: Why would a child choose to sleep on the floor? My five year-old daughter has been sleeping on the floor lately. We've asked her why, but this is one of those situations where she's not very self-aware, and you have to probe

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Something's scary up there. While typically the imaginary monster is under the bed, sometimes you can trick it by sleeping somewhere else. (If I were a scary monster and couldn't find the kid I was planning to eat, I'd look on the floor next to the bed... luckily, monsters are stupid and rarely read Parenting.SE.)

Generally I'd expect/hope that she'd describe this imaginary scary thing when asked, although her building a trap makes me slightly more suspicious. Perhaps asking "what are you going to catch with that?" would lead to a clue. It's also entirely possible she just felt like it, though. (Pillow forts, e.g., aren't built to plan for warfare, they're built because they're fun.)
Change of pace. Sometimes the bed is boring and it's more fun to sleep on the floor. Alternatively, kids may shift pillows, toys, or blankets around. (I went through a phase as a child where I truly believed switching ends was the only thing that would really help me relax. I still try it occasionally when I can't sleep, despite knowing that bed-polarity is irrelevant.)
Discomfort. Sometimes my middle child likes ALL THE THINGS (extra pillow, stuffed toys, books) to be around him in bed, sometimes he flings off everything (pillow, blanket, stuffed toys) and is found in the morning curled up in the middle with a thin sheet wrapped tightly around him.