quote:

Originally posted by Caley:
[qb]Hi Leigh
welcome to the 5 year old world - I live their as well, my daughter has just entered the stubbord or the selective hearing stage as I call it.

My son is 17 now and I was in the same situation as you many moons ago - although he did not share my bed (only because he was a fidget specialist and I am a light sleeper)but he would start off and fall asleep i my bed all the time, my friends kid is 8 and the little horror makes his way into his parents bed nearly every night much to their discomfort -but he won't can't stop because they let him do it for years. I don't think it will adversely effect your son in any way apart from the fact that he has not been taught to be able to sleep and feel secure in bed on his own - this is not a problem as long as you are always able to be their for him, if you meet someone or do move into a bigger home be prepared that he may not give up his rights to your company. I would advise that in order to make him less dependant get 2 single beds while he is still young.

The name thing is completely normal, both my kids discovered my first name and used it to its full potential, only because they heard people calling me it and copied, just ignore him if he calls you by your name and tell 'I'm mommy' he'll soon drop the novelty.[/qb]

quote:

Originally posted by leigh:
[qb]I am a single mom of a 5-year-old boy. His dad has never been in the picture, but my son is in a good preschool with several male role models. Overall, he is a wonderful child except lately he has been very headstrong and stubborn about everything..with the following being the highlights of my concerns:

1. Two months ago, my son started referring to me by my first name instead of "mommy". He started doing this after hearing my family call me by my first name while we were visiting during a lengthy visit. Should I be concerned about this? Should I make him refer to me as "mommy" or ignore it? It feels odd to me and I wonder about the psychological consequences of him not referring to me as mommy.

2. He has been sleeping in my room since he was in infant. It all started after my divorce and all I could afford was a one-bedroom apartment. I have a huge futon with a big divider down the middle (kind of a body pillow divider that I came up with). We are in the same one-bedroom apt and we cannot afford to upgrade right now. In the past, it never occured to me that the bed-sharing could be a problem. But now that he is 5 years old, I'm wondering if I should begin sleeping in the livingroom or moving a bed for him on the other side of the room. I'm very concerned that the bed-sharing will have some adverse affect on him...but I don't know! Any advice would be appreciated!

Thank you![/qb]