Jessica Berk
Stop your sneaky, room-invading kid!
Have you ever woken up to find your sneaky toddler snoozing next to you and you have no idea when they even crawled into your bed?
Maybe you get up to go to the bathroom and notice a little guest has dragged in his blanket and made himself a cot on your floor without making a peep?
You’ve got to give them credit for being sneaky little ninjas… but with the right tools, you can outsmart your kiddo and prevent this room-invasion from happening.
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I’ve heard stories about sneaky, room-invading kids for years. Parents wake up surprised to find their kid sleeping in the bed next to them, or find their child sleeping at the foot of the bed or even on the floor next to them.
They wake up thinking – “When did little Tommy sneak in here? I didn’t hear anything!”
If you don’t want your child to end up in your room every night, you have the power to make it stop. But first we’ve got to start with some tough love, because YOU have as much responsibility in this situation as your child does.
By not preventing your little one from coming into your room, you’re allowing it.
Your inaction is delivering the message that it’s okay.
You may not think you’re not really “allowing” it because he’s so quiet and sneaky that you don’t even wake up, but that’s not an excuse.
You have to look at the situation from his perspective. And by not stopping it, you’re allowing it.
When you allow it to happen, you’re sending the message that it’s acceptable. That’s why it keeps happening.
Look at this a different way…
If your child was 13 and sneaking his cell phone into his room to play games all night, would you ignore it? No. You’d put some controls in place to make sure your rules are being followed all day and all night.
So, let’s dig a little deeper into why this sneaky room invasion keeps happening and why you’ve let it go on…
You probably don’t know what else to do!
If you have to acknowledge that Tommy is coming into your room, that means you have to wake up and do something about it in the middle of the night. And that’s not fun!
Maybe allowing him in has been the path of least resistance for a while. But it’s gotten out of hand, and you’ve been trying to figure out how to sleep train your toddler for the last time. Now that you’re here looking for answers, it’s time to make it stop.
Acknowledge the permissive role you’ve been playing and let’s move forward to make a change.
The first step is catching him in the process. Kids can be very quiet and very sneaky, but they’re not professional home invaders. Once you really want to catch them, it’s not hard.
There are a few things you can do:
Lock your bedroom door. If your door is locked, they can’t sneak in. They’ll have to knock to wake you up. That’s your chance to stop them from coming in and get them back to their room.
Another idea is to hang a bell on your bedroom door so you’ll be alerted when the door opens.
You can also hang a bell on their bedroom door so you’ll be alerted by their door.
You could also buy a cheap motion detector on Amazon that makes a ringing sound when someone walks by. You’ll know your child is on the move and you can intercept them before they sneak into your room.
As you can see, there are many ways to prevent your sneaky kid from getting into your room.
I think the harder part is admitting that you’ve been allowing it and figuring out what to do instead.
Join me in my next free toddler sleep masterclass to learn more about setting up a plan to get your child sleeping through the night alone in their own room with no wake ups. Save your spot at:
As the mom to two amazing little girls, I realized just how important sleep was to me when I wasn't getting any! When your 3 year old refuses to go to bed or your 4 year old keeps waking you up at 2AM, no one in the house sleeps well.
That's why I got certified as a child sleep consultant and developed the REST Method® which has transformed sleep for thousands of moms who felt skeptical and hopeless before they found me.
I'm a busy mom just like you who needs her 8 hours of sleep!
If you’re tired of piecing together advice from blogs, social media, and late-night Google searches, Awesome Little Sleepers gives you a clear path forward. Choose the online course if you want a step-by-step plan you can customize and follow on your own, or choose 1-on-1 coaching if you want personalized support and accountability.
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