Bedtime/Sleep
John's Most Recent Articles
Why Hanna Sleeps With Us
Posted on 5/9/2023
My wife, Willie (nee Wilma), and I are the happy caretakers of a happy seventeen-month-old pure white toy schnauzer, Hanna. Hanna occupies the center of our attention. If you spent a day in our...
Read MoreDon't Turn Little Issues Into Big Problems
Posted on 4/11/2023
Q: My almost-3-year-old, when I begin to do something, will yell, “I WILL DO IT!” When it’s something he can do, fine, but if it’s not, then I just say, “No, Mommy will do it” and that’s the end...
Read MoreDrama-Free Bedtime
Posted on 11/29/2022
Q: Several months ago, my husband and I allowed our five-year-old daughter to sleep with us for a couple of nights. We thought this was innocent, but she began crying hysterically when we...
Read MoreIf Bedtime Routine Invites Trouble, Shorten It
Posted on 7/12/2022
Q: We have a 3.5-year-old and each night we have a routine that we go through with her--bath, pajamas, brush, choose two books and read them, sing a couple of songs, and pray before lights out....
Read MoreJust 'Stop It!'
Posted on 10/12/2021
I often find myself telling parents that they need to stop doing something that is counterproductive and, in most cases, contributing significantly to whatever parenting problem is bedeviling...
Read MoreHow To Ensure Your Children Sleep on Their Own
Posted on 5/12/2021
Q: I’m a working single mom with a 4-year-old daughter who won’t go to sleep unless I lie down with her. Plus, if she wakes up in the middle of the night to find I’m no longer in her bed, she...
Read MoreWhy Isn't Your Child Sleeping in Her Own Bed?
Posted on 2/2/2021
Q: In a recent column, you described our five-year-old daughter. She is in bed at 6:30 in the evening but usually wakes up during the night and wants to talk to us about whatever is on her mind....
Read MoreWhen It Comes to Phases, Don't Make Mountains out of Molehills
Posted on 2/25/2020
Q: Our daughter, our first and only, is just short of three-and-one-half. She has recently started coming into our room in the middle of the night and making a request of one sort or another. She...
Read MoreCo-Sleeping Is Detrimental to Marriage
Posted on 9/11/2019
A New York writer named Jonathan Daniel Stern, writing in the August 7, 2019, issue of the e-zine “Fatherly,” laments that co-sleeping has destroyed his marriage. As best as I can figure, Stern...
Read MoreComfort, Not Counseling, Is the Treatment for Nightmares
Posted on 12/21/2016
Q: Our 5-year-old has suddenly started waking up with nightmares. He's not able to describe them with any clarity, however, so we don't know what the content of them is. The most he's able to...
Read MoreRecent Questions
SIBLINGS IN SAME BEDROOM
Posted on 10/26/2024
Within the past few months, we transitioned our 4.5 year old daughter and our currently 23-month old son to a set of bunk beds (has stairs, not a ladder) in preparation for our new baby being...
Read MoreGRANDMA IS RIGHT, BUT....
Posted on 10/22/2024
Good am! My middle son in Cheyenne Wyoming asked us to babysit 3 weeks since her mother who watches him is having back surgery. I said yes too quickly, but should work out. It is an hour drive...
Read More3 YO WAKES UP BEFORE SUNRISE AND WANTS TO ROCK 'N' ROLL!
Posted on 9/22/2024
Early morning wakings are becoming a problem for our 34 month old. He is waking up at 430/5 and waking up his 5 year old brother (they share a room). He naps at daycare from 1230-2 and his bedtime...
Read MoreNap-Time Struggles
Posted on 9/7/2024
We are struggling with nap-time. My 3 yr girl and 2 yr boy always take a nap in the afternoon. If they are at their grandparents’s house and are in separate rooms they go to sleep quickly. But if...
Read MoreB.O. & B.O.!
Posted on 8/29/2024
Hi, a common thread here with my questions but thought I'd ask the experts. My 5 year old grandson is still sleeping in his parents bed. I said something and I think they all realize it has to...
Read MoreEnter the Doctor
Posted on 8/15/2024
I have a 4-year-old who has been having sleeping problems which started about 4 months ago, out of the blue. He had been a good sleeper prior. He decided he was scared at night and didn't want to...
Read MoreWhen Phases and a New Baby Coming Collide
Posted on 7/9/2024
Hi, we transitioned my son to a full bed because he began climbing out of his crib, and it was becoming unsafe. He has always been a great independent sleeper. However, now he requires either me...
Read MoreRetraining will be challenging, possible and necessary.
Posted on 6/24/2024
Due with baby #3 in 9mon… 4yo and 2.5yo still sleeping with mom and dad, 2.5yo not potty trained. Where do we start in retraining our children so that our bed can be child free, and out of diapers...
Read MoreTime to get their attention
Posted on 4/20/2024
Hi I wrote in 10 days ago and never heard back. We’re struggling with bedtime. We have 2 girls, ages 5 and 3. We moved them into the same bedroom about a month ago. We read another response to...
Read MoreChild Sneaking out of Room for Snacks
Posted on 2/17/2024
When using the Doctor Method and sending your kids to bed early, what do you do when your kid is then so well rested, wakes up before everyone else, and rummages through the kitchen? My 5-year-old...
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