I have a question for any parents out there

I have a 7 and half yr old daughter. We still have to take her to bed and im sat there for about an hour every other night and cant move and go downstairs til she falls asleep. Im pretty fed up with it now.

Does anyone else have kids that age. Wat do you do.

She also wakes every night about 12 to 1 am and goes into our bed. I then struggle to sleep with bed is full

 

It will eventually pass, at the moment she'll want the comfort of having a parent there.

At some point in the future you will want to get her to sleep and have cuddles but she'll have none of it so hold these moments close.

 

I'd recommend cherishing it whilst it's like that

 

Kids go through lots of phases, some more trying than others, but they do eventually grow out of them. If I was in your shoes, I'd probably be sat there reading my Kindle until she nodded off. An hour's peace and quiet sounds like heaven to me.

 

I sometimes watch the game on nowtv or play a game. Having only had one child i wasnt sure why she is so clingy at night time

 

I know it’s hard when you have been at work all day etc…but like some other comments have said , you do need to cherish these moments.

I have been in the same position as you but believe me the feeling you will get when she is older and you realise she doesn’t need you as much is a lot worse. Once those younger days have gone they have gone for good so try and ride the wave of the frustrating parts and focus on enjoying all of the good things about being a parent .

 

As they’ve already said. It will pass very soon and you’ll end up with a teenager. Think Kevin from Harry Enfield and chums and you won’t be far wrong.

Be careful what you wish for and enjoy every second pal. It goes very quickly.

 

Has she got a night light?

 

When bedtime becomes so long and drawn out it can be a real chore.

We bought this: https://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb...-ollie-the-owl-toddler-sleep-trainer/p/197103

It comes with a story book which basically says 'dont be a pain in the arse and wake everyone up when the clock is blue'

It worked a treat for us, though our lad was younger when we started with it.

I'd recommend it to anyone - not got much to lose in giving it a go.

 

To focus on the 12 - 1 issue. When she comes into your bedroom I would not let her into your bed but take her back to her bed. You may have to do this a couple of times

When you take he to bed I would tell her you're going to read her a story and when you've finished you are going to go downstairs but will come back in 10 minutes to see if she's asleep.

Most importantly you and your partner have to agree on the joint approach -

 

Have you tried reading selected excerpts from 'Minority Report' to her? She should drop off in no time!

But please don't read her "Majority Report'. She won't be asleep by then and you could face awkward questions like "Dad, what sort of person is Mr Bossman?"

 

I'm a bit old fashioned and never did the staying with them thing. Put them into bed, story light off and no coming downstairs. They used to get in my bed if they had nightmares or were poorly though. My youngest did have a phase where he had to fall asleep to a dvd come to think of it, think around the age of 5 or 6.

How about an audio book or something? Star for each night you don't stay with them and they earn some sort of a treat?

 

Has she always been like this? If not, I'd check nothing is worrying her at school.

 

Obviously this, which is a beautiful answer, but, and absolutely not disrespect to tree-frog, because that's a lovely sentiment, you just make a stand, you're stronger than your daughter, and although it will hurt you, it will almost certainly take far less time to remedy than you imagine, it won't affect your relationship, and you'll all be happier for it. She loves you, she thinks you have to be there to cement that. She'll quickly learn that you don't and you still love her when you're down stairs. Grab the nettle, you won't have to hold it for long.

 

Some good ideas -
as said earlier both parents have to agree on the same approach and stick to it.

 

She's in a routine at the moment - try Fired's idea to break that cycle and try something else. My eldest daughter had a spell of climbing into bed with is - wrong just kept putting her back. Took a while of doing this but we got there in the end. Sounds daft but make the most of it- they aren't young for that long they soon get to that independent stage and you tend to miss feeling wanted sometimes

 

Yes always. She is amazing and clever .

 

I used to lie on the floor and read them a book or chapter from a book. Then leave them after that. If you can make it a routine it will do the trick. The Roald Dahl books might be a good bet.
(I did occasionally fall asleep there myself!)
We took them straight back to their own bed if they came to us in the night though.

 

Friendship problems?