Helping 4 Year Old to Go to Sleep

Other parents can't believe I do this every night but it works!

Ever since he was born I've given my almost four year old son a massage before bed. Now he talks about what lotion we're going to use and if we're going to start with his feet or his back.

He's deep into that "naked" stage so he'll pull his pj's off, go get a pillow and get comfy on the bad. He's so sweet and always says "thanks mom."

I spend all of ten minutes and he's nearly asleep. The pay-off is a sleeping, relaxed child that sleeps all night long like a ROCK!

This is so automatic for us he doesn't ask for: water, more tv, another book--NOTHING! I get the rest of the night to myself because he's crashed!

My DD started out co-sleeping w/ us, then at 2 transitioned to her (previously unused) crib mattress on the floor in our room. At 4.5 we moved her to her own room. We had a new baby sleeping in our room and she was being very loud and disruptive.

What worked for us...a dim light (I think it's a 40 watt bulb) left on all night and CD of bedtime songs to fall asleep. (She likes the Veggie Tales ones.)
Our door is open and so is hers. Oh and we usually keep a bottle of water close by for that desperate nighttime thirst. ;)

She transitioned really well.

Books on CD will not be as long as a music CD but maybe it would be enough for him.
Our local library has tons of picture books on CD like Curious George and Skippy John Jones. All sorts to pick from.

Other favorites at our house: George and Martha books, Dr. Seuss, Kevin Henkes mouse books, Babar, Arnold Lobel, Amelia Bedelia, Berenstain Bears, Little Critter, Maurice Sendak.
There's more, but I can't think. Hope this is a point in the right direction. :)

We went through this with my son. Music and books on CD did not work for us...it only kept him up later. WE wound up with requests for different music or another book. The overhead light seemed to be a problem for us too. It was like he never got fully asleep. He'd wake up frequently and "visit" us all through out the night. Then he was a cranky mess during the days. A night light didn't work because it wasn't bright enough for him. The desk lamp I bought was too bright. We finally found a compromise that worked...a lava lamp. It's bright enough to make him feel secure, but dim enough that he really sleeps. Once it's warm (we started turning it on early, so it was warm by bed time), he found the lava soothing to watch. We originally bought a cheapy one from Target, but it wound up getting returned. I bought a larger one at Spencers. A year later and we still use it, but there are no more night time issues.

my daughter insists that the door is open a smidge. her room is right off the living room. she does come out on occasion for kisses or a hug. then she goes back to her room. often I will put a show on my iPod and she'll take it to bed with her- she zones out on the show and passes out pretty quick. it just occupies her mind enough to keep her from thinking about being scared or lonely. it won't work forever, but for now it's working.