Dear Jo

My six yr old daughter has trouble being in any room in the house on her own. This was not always the case but 2 yrs ago her father left and has since stopped seing the children at all. She currently shares a room with her sister as I have no alternative, however I am in a new relationship and we are moving to a big new house where Tilly will have her own room. She is a good little girl and has no behaviour problems but I know that I will find it difficult to use the stay in bed technique as I really do not want her to be frightened in her room. She has been through a lot and is still coming to terms with not seing her dad and I am committed to doing whatever I need to do to get this right and put some structure back into her life. She has a very good and solid relationship with my partner and I feel that this will make a difference to her and make her feel more secure but I dont know what to do for the best with the bedtime routine as i dont know why she is scared.
Please help
Regards
Fiona

hi
if it was me i would let her help set her room up as much as possible from paint colour to bedding and curtains.even let her splash some paint on the walls.we did this with our daughter and she loved it.it made her feel all grown up.and made her a room she wanted. and was comfortable in. she spend lots of time up there.
i cost a bit of money to but she loves it.
money well spent
martin+claire

Hiya, i have been there, neither of mine would sleep in their own room! When my 'partner' moved in, i told them they had to stay in their room, it worked for me! Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. they need their own room and to sleep by themselves. good luck xx