Is Your Child Allowed to Sleep Places Other than the Bed?

I have one that slept in bed with grandpa last night and the other one fell asleep in a recliner flat out on her stomach. Her feet hanging off the foot rest and her head on the crack where the back lays down....so no, I don't have any issues with them sleeping elsewhere. I do love snuggling with the kiddos so I'm glad they like to come crawl in bed with us anytime. I do imagine it will be harder once they get to be teenagers....lol.

Eh, she sleeps, right? And she's not sleeping somewhere unsafe? I say let her have her fun, even if she takes a few more minutes to settle down. It's no worse than my DD and her 5 pillow pets and specific blankets.

I think it's cute, and harmless, and daddy is wrong. She's only 3, enjoy these cute times, and don't get too frantic (dad) over little things.

Let her sleep in the box. And I agree with Bug that it will make her more flexible.

Being able to sleep in other places other than their bed in the proverbial darkened room and the like is a very good thing to learn.
As babies we were on the move all the time. My kids learned super early to nap where ever they were. In the car, in the stroller, in the sling, on a blanket on the floor, in a moses basket. Where ever we were and where ever we could put them that was safe. I would go insane if we had to plan our days around being home at nap time because they can't sleep anywhere else.
What you are doing sounds like so much fun! It's not an all the time thing. 20 minutes extra isn't that big of a deal every so often.

Meh, I think you're right...in her room, adapting to different places to sleep, and choosing your battles, as long as she will still take no for an answer. My 5 year old ends up on the floor half the time...I honestly don't care~ I'm just so darn thrilled she stays in her room and sleeps!!

When our daughter was 8, we were staying at a lake house where there was a Papason chair in the living room. Our daughter insisted on sleeping in it like a nest. She fell in love with it and decided to save up for one.

Sure enough she purchase one and then we gave her a beautiful Canopy to go above and around it.. She lslept in it many times. She also has always loved sleeping bags, so many nights she would camp out on her floor,

Some nights when she was restless, I would give her a choice of sleeping with her feet at her headboard and her head at the foot board. She always thought this was a treat.. Such an easy thing to give her so she could feel like she had a last "choice" for bedtime.

How fun! I see no harm :)

Your husband needs to allow her to enjoy her childhood for a while. If she doesn't have sleep disturbance issues, isn't trying to come out of her room half the night and isn't crying to sleep with you guys, you're pretty lucky. I promise you that when she starts school, she'll be so worn out that she'll fall asleep straight away, no matter what she is sleeping on.

Well, I've slept in a makeshift tent in the bathtub with my son before. Yeah...we let him sleep in lots of places. I actually think it's really great for kids to be flexible like that. I just went on vacation and other parents were lamenting how their kids were so overtired and wouldn't take naps or anything. Not my kid. He slept anywhere when he was tired. We had a lovely, rest filled vacation.

I really don't think its a big deal.
At that age, especially, they have phases like that.
My kids both did, too.
So what.
They are kids. Its fun.
When I was a kid we slept in fun places in the house too. My parents let me.
One day she will ONLY sleep in a bed.
My kids do.
I did once I grew up. LOL

Your daughter is only 3.

Yup.

But then I grew up sleeping in cars, trains, planes, boats, hotels (normal and weird ones... Like honeycomb style that are more like coffins... Asia). In addition to normal sleepovers on floors, tents and camping, in strange beds, etc.

My mum could never understand people who stayed home and never did anything with their kids because their kids were so rigid they could only sleep in their same bed. (Even sleepovers were problematic).

My favorite "weird" place to sleep was in my parents record collection box when it was emptied out (moving every 6mo-2years). My sons favorite were place was the laundry basket.

((As a travelling family... We never brought bassinets. A dresser drawer with a blanket in it makes a perfect bassinet, and nearly every hotel/ hostel/ home has a dresser drawer that can be pulled out and placed on the floor/bed. When we got older, my mum used a mesh laundry bag across the closet door to create a "play pen". The pack n play that fits in your pocket. Literally.))

I was raised this way... I raised my son in the same way. Score! Love it when I don't have to reinvent the wheel! (So does my mum, she hates it when I go 180 from how she did things.)

As long as my kids were in their rooms, I could have cared less where they slept.

Your DD consistently goes to sleep, in her room, when you tell her to go to sleep. She just likes to sleep in boxes, tents, forts, etc. in her room. And she climbs into bed and sleeps there if asked.

I see no problem here. As a matter of fact, I can think of at least 5 mommas on this board who have asked for sleep advice in the last week who would LOVE to have this "problem."

I see nothing wrong with it. In fact I think the fact that she is sleeping in a box tonight VERY CUTE!

I agree that children need to have fun and be kids. Not everything needs to be so controlled. It's her way of doing things and isn't harming her or anyone else. It's not a big deal, imo.

My children sleep in their beds, but then again they never ask to sleep anywhere else. If little man asked to sleep in a box..hey go for it!

I remember as a child making "forts" with my cousins and we slept in them.

Good times!!!

I see no problem, but we have always put her to bed.

I think it's just fine! My son had a tent in his room at about that age and slept in it EVERY night!!!!

What a fun M.!

I see no harm in it.... I do understand his point about a sleep routine, but you don't want her so enmeshed in THAT particular routine that she has a hard time sleeping anywhere else......

You are letting her make some fun memories! I don't see a problem with occasional "camp outs" in her room. My son only sleeps in his bed, but that's his choice. No naps on the couch, floor, etc. Sleeping is for his room in his bed. He may be a bit OCD.

Daddy doesn't need to worry. Right now, your daughter is interested in this adventurous routine. It won't go on forever. She'll start to appreciate her wonderful bed. Let her sleep where she likes, as long as you approve the location beforehand, and as long as she *does* sleep and isn't grumpy the next day. Grumpiness is a deal-breaker.

My kids enjoyed various bedding-down sites, including tents, forts, the back yard, and many others. My older son took to sleeping on the floor of his room for a good long while when he was in sixth grade or so. The bed was right next to him, but he thought floor-sleeping was manly. In seventh grade I could hardly pull him out of the BED in the mornings...

A week or so ago we cleaned out Kiddo's room and his closet was converted to a cozy nest reading area-- I just need to buy a little tap-light or something similar for that area. He wanted to sleep in it--until 3 a.m., when he 'heard something tapping' and then that all ended rather unceremoniously by Grumpy Mom, who put Kiddo back in his regular bed. You wake me up? The fun ends. Otherwise, I'm okay if he wants to try new things. Probably would ask him to defer trying out a new sleeping arrangement if it was a school night-- he can wait until the weekend nights in that case.

When he was little, we offered him a tent as well. He did pretty well with it for a couple nights.

When my DD was 3.5, we finally gave up the crib and converted it to a toddler bed, but she went through a phase of wanting to sleep in her bean bag chair on the floor. It made my husband kinda nutty but she slept fine and I figured as long as she was sleeping in her room on her own, I couldn't have cared less. As soon as we got her a regular bed, she gave up the bean bag chair.

I'm of the theory that so long as they sleep, I don't care were.

I've had some sleep in boxes, I had one who slept under the kitchen table for a few weeks. I've found them under their beds, instead of on top. Heck my it's not unusual to find my 19 year old asleep in the kitchen. Not sure why everyone likes to sleep in the kitchen either lol

As long as she is sleeping good, go for it, they are only young once.

hee hee...cute! :)
my son's the same way. his "disneyland dad" bought him a huge expensive Cars bed. That child is nearing 5 yrs old & hasn't slept in that thing for 2 yrs. He just prefers the play tent like you mentioned but mostly the floor. He's got a pallet, bedtime routine, etc. No problems. His dad tried to buy his love since we're not together, but HA! waste of money, lol :)
No problem w/this at all. I've asked a similar question somewhere along the way & was told not to even make this any kind of issue at all. Not worth it. :) You're a good mama & your baby girl enjoys it and most importantly, what's the harm?! :)
My son gets my snuggles at my bedtime stories at night...now THAT'S what's important. :)

Totally fine, and fun! My kids all did it at one time or another.

Yep. She had a little Pocahontas tent in the living room and she had a refrigerator box that she had made into a playhouse, and she sometimes slept in those. No big deal.

i'm with you. if they're sleeping, what's the harm?
my older boy was a monkey. when he wouldn't quit climbing out of his crib, we got him his big-boy bed, but he wasn't interested. so for about a year he slept in his 'bear bed' which was just a big pile of stuffed animals on the floor next to his bed. he climbed in the middle of them and snuggled in with his blankies and was happy as a lark. 'making his bed' involved us putting the 'buddies' in a neat row on his bed until the next night.
even when he grew out of that stage he liked to snuggle. we had a nice routine for years when he would wake up when my husband, who leaves very early for work, was getting ready, and he'd come in and sleep with me until it was time to get up.
my younger was welcome to do so too, of course, but he wasn't interested. he just liked sleeping in his own bed.
of course they both enjoyed adventures where they 'camped out' in the living room, or in sleeping bags outside.
if she's sleeping in her unconventional places, she's not playing, is she? routine is important, but it sounds as if she's getting that. one of the main reasons to HAVE a bedtime routine is so that you can apply it even when you're not home, so i agree with you that it's useful AND fun to practice it when you are.
nothing wrong with bedtime being fun, so long as she actually does go to sleep.
:) khairete
S.

I had to reply to this as my daughter and I spent from 4am-630am this morning on the couch together!!! She's too big to sleep with us (1st grade) and didn't want to go back to her own bed at 4am so I told her we could sleep on the couch together!!

I agree, childhood is too short to worry about sleeping locations. My hubby great up in a huge family where people just slept where ever (yes they had their own beds but often one or two would fall asleep on the couch or in mom and dad's bed since his dad worked nights). Our kids do not sleep in bed WITH us (they just move around too much) but they used to co-sleep a lot). Now if one of them is sick or it's close to the time I have to go to work, I'll let them have my 1/2 of the bed and sleep on the couch. Or if hubby is already up for work on the weekends and one of them comes in, they can sleep with me. So we're pretty flexible but 99.99% of the time they sleep in their beds :)

I am with you. Childhood is too short! If she is happy and sleeps who cares. Oh to be silly and just have pure fun! I can see hubby's point, but our way of thinking wins lol. Have fun little one!!!! Sleep tight!!!!

If your child thrives on routine, then it might not be the best idea, but if your child can go on happily even with a disruption to the norm then allow sleep to be in a box once a month.

For a compromise, you may even want to make it once a month, and she has to "cash in" a token to be able to do it. I do agree that a compromise may be best here.

I think it's important for kids to learn to sleep in different environments. I can't imagine having to limit our traveling or other activities because their life was so structured around their own bedrooms/bedtimes. We camp with them every year and they can sleep pretty much anywhere. They also love to sleep in the living room (couch, floor) in the summer time to stay up late and watch movies. If they aren't upstairs, that means Mr. Talkstotrees and I can make a bit more noise ;)

I'm all for routine, and we have lots of routine in our house. One routine is that when the boys have friends sleep over they sleep on the sofa in the rec-room or the living-room, or they sleep in a tent in the back yard. They will even sleep in on the sofa on a weekend night if they don't have a friend sleep over. It is a treat. They have spent most of the summer in the tent in the back yard. Ad good as it is to have routines, it is also good to get used to sleeping in places other than bed. Someday she will go for a sleepover, or on vacation or to camp and be able to sleep somewhere other than her own bed.