Dr. Mom's advice on raising sound little sleepers

Stop it
I am a mother of two, aged seven and five. Your question seems to be a common one. Children are smart. Letting them get away with crawling into your bed just once will allow them to think they can do it again and again.

Mine have tried to do this on occasion, but my trick is to get up immediately as soon as I hear their little feet patter on the floor and walk them back to bed and explain to them that they have to sleep in their own bed and that this is their room.

Sometimes, you have to go a step further in letting them know that you are just across the hallway and you can leave their door open a little bit, along with a nightlight in their room. If they are still not quite settling down, I then turn their clock radio on to a nice and quiet station.
-S. Repchull, Lower Sackville, N.S.

Work on a solution together
Being afraid of the dark is simply just being afraid of what's in the dark -- a feeling many of us have at any age. Children have vivid imaginations, so the darkness of a room may play nasty tricks on them, which is only enhanced when a lack of sleep sets in.

I had the same problem with my two children night after night, and since most of us don't have a bed to fit three to four people it would seem lack of sleep is for all to share. I sat down with my kids and asked them how can we fix this because it must be fixed. “Let us sleep in your bed” was the first answer. Then it was “leave the light on.” OK, I can do that for a while.

It worked for a couple of nights with a bit more horseplay going on but it was a start. The solution ended up being a nightlight (a bright one) and soft music (a CD called Dreamland). I had to keep this up for some time, but it worked: they slept and so did I.

If the situation is between a brother and sister who sleep in separate rooms, you might try letting them sleep in the same room.
-Susan Henry

Take comfort our of your room
Our children often tried to come and sleep with us when they were scared.
This didn't work at all, as they were the only ones who ended up sleeping, kicking us out of our own bed.

We made a rule: they could sleep in our room, on the floor and without a pillow when they were scared. It didn't take them long to realize it was cold and uncomfortable there and they were much happier, snug in their own bed with their special toy.
-Linda Gray

Catch their dreams
Try a dream catcher for an older child who is afraid of bad dreams or monsters. This little confidence booster helps a lot. For younger kids, a cuddle buddy who is there all night long is great.

We found that just reminding our children that we were there, but were very boring after bedtime, helped them go to bed and stay there.
-Marianne Dunn, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.