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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Could Be Done To Make A 6 Year Old To Sleep Alone?

Please help me to get my 6yr old to stay asleep at night. It is my fault because i had him sleeping in my bed with me from birth til he was 5 because i was single and his dad had been physically abusive. But since he was 5 i have been trying to get him to sleep in his own bed and to stay asleep but have alot of trouble keeping him asleep he wakes like 5 to 6 times a night until i allowed him to have a tv in his room. HUGE mistake of mine now he still comes and wakes me up plus when i take him back to his bed he sneaks the tv on and watches movies all night and difts in and out of sleep. I spoke to my Doctor about this and he suggested i give him a antihistamine medicine as a sedation method but this still does not work to keep him alseep and once he gets to school he struggles to concentrate and becomes very drowsy and sluggish. Please help me i feel really guilty because if i sleep with him he does not wake up at all but he needs to sleep on his own because he is a big boy now and i have a 6 month old baby now and i am getting no sleep between both of them
Mon, 26 Oct 2015
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Psychologist,  's  Response
Dear
Welcome to HCM
We understand your concerns

I went through your details. I think you exhausted all the options available in the books and you learned from your experiences. I suggest you to talk to your parents or elders. They should have some expert solutions.

You need to be somewhat rude to the child. You do not like it, I know. But to gain some benefit, you need to do that. Remove the TV from his room. Use the reward and punishment method. Reward him with some silly items which he likes (*not chocolates, costly items etc.) when he sleeps to a given target time. Use mild passive punishment techniques when he misbehaves and fails to keep promises. Should take time. Do not get frustrated. You will succeed.

If you require more of my help in this aspect, please use this URL. http://goo.gl/aYW2pR. Make sure that you include every minute details possible.

Hope this answers your query. Available for further clarifications.
Good luck. Take care.
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What Could Be Done To Make A 6 Year Old To Sleep Alone?

Dear Welcome to HCM We understand your concerns I went through your details. I think you exhausted all the options available in the books and you learned from your experiences. I suggest you to talk to your parents or elders. They should have some expert solutions. You need to be somewhat rude to the child. You do not like it, I know. But to gain some benefit, you need to do that. Remove the TV from his room. Use the reward and punishment method. Reward him with some silly items which he likes (*not chocolates, costly items etc.) when he sleeps to a given target time. Use mild passive punishment techniques when he misbehaves and fails to keep promises. Should take time. Do not get frustrated. You will succeed. If you require more of my help in this aspect, please use this URL. http://goo.gl/aYW2pR. Make sure that you include every minute details possible. Hope this answers your query. Available for further clarifications. Good luck. Take care.