My boyfriend and his almost 4 year old moved in with me about 4 months ago. I don't have any children of my own and have never really been around them for long periods of time but I've taken to my new "stepmother" role willingly, asking as many questions about the process as I can. Most of his behavior issues are being dealt with normally (the whining, the asking about his mom...). However, there is an issue that doesn't seem to be going away. Up until about a month ago, the little one would crawl into bed with us, as I guess he wasn't used to sleeping without his daddy. He has since stopped. But my question is this... when I put him to bed, he usually goes without much of a fight. I'll count for him, read for him, give him a kiss and tell him I'll see him in the morning. No crying, no whining, no nothing. On the other hand, when my boyfriend, his dad, puts him to sleep, it's not the same story. There's a lot of screaming, wailing, and sometimes kicking involved. The little one does NOT want to go to sleep, and definitely not alone. He's always begging for his daddy to lay with him. Sometimes it takes and hour or longer to get him to sleep. Either my boyfriend has to lay with him or I have to put him to bed (which isn't but 2 or 3 times a week since I work nights). We've tried to let him cry himself to sleep but he will cry for hours, making himself hoarse. Is this normal? How can I help to fix this? Why is he completely ok with me putting him to bed but out of control when his daddy tries?