Trouble with Six Year Old Sleeping in Her Own Bed

I'm about to cross this bridge, too. If your daughter falls asleep in her room will she stay there? My daughter slept with us until she was two or three...no one really said anything because my hubby was happy to spend some time with her - and I nursed her until she was two. Then she wanted to sleep in her own room...then with me in her own room...then we started working at a daycare and we were always sick...she ended back with us again. Baby is due in April....would love a king size bed! I would lay down with her in her room until she falls asleep...some nights she might wander in looking for you - but she might get used to it, too??? Could you make her room really cool? Ikea had some great stuff.

I co-slept with my son until he was 2 1/2. When he was three and we moved into our own apartment because I had separated from his dad, I was reluctant to make him sleep in his own bed, so it was a very haphazard affair. What we eventually worked out was that we would have "sleep over" nights on a weekend night. That way he could still sometimes sleep in the bed, but he knew that it wouldn't happen on a school night. He also had a few large stuffed animals to guard his bed and keep him safe through the night.
I think that the bed on the floor for your daughter is a great idea. If you resent the situation you are in, you have to change it. Of course, it's going to be harder if your husband is not on the same page with you. Good luck! Your mom instincts will steer you right.

Not sure what others mentioned...so sorry if I am repeating. But I had a bit of the same issues with my girls. I ended up purchasing one of those foam beds that are chairs and you unfold them for the bed. We placed it in our bedroom and called it her special bed. If she needed to come in anytime during the night, she could climb in that bed (that was all ready for her every night), without disturbing anyone! It worked well. As for your oldest getting disturbed because of the baby..I think that would happen even if sleeping in your room wasn't an issue. Maybe just throw that into the whole special bed equation...that if she needs to come in and sleep in her special bed, she needs to be quiet and not disturb, and if the baby or mom wakes her during the night...she just needs to ignore it and stay in the special bed. Sometimes a bit of compromise will work!
K.

My son was still sleeping in our bed when we had our second child. Although he is much younger than your daughter it was very hard to get him to sleep in his big boy bed. He will be 3 in a month and he still tries to sleep in our bed sometimes and in the morning around 5 when daddy gets up for work he crawls into our bed. Whatever we tried to get him in his own bed did not work, so finally i stopped being nice about it and just let him cry until he fell asleep. He still likes to make sure that I am upstairs while he is trying to go to sleep though or he will cry and come downstairs. So I suggest that you tell her gently that she is a big girl and big girls sleep in their own beds. You can help her decorate her room so she likes it and then put her to bed in there. Maybe you can sit in the hallway or in your bedroom and tell her that you are up there with her so she is not alone and eventually she will go to sleep in her room without a fuss. You should make sure to spend extra alone time with her some time during the day though so she doesn't feel left out. Best of luck to you and happy holidays.

Just to reiterate what others have said, we used a mattress in our room first, then slowly got her down to her room - it took a long time, some partial nights in both rooms and even a couple nights of crying in the end (not too bad). I tehn decided that if it was after 5 Am that she called out she could come up to our bed, if before, I would lie with her for two minutes. Eventually she slept all on her own, occasionally she will come up if she is sick or something.

I had the same issue with my now 8yr old daughter. When she was 5 and started school we finally said it was time to break her out of that habit. We told her now that she was in school she was a "big girl" and big girls sleep in their own room. Of course it was NOT that easy. We did EVERYTHING to make her as comfortable as possible! Night lights, we still now keep her bedroom door and our bedroom door open, all of her babys and stuff animals sleep with her. This is silly, but we even turned her bed into a club house. She loved it! Still even after all that she was reluctlant and she would try to crawl in bed with us. You have to remember to stay strong and not give in! She will finally be ok, still not loving it. My daughter loves when my husband is out of town because that's the only time she gets to sleep with me again.:)
I told myself I will never make the same mistake with the next child. It's very hard to break bad habits!

I have had a couple children that liked to sleep in our bed. They never came in till the middle of the night and I usually take them back to there bed and sometimes I let them stay. It is always important that they start off at there own bed. It is important to stick with it and she will eventually stay in her bed longer. Just don't give in.

D.