sleeping child...

It sounds like this has become a routine for your son. It makes him feel secure and safe. Depending on his age, will depend on how easy it will be to break him of this. Does he have a favorite stuffed animal that he likes to sleep with? If not, get him one. Try laying him down with a soft nightlight, maybe some soft music and his animal. Rub his back for a couple of minutes and then tell him it is time for him to go to sleep and leave the room. I am sure that he will probably cry since this will be new to him. After a few minutes, return to his room, reassure him that everything is ok and tell him good night again. Leave the room. If he continues to cry, wait a couple minutes longer than you did the first time and repeat this process. It may take him nights to realize this is his new bedtime routine, but don't break it. Be consistent and patient. It will all work out in the end. You trained him to go to with you rocking him....now you have to untrain him of that habit and make a new bedtime habit that is easier on all. Good luck.

OH just like me when I was a kid. My mom would rock me.. or tap me in the leg while I attempt to sleep. My mom has been patient anyway... but later of course it fades away when one grows ollder hehe... :)

i work in a childcare centre, and we pat the children to sleep, maybe if your son goes to day care, you could talk to his teachers about this, or you need to stop patting him to sleep. even if you just sat there while he went to sleep then slowly get him use to you not being there all the time so this teach himself to go to sleep when he wants to. its such a common thing in children.

How old is your son? all children are clingy type to their moms they want assurance and love always all the time..its just temporary i guess as per experience in my kids too..as soon as they grow up they will change and sleep on their own..

You don't say how old your little boy is. But I can tell you that the effort you put in to giving your children reassurance of your love and care is never wasted. This stage doesn't last forever... he is not going to grow into a pansy if you give him what he needs now. Time will come when you want him to come sit on your knee for a cuddle and he will independently say No :-) Try putting him down to sleep and just speaking soothingly to him for a bit, as you do some other activity close by. It's a very wild world we live in. It's not surprising that our children need reassurance that they are safe.

When I was helping my daughter with her children I learned that they gradually learned their own positions to lie in when going to sleep. So I would lay them down and let them put themselves to sleep. I told it to my daugher also. My second daughter never wanted to be rocked to sleep. Just lay her down and leave her alone. My third child liked to play with the bulge on my back when I would sew on my sewing machine at the age of three. She would stand there with her thumb in her mouth and watch me sew. But it hurt her when I told her that I did not like it. So each child is unique and we need to know their needs and desires.

When I was little I just went to sleep on my own, usually with the radio on in the background. To this day I still sleep with the radio on and music playing, or news on the BBC. I either listen to AM 740 http://www.am740.ca or the BBC World Service htp://www.bbcworldservice.com carried locally on the University station.

My son also sleps along with me and atleast he has to listen 1 story and he goes to bed but these days he developed a new habit that while sleeping he ants to hold my elbow instead of listening to a story and he is just 2 1/2yrs old and i think he should need somemore time to sleep alone and by himself going to bed.

My son too has that same habit as yours. When he was just a baby I used to rub his back or sometimes a soft tap in his butt will lull him to sleep and sometimes he even wakes up when I stopped doing that but as he grew older I tried to wean him out of it since I really think he doesn't need that everytime he needs a nap or sleep. But I guess being a parent is hard especially when he asks for it nicely I just could not refuse to lull him to sleep again.

My son used to cosleep, so he was used to snuggling under my chin to fall asleep. When he went into his own bed, I'd kind of lay near him on it, I'd kneel and put the top part of my body by him for him to fall asleep. Then after awhile, I'd just sit next to the bed and he'd look at me, then fall asleep. Right now I've made it to the door for him to sleep, it's a gradual process!

i dont have problem like that with my 16 month old son, he always sleep on his ow. even when he is sick or not feeling well, i'll just put him on his bed with his bottle of milk and he'll just doze off. but i do make it a point to visit him from time to time.