this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2025
42 points (100.0% liked)
Parenting
2137 readers
74 users here now
A place to talk about parenting.
Be respectful of others' parenting decisions.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Since it sounds like he’s used to you or your wife being there, you can try slowly removing yourself. What we did with our kid is start with a parent sitting or laying next to the bed, then every few days moving a little closer to the bedroom door. We’d still stay until they fell asleep.
Our kid got most anxious when we got to the part where moving put us out of their room, so we did that step a little more slowly where we stayed at the entrance of the bedroom but would have to leave the room for increasingly longer periods of time (go get a book to read, go to the bathroom, etc). They struggle with anxiety in general though, so your kid may not have this hurdle.
We too keep books next to their bed which they can read or look at until they get sleepy. We also have a volcano lamp we turn on at night they can watch.
That sounds good, but it always takes about 2 hours, so we wouldn't mind staying with him if he just would fall asleep within half an hour ^^
When his mom tells him she is going to the bathroom he can stay in the room for like 5 minutes but then he wonder what is taking so long and goes out to try to find her.
The books are a challenge already durin daytime. In the evening he just takes the book from us and throws it away.
But I think not lying in bed with him as a starter but sitting on a chair we should try. I will propose this.
It’s a tough age. I remember the struggle all too well, and many nights I fell asleep before my kid did. I’m not sure if it’s their chance to control something when so much of their life is out of their control at this age. Hopefully you can find something that works better for all of you