Kids sleeping on the floor

[Eastbayk]

For whatever reason, my son has decided that he prefers to sleep on the floor, in his "nest" with a few blankets and pillows instead of on his bed. He tends to gravitate towards small spaces between his bed and the wall or even under his bed, so I think it's a coziness thing more than anything. I have slept on his bed and so have guests at our house and no one has had a complaint about the bed, so I don't think it's because the bed is uncomfortable.

My feeling is that if that's where he prefers to sleep, and he is sleeping, then it's fine. There are other battles that are more important and he'll grow out of it one day. DH, on the other hand, insists that he needs to sleep in the bed and that he could be doing damange to his bones by sleeping on the floor. Kidzilla sleeps on his side a lot and I think dad is worried that he's going to wind up with some hip problems in the future.

How problematic could it be for a kid to sleep on the carpeted floor for a month at a time? Is it a habit I really should look into changing?

Thanks!

Kim

[katbuad]

I don't have any childern, so please take my opinion with a grain of salt. . . but I agree with you. Not worth the battle and sleeping in a nest on carpet floors couldn't hurt too bad long term.

Maybe there is a compromise that can be reached. Can the bed be made more "cave like"? Can you make a tent/fort/cave with blankets and the head and foot boards? That way father and son have the best of both worlds.

[Brenda]

Kim,
My 6 yr old LOVES the floor or the couch he has in his room. I've tried numerous times to get him to sleep in his nice cozy bed, but he insists on sleeping elsewhere. What's the harm? He's sleeping. And sometimes I think he sleeps a lot better adn is a lot nicer in the morning. Man, my 6 yr old son is a MAJOR grump in the morning, on school days. How is it that when there is school you can't get them up at 7. But if there is no school they are up at 6?

My dh says the same thing about bones and needing to be on a matress, blah, blah, blah. But we really don't listen to him, lol. I figure my son will just outgrow this phase of "caving" and realize how much comfier the bed is.
I say don't sweat the small stuff!

[czechmate]

When my son was 3 yrs old, he wanted to take his naps and then sleep overnight in his closet!

He had the traditional reach-in with sliding doors. We layed his sleeping bag down and added a pillow and blankets. He demanded the door to be shut completely -- which made me nervous.
So I would turn on his ceiling fan and the second he fell asleep, I would crack open the closet door for ventilation.

As long as it's safe, I say let him sleep where he wants.

Jen

[christykay]

I would have to agree, if he is safe and he is sleeping well, what's the harm?

I had to chuckle when reading your post because the "nest" actually sounds fun and comfy. If it wasn't comfortable I'm sure he wouldn't be sleeping there. Leave it to the boys right?

When my son was 2 1/2 he grew very attached to his cowboy boots and would NOT take them off. The only time those stinky little suckers came off was for bath time and to change the dirty socks in them. (Well that is until he learned that if you don't wear socks in the boots then you don't have to take the boots off to change them. Smarty-pants) Anyhow...the kid wore these boots all day long and even wore them to bed EVERY single night. I'm sure we could have demanded that he take them of before bed, but honestly what was the harm? He loved his boots and they made him happy. No harm.

Like others have said before me, sometimes you just have to choose your battles. I say take a picture and remember these fun times. One of my favorite photos is of my little guy in a pair of underwear with his boots on and nothing else, but a great big grin. Ohh, how I miss those days.

[stellaandcorasmommy]

check out ikea...they have a tent structure that goes over a bed in their childrens' section. my friend's son loves his tent and has slept in his big boy bed so much more comfortably once she added it. i think it would give him the coziness that he is looking for, while also staying on his bed...but you might have to remove it before company comes to use it...
if not...i say let him be. be thankful that he is sleeping...i wouldn't think it would hurt him in anyway and he'll grow out of that phase before you know it. and i agree with chrisykay...take lots of pictures...good blackmail for the future!

[SeatClutcher]

I went through a phase of hating my bed when I was little. I slept better pretty much anywhere else (but mostly the floor).

I wouldn't worry about it. Why, in many cultures, they don't even have beds. If he's sleeping, he's sleeping. If he weren't sleeping, I'd worry more.

[Bigsweetie]

When my parents moved into a new house my little brother refused to sleep in his bed, let alone his room! He slept on the floor next to my parents bed. As a matter of fact, he slept there all through middleschool. In highschool he slept on the couch. I always found it wierd. Even when he went away to college and would come home on the weekends, he'd rarely sleep in his room...he crashed on the couch.

I say if he's little then let him do it, but watch for it to become a longterm pattern. You don't want him sleeping on the floor in college! LOL!

[Kristie]

heck, i still sleep better on the couch than on a bed any day of the week!!

if it were a car, i'd suggest changing that habit but since it's not motion related then i don't see any harm either unless there's bugs around.

[Dana]

HUUMM. As a mother who raise 3 girls.... one who still doesn't sleep in her bed in her late 20 something...... and the youngest at 22, don't worry about it..... as long as he is getting restful seep that is all that matters!

I have not heard anything about the "bone development" by sleeping on the floor. I guess anything is possible. If he is changing positions on the floor, that is what is important to me.

We are seeing a lot of problems with infants who are sleeping on their backs only with head molding. I suppose if a child were to sleep in the same position on a hard surface, anything is possible, likely, they are changing positions themselves.