Why does my 3 1/2 year old son still wake up and cry during the night??

Question

i have a son who is 3 1/2. and since the day he was born he doesn't sleep all through the night. once in a blue moon will he completely sleep through. he wakes up crying, then climbing into bed with my husband and i. anyone else have this problem? what can i do to keep him asleep during the whole night?? im expecting my second child, so i really would love some help :)

Answer 1

So your son is having trouble sleeping through the night huh? Well I am going to give you some suggestions and you can try and see if these help. I did some of these with my son when he was a baby.

1.  A nightlight~ soft glow something not to bright something that is a very soft light.

2. If you dont want to do the nightlight then you can play soft music in the bedroom to help your child go to sleep. You can put the radio or whatever on a timer so it goes off at a certain time.

3.  Does he have a fav. blankie or soft toy? If so then let him sleep with that with soft music on in the background.

4.  Or even make a tape of you reading a story to him. Or even daddy reading a story to him. You may have to read a couple of books but it will work!

I think why he could not be sleeping throughout the night is because it is too quiet in his room. See when babies are in the womb they hear noises, and they hear you talking etc. So they are used to that.  If you think it is quiet in the womb then you are wrong. So good luck and hope these work for you!

Answer 2

how many naps is he taking? and how long are they? also...how long is his last meal before bedtime? does he have a bedtime routine that is set, and followed for the most part every night? did you co sleep in the beginning? or rock him to sleepin in the beginning? etc

some tips:

one nap a day....no sleeping past 3-4pm

before bed..give him a snack, something filling...pudding, ice cream, cereal, etc make it a part of his routine

then follow on his routine...ending with a story.

give him a nightlight if he doesn't already have one, and a favorite stuffed animal..if he doesn't already have one.

FYI..my daughter is 7, and on a few occasions...she still needs me to sit with her until she falls asleep..however we have a deal, I will only do that twice a week, and only once on that night..so if she happens to wake up in the mid of the night..tough, mommy already sat with her once (I don't tell her "tough" of course, but you get the picture) on the nights she goes to sleep on her own, the next day she gets a sticker..if she makes it a whole week with going to bed on her own and staying there without crying (she doesn't necessarily have to fall back asleep..but just stay in bed and not wake mommy and daddy up, unless there is an emergency of course) she gets a treat on saturday...we have gone at one time...two weeks, so its a bit of an effort, i find this most common in only children...they are solely with mommy and daddy all day long, someone is always with them..that it becomes hard for them to realize they are seperate from you, they are with you all day..so for them to be in bed alone...is abnormal to them.

Answer 3

"why does my 3 1/2 year old son still wake up and cry during the night?"  because you ALLOW him to crawl into bed with you...you have enabled such behavior, it's not his fault.  You're going to have to stop letting him get into bed with you and your husband.  When he comes to your room you have to get out of bed and take him back to his room, over and over and over and you're going to have to listen to him scream and cry because for three years you've enabled this behavior and it isn't going to stop for quite some time.  

Answer 4

My 3 1/2 year old son wakes up crying occasionally...it took me awhile to figure it out, but what was going on with him was actually pretty simple.

When my son wakes up crying, he has to go potty.  (I guess the urge to go potty wakes him up, but in his sleepy state he isn't quite sure what to do about it.  Apparently the confusion/sleepiness causes him to cry.  lol)  So, when I hear him cry, I walk him into the bathroom.  He goes potty, and then falls asleep almost instantly after I put him back in bed.

I don't know if that's what wakes your son up in the middle of the night, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to take him to the potty and see if that solves the problem.  :)

Answer 5

Is he scared when he wakes up and cries? There are many reasons why he could possibly still be waking up and crying at three and a half years old. Talk to him and ask him if anything is scaring him. It could be that he is waking up with nightmares or he is in pain. Maybe growing pains. This happened to my oldest son is who now four years old. He would wake up in pain and the doctor said that it was just growing pains. If its really concerning you maybe you should talk to his doctor if it's all possible. Good luck and congrats on your second child!

Answer 6

give  him  a  sippi  cup