would immediately take him back to his bed and tell him he had to stay in his bed.  (sounds simple) Yep but it actually worked.  Also, for a while he would come in my room and wake me up and want a drink or to go potty or his sheets weren't straight......OMG a million reasons.  So one day, exhausted as I was, I told him.  You are not allowed to come wake mommy up unless you are sick or really (and I mean really) scared.  If you wake mommy up you can't watch cartoons in the morning.  So that would be right before I had to hang the bell on the door.  Anyway, be firm and don't let him manipulate you.  It'll pass.

Answer 4

Is he afraid of something and doesn't want to be alone or is he completely awake bright eyed and ready for the day? If he's scared you may have to flush monsters down the toilet that are under his bed or something to that effect. If he's bright eyed and still takes a nap during the day it might be time to do a quiet time and watch a movie or color for an hour instead of sleeping and maybe have a later bedtime depending on when he goes to bed. Hard to say without more info.

Answer 5

I was once watching super nanny and she made someone with the similar prob. comfort them maybe they wanted water or to go to the bathroom,but if they just wanted to stay up she had the parents to tell the child he had to go to sleep but use no eye contact and then had the parent sit on the floor with only a night light gradually everynight moving further and further towards the door .

Answer 6

If he takes a nap during the day, this could be the problem.

But... Sometimes kiddos just wake up for no reason. I let my children hop in the bed with me if they wake up. They go back to sleep that way.