I don't know if anyone else has had this problem but my son will not sleep in his bed. Instead he sleeps on the floor of his bathroom that he has in his room. He is potty trained and used to sleep in his bed. He used to sleep in the bathroom when we had a night light in there and then slept in his bed when we took it out. He wanted his bedroom light on at night and now he sleeps back in the bathroom. We thought maybe the bed he had was too uncomfortable or high off the ground and bought him his favorite character bed (Thomas) and he loves it but went back to sleeping in the bathroom. I don't know what else to do. It's wintertime and I'm afraid he'll get a cold from having his head down on the floor. How do I get him to sleep in his bed again? Maybe it is another phase but it makes me feel bad because he wants to sleep on the floor instead of his bed which I know he really likes. He's still covered with a heavy blanket and he takes his pillow in there but I don't want him sleeping in the bathroom. Is it part of his autism and there just isn't a reason? Sorry this is so long but it's frustrating and need some ideas.
Maybe you could try putting a nightlight, perhaps a Thomas one since he really likes Thomas, and tell him that he gets to have it on only if he sleeps in his bed. I wouldn't make it too comfortable for him in the bathroom, afterall, there are germs etc. in the bathroom. I wouldn't even give him a blanket or pillow. That way he would be more likely to sleep in his bed than the floor.
Maybe he is afraid of the height of his bed, take his Thomas bed out and put a twin mattress on the floor and see if that works. You could also have him sleep in a sleeping bag on top of his bed, maybe that would work. I am trying to think of options you could use.
Be creative. You could try using some incentives, like if he stays in his bed, use a sticker chart and give him a sticker for every time he sleeps in his bed. At the end of a week, give him a special treat or a special trip somewhere close to where you live. We have a children's indoor playground and I use that as an incentive after earning a week of stickers. This reward gives two for the price of one, they get to expel extra energy and they are tired when the come home. You know they love it when they don't want to leave!
I hope some of these suggestions are helpful.
Good luck,
Cheryl
Have you asked him why he prefers the bathroom floor? We just bought my daughter, 12, a loft bed a couple months ago b/c her room is small, and were dismayed when she started sleeping UNDER it on the hard floor! She finally told us she was afraid of falling out -- oddly, the safety rail didn't come OVER her mattress. Yesterday, my husband extended the safety rail, and she slept IN her bed!
One reason kids often avoid their beds is they don't want to mess it up.. that's another reason my daughter gave. It drives me crazy, b/c I told her I would gladly make her bed.
Honestly, I don't know if I would turn this into a huge battle.. yes, you hate to see a perfectly good bed go unused, but I am sure with enough blankets the floor is warm enough. My daughter's room is FREEZING, but she never complains and has plenty of blankets and a sleeping bag. Yeah, the floor may be germy, but enough to make him sick?? Hmm, I doubt it.
Well my son who is 10 has never slept in his own bed and still sleeps with me. he has his own bed but he just will not do it. when i try to force the issue he will either melt down or he will like he did last night sit on the side of his bed in the dark very sad looking and i cant take it so i finally say ok come on. im a sucker LOL
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." - robert frost
My son has his room decked out in his favorite characters, but will always complain about laying in his bed. It turns out, the sheets and stuff we got are really stiff still, because of the fabric used to make all of it. He says it's itchy, and he just cannot get comfortable. He'd rather sleep in the livingroom some nights.
Me, on the other hand, I wouldn't sleep in my own bed until I was like, 13 or 14. I slept with my mom... my poor mother, haha. But I had absolutely nothing against the bed. I just wasn't that comfortable actually sleeping in there. I would play and all, and sit in there for hours by myself, but when it was time to sleep, I just liked my mom's bed better.
Maybe it's like that for him-he just feels more comfortable in there for whatever reason.
Things you could try... hmmm... maybe take him to the store, and unzip the packages a little bit for the sheets/bedding and let him feel each, then let him pick for himself. He may love Thomas, but it just might not be comfortable.
Maybe he likes the smaller area of the bathroom. A bed tent maybe would make him feel more cozy?
I would say maybe try a sleeping bag on the floor in his room, but it seems the bathroom has some connection of some sort for sure... and usually bathrooms are much smaller than bedrooms. That is why I was thinking maybe a bed tent, or a curtain around the bed-kind of like in hospital rooms, that way the room isn't quite so big to look at when he is trying to go to sleep. It could be that there is just too much distraction in his room to feel comfortable sleeping, and he knows it's not like that in the bathroom.
It could also just be that he's gotten himself into a routine of sorts. Like, he'll sleep in his room for a little bit, then move to the bathroom, then room a bit longer, then bathroom again. I don't know what that would be besides routine of some sort for him. Even if there isn't a certain amount of days that goes by before it, it seems to be a pattern.
Also, he could just be craving a change in scenery. I switch around my livingroom (the room I spend most of my time in) once every few months. I think it's because everything else I do is so incredibly routine, that that is kind of like my break from it.
What has helped my son so far, is to lose the kids blankets and sheets. Sure, he loves them, he thinks they are absolutely awesome to have, but even he realizes that they just aren't working. He got some silky adult sheets and a really soft comforter and sleeps in it much more often than he used to.
I am still very new to this as my daughter was just given an offical Autism diagnosis on Friday. She is two and has been sleeping on the floor of her bedroom for months. She shares the room with her older sister and even if she starts out in Bed, will move to the floor in the middle of the night. Sometimes in front of the door and sometimes just in the middle of the floor. Always with her pillow and blanket.
pj sleeps in his bed for the most part in his bed with his blanket over his head now i do make sure its one of his light blankets with a heaver one over the light one just over his body ... now hes a hard sleeper when he finaly gets to sleep . he has so much going on in his lil head that he cant turn off his mind then he just finally falls out and we have found him on the floor with a car in his hand like he just shut down. in the middle of playing we got a picture of him sleeping where he played. i might have a problem with him in the bathroom (cat box is in there ewe) heres a pic of him sleeping where he we woke him up bc it must be uncomphy we asked him why he was sleeping there ... i have to protect willow he said ....
Quoting starborn05:
I don't know if anyone else has had this problem but my son will not sleep in his bed. Instead he sleeps on the floor of his bathroom that he has in his room. He is potty trained and used to sleep in his bed. He used to sleep in the bathroom when we had a night light in there and then slept in his bed when we took it out. He wanted his bedroom light on at night and now he sleeps back in the bathroom. We thought maybe the bed he had was too uncomfortable or high off the ground and bought him his favorite character bed (Thomas) and he loves it but went back to sleeping in the bathroom. I don't know what else to do. It's wintertime and I'm afraid he'll get a cold from having his head down on the floor. How do I get him to sleep in his bed again? Maybe it is another phase but it makes me feel bad because he wants to sleep on the floor instead of his bed which I know he really likes. He's still covered with a heavy blanket and he takes his pillow in there but I don't want him sleeping in the bathroom. Is it part of his autism and there just isn't a reason? Sorry this is so long but it's frustrating and need some ideas.
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That is odd, and I have never heard of something like that. Kids will do the strangest thigs sometimes. I know mine does.
I would tell him no to the bathroom sleeping. I would get a latch and put it at the top of the door and latch it at night so he couldn't go in there. If he wants to sleep in the floor of his room fine...but not the bathroom (that is nasty and germy). But that is me and how I would handle it. Does he start in the bed and then get out, or do you put him down in the bathroom from the start? How long has this been going on?
Does he take any meds for sleep? My son takes Melatonin and it knocks him right out...no matter where he is, but we have a very strict bedtim routine. He is always in his bed. If you give your son some Melatonin 1 hour before betime and you stay in the room with him in the bed until he falls asleep, he might stay there.
I would try that if you don't already do the Melatonin, which is verycommon for Autistic kids since they don't like to sleep.
Good luck.
I THINK MAYBE IT IS A PHASE. MY SON WAS DOING THE SAME THING. HE WOULD SLEEP IN THE HALL, THE BATHROOM, AND EVEN THE KITCHEN. HE WOULD GET UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND GO SLEEP ON THE SOFA. HE SLEEPS IN HIS BED MOST OF THE TIME NOW. THEN SOMETIMES HE SLEEPS WHERE HE WANTS. JUST MAKE SURE HE,S SAFE.
I can't put a latch on the door because he has to be able to use his bathroom at night. Even though he is on medication it is not for sleeping and that wouldn't cause him to get up to go to the bathroom. He can't tell me why he sleeps in there because he doesn't speak in full sentences as of yet where I ask him and he tells me why. He's autistic, he doesn't talk like that. Maybe it is the sheets and it's uncomfortable. I know it's not the blanket because he takes that with him. We've tried the nightlight it doesn't work. I hope it is just a phase. I'm not taking his blanket and pillow away, his room gets cold and he'll freeze. A lot of ideas and suggestions. Thank you for all your help.
I just wanted to say again, you have to pick your battles..is this really that important? Yes, it's odd, but I dunno.... I feel that sleep is so important, I would want my daughter to feel comfortable and secure...
Even now, sometimes my daughter [the one with the loft bed, 12..] sleeps on the sofa, and sometimes she sleeps in her big sister's room on the floor in her sleeping bag.
And there are more germs in your kitchen sink than in the bathroom! So.. maybe draw the line at the kitchen sink, LOL??
Anyone tried the BODY ECOLOGY diet?
- starborn05
on Feb. 1, 2010 at 8:24 AM