5 Year Old Trying to Cook in the Middle of the Night!!!!!

Updated on April 29, 2016
B.B. asks from Sioux City, IA
12 answers

My 5 year old just cooked a hot dog in the microwave. It's 2am. We are constantly telling him to stay away from the microwave because he either puts food in for too long or puts non food items in there which could end up blowing up the microwave (a metal fork, for example). We were just getting ready to go to sleep when we heard the microwave beep from our bedroom. Thank God we were still awake! I am terrified to go to bed now because his little devious butt is wide awake now and who knows what else he will try to cook. I know some 5 year olds can run microwaves, but mine isn't capable of knowing what can or can't go in there or how long it can go in there for. Especially not at 2am unsupervised. He is on the autism spectrum (aspergers). I know some parents and child services workers say it's ok to lock their bedroom doors at night for safety reasons, but I just can't do that. What if they need me in the night? I'm a sound sleeper and their dad is pretty much dead to the world once he's asleep. Besides, I tried that once about 2 years ago when both boys would continuously try to go play in the street naked in the middle of the night with 2 feet of snow on the ground. They ended up breaking their bedroom window to try to get out and they both got cut up pretty bad from all the glass. The lock came off that same night that I put it on there. I could take the microwave into my room unplugged but he can lift it (ever see the show world's strongest toddlers? yep that's my 5 year old) and I'm afraid he will just plug it back in. I can't just stay up all night to watch the microwave. Maybe once in awhile, but now that he's done this once that fear of him doing it again will always be there. Ugh! Suggestions?

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So What Happened?

Thank you "B" for the idea of a plug lock! I did not know those even existed! I am so excited to run out to Home Depot and get one! I ended up unplugging the microwave last night and moving my bed in a way with the microwave behind it so that my son would literally have to step on me, move me and my husband off the bed, and move the bed to get to the microwave (and there are no plug-ins by my bed) just so I could sleep last night. Definitely don't want to do that every night! I don't like the idea of leaving food in their reach in the night in case they choke. I think my son is more fascinated with the microwave than he is hungry. He actually ate the hot dog last night but usually he cooks things and leaves them sit out to rot. Thanks all for your responses! ADDED NOTE: no, baby gates don't work. He had those figured out by age 2. He is on melatonin already, it just didn't work last night for some reason. And yes, this is real :/

Featured Answers

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P.G.

answers from Dallas on

Hi B.,

Have you used social stories with him at all? Some kids process better when they see a story of what they're supposed to do - like a comic strip.

My son is also on the spectrum. We haven't had this issue, but I know social stories have helped him with things. And he is ALWAYS growing and hungry. Even if it seems like he just ate and can't be hungry, he probably is. That might also help him sleep.

If he's a sensory seeker, a weighted blanket might help him sleep through the night. You can buy them, or if you know how to sew, my website has a pattern on it.

I started a site called autistikids.com that has a collection of about 100 links to autistic bloggers of all ages and diagnosis types. You might be able to find a blog that you enjoy, and you can usually ask questions on posts. I also have a facebook page (autistikids) that has links to different sites - autistic, parent support, etc. Feel free to IM me or email me at ____@____.com!

Also, if he is fascinated with microwaves, find videos on youtube - if you can set up youtube so it's kid safe and maybe create a playlist of microwave videos, he can watch them when he needs to see it. You may be able to channel this interest into electronics or something, though right now it's seriously not a positive feeling thing at all.
Here's one :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1jrfW_V0Yw

3 moms found this helpful

More Answers

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

You can get a plug lock for the microwave.

http://www.amazon.com/Roride-RRKA-StoPower-Power-Plug/dp/...

So your child is 5 now, and 2 years ago when he was 3 he broke his window to go out and play naked in the snow.
He must've been a very strong 3 yr old.
I'm thinking you need to explain your difficulties in finding ways to safely contain your kids to their doctor and maybe the fire department too so you can find ways to keep them safe.
If you can't keep them safe, then maybe they need to live in an institution where they can be kept safely.
It would be hard - but I think it would be harder if they got out and got run over and killed if they went out to play in traffic.

6 moms found this helpful

D.B.

answers from Boston on

A friend has a child with autism, and he gets hungry at night due to his meds. So she leaves a snack in his room. I know that eating at night is not ideal for teeth, but it's a trade off. You can cut an apple into slices and then sort of reassemble it so it doesn't get brown. One way is to cut it sort of like a tic-tac-toe grid from the top (so the core is the center square, and then put it back together with plastic wrap or even a rubber band - remove it and "poof" you have apple slices. At least it would be a snack that doesn't involve cooking or even leaving the room.

I like the ideas below of a Dutch door and a microwave plug lock. You may also need to have some locked cabinets or a locked fridge. You also need some sort of window locks if your kids are that out of control - I, too, am shocked that 2 years ago your then-3-year-old was breaking windows. I find it really shocking that he can lift a microwave. Maybe you need the type that is affixed under a cabinet or range hood.

I'd also have some serious sit-downs with his therapist and pediatrician to discuss behavior modification techniques, safety improvements and sleep management. Kids need their rest and should not be doing anything in the middle of the night that interrupts their sleep.

3 moms found this helpful

T.D.

answers from Springfield on

a plug lock or get rid of the microwave altogether. we have not had one for 5 years now and truly i do not miss it. (we have a bunn coffee maker so there is always hot water for the tea, everything else can be reheated on the stove or in the oven.

2 moms found this helpful

O.H.

answers from Phoenix on

Is this for real? Breaking windows and getting cut up? Moving your bed in front of the microwave to block it? That took some effort. Anyway, assuming this is real, knock him out with some melatonin. Good luck.

2 moms found this helpful
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D..

answers from Miami on

A dutch door is what you need. It's a door that comes up several inches above the doorknob. You take down his regular bedroom door and replace it. Put the doorknob on the outside with the lock. You can see in the room. He can see out in the hall. He can't get out until you open the door. No more night roaming.

Your husband can ask somebody who is "handy" to cut a cheap interior door for him, sand it so that there's no splinters, paint it, install the doorknob, and mount it. It shouldn't cost that much.

And if you haven't done SOMETHING to keep them from breaking the window to keep from getting out, then social services needs to get involved.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Boston on

Would a really tall, heavy-duty baby gate solve the nighttime wandering problem? That would be the obvious answer for a younger child but perhaps you've already tried that and it didn't work due to strength or size? I think the plug lock works to solve this particular problem, but you really need to find a way to keep him in his room at night. Maybe a well-constructed gate would help?

1 mom found this helpful

E.J.

answers from Chicago on

Is he saying he is hungry at these times?

I like the idea of the Dutch door but could he climb over it?

What about alarms connected to windows and his bedroom door so that it alerts you when he leaves the room or opens the windows?

Definitely talk to his teachers, therapist and pediatrician. Are you connected to an Aspergers support community?

1 mom found this helpful
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E.B.

answers from Honolulu on

There's a medical syndrome called Prader Willi Syndrome, and it's a very serious disease. There can be some developmental delays and intellectual disabilities, but one of the most compelling parts of the syndrome is a fascination with food, and an insatiable desire to eat. It can be a really difficult disability to manage. My friend's son is affected by it.

Anyway, that's obviously not what your son has, but if you look up the syndrome online, specifically "kitchen locks" you will see tons of helpful ideas about what families have to do to lock up their food and prevent access to their appliances at night. Lots of creative ideas. My friend does not chain her fridge, but she has strategically placed locks and other things to prevent access to food except at specific meal times according to her son's doctor's instructions and plan. I have another friend with a severely mentally disabled daughter who is able to access the appliances but does not have the ability to work in the kitchen safely, and she used some of the Prader Willi suggestions as well, just to be able to sleep at night or take a phone call or shower and know that her daughter wasn't lighting something on fire or drinking the entire gallon of milk from the fridge.

You also might consult a nutritionist (a certified one, ask your doctor for a recommendation). Some medications cause night-time hunger. And nutritionists have ideas about limiting access to foods.

Another idea: where are you buying the melatonin from? My daughter suffers from Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome and has the narcolepsy gene and another sleep disorder, and requires melatonin and other medications to sleep. She has been through multiple sleep trials of all kinds. One prominent doctor (president of a national sleep disorders board of certified sleep specialists) taught us about melatonin.

First, it's not regulated or approved by the FDA. If the bottle says FDA approved, don't buy it. That little blurb on the bottle tells you the company is trying to pull a fast one on you, or lying outright. Second, a pharmacological study (not by people interested in selling things, but by a group of researchers) was done on a lot of melatonin brands (CVS, Costco, Walgreens, mail-order sources, health food stores, etc). 99% of them had a problem. Some contained way too much melatonin, some contained very little, some contained poor quality melatonin from questionable sources, some contained harmless additives like sugar and not much melatonin, and some pills from the same bottle contained vastly varying amounts of melatonin. The doctor told us to only order melatonin from a company called Life Extension Foundation (an no, I don't sell it, nobody does, and I'm not affiliated with it, nor was the doctor). But their melatonin was the only one that passed the test: consistent from pill to pill, containing the amount specified, pure and safe and reliable. Their website is easy to find and use. And it's about the same price as other melatonins.

Also, make sure he takes the melatonin about 2 hours before bed. There's a long-lasting slow release kind, and an instant release kind. My daughter takes both.

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N.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Well, my first thought is if he wasn't hungry he wouldn't be up trying to cook.

You need to sit down and rethink his food. He might just need more. In child care the kids can't be there, and awake, and not be offered food at least every 3 hours. If you aren't giving him a late snack you might want to consider that as an option. If you're putting him to bed at 7pm/8pm then he might need to stay up later so that he won't be waking up so hungry.

My other suggestion is that you leave a bowl of snack stuff that he can have free access to at any time. Non-cook foods.

My most important suggestion and it is the one I have at home is that he is taught that kids aren't supposed to be eating unless a grown up is with them. Our little guy choked a LOT. I can't tell you how many times I had to flip him over and get food out of his throat. If I had let him eat whenever he wanted he'd be dead.

In this case he has to come wake you up each and every night when he wakes up hungry and you have to feed him.

Chances are he's about to have a growth spurt and he needs extra food. He'll chub out a little bit then he'll shoot up taller and thinner and not want much to eat for a while.

First and foremost he needs to eat, if he's waking up hungry he needs to wake someone up to help him.

Second, unplugging the microwave isn't a bad idea but if he can simply reach up and plug it back in...maybe it needs to be moved where the plug is covered by another appliance that you can reach but not him.

Third, if he has been told and got in trouble for this and won't stop then you might need to take things as step further. A friend keeps all their food in a pantry that had a door. She put a locking doorknob on that pantry.

Our guy got in the fridge one time and shut the door...thank you AFV...so he could pop out and scare us when we opened the door. We heard him crashing around inside when he freaked out because the light went out when he closed the door. So we put a locking sliding baby prooofing thing on the door. We had to hold in 2 separate sections while pulling on the square thing.

You can think through all the suggestions you're getting and find some that will work well for you.

My thoughts are that once he is getting enough food to not wake up hungry, or go to bed later so he's not waking up in the middle of the night, and you've done everything you can to your kitchen to make it where he can't access food then this should resolve itself.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.G.

answers from Portland on

We purchased our home and wondered what all the modifications to the house were for.
Two families prior, they had a child with Autism. They had just about every safety feature you could possibly dream up on my house. Even the stairs were modified. They spared no expense. I assume their child was very determined.

I would talk to a support group, look up community forums online, your doctor, etc. for suggestions. Our home obviously was customized - special gates were actually built, etc.

Good luck :)

1 mom found this helpful

T.N.

answers from Albany on

If ever there were a case for co-sleeping, this is it.

:)

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