Does your child come into your bed at night? 

It is my experience that about 95 per cent of dads wish their bed to be a private place, slightly less so with mums. In some cases it is hard on a parent especially if that parent is alone. Children who are sick or genuinely frightened will always have a rightful place in their parent's bed. 

Sleep is very important to the sanity of parents and I believe that children should be excluded from our beds if at all possible.

Some techniques I encourage include the following, there is a problem:
1. The moment the child appears he/she should be put back to his/her own bed immediately.
2. If the child returns, give a stern warning and if possible, have the other parent return him/her to bed.
3. If s/he returns a third time doors could be immobilised such as by using a therapeutic little wedge, but parents need to persevere and calmly and gently take the child back to bed. A controlled crying technique could be used.

The middle of the night is no time to be playing games and it is up to the individual parent to decide whether to tolerate their child's behaviour or to have a showdown. It is worth being firm, because the chances of a quick and permanent cure are excellent.

If sleep problems persist there might be other reasons which may need to explored. For advice on this and the controlled crying technique please contact me and I may be able to help.