4 Years Old & Still Waking All Night

[kristeno]

My daughter is 4 years old and wakes all night long. We have no idea what is causing it or how to stop it. She wakes all the way up, comes into our room, wakes up my husband, & will only go back to sleep & stay in her room if he stays on her floor. It feels like we've tried everything, but it's tricky because she shares a room with her 2 year old brother. Is there a trick with this age? She does not care for incentives for bedtime. She falls asleep quickly every night & will sleep through the night only if she's dead tired -- like, if we went to the zoo for the entire day & didn't fall asleep in the car on the way home.

She typically wakes at 730A, no nap. Bedtime routine starts at 8P & both kids are typically asleep by 830P.

[Katet]

Four years old waking at night can be complicated. Mild pain from growing, some Separation Anxiety, habit, some fear from a previous experience.
Things like preschool/school can be factors too
The fact she sleeps well after busy days may also be that she's low sleep need and 11 hours is too long and she's not mentally and physically tired enough.
For me I'd be most inclined to think it's a separation anxiety link and for my children the best trick I found was to set up a couple of blankets and a pillow on the floor beside my bed and let said child (both did it)  come in and settle on the floor in our room...they both grew out of the need in a few weeks.

[kristeno]

Thank you! It helps a lot to know that we’re not missing something, but that it could just be one of the things we've already been considering. She IS low sleep needs as well. We’ll try setting up a spot for her on our floor if she needs it for the future and maybe wake her up a little earlier in the mornings.