Somehow it always takes hours to put my 3 y old dd to bed. She is not listening, running around, jumping on our bed, don't want to put on her gown and so on. I am very busy full time working mom and it drives me carzy.
I know what thats like, my little sister never used to go to sleep for the longest time, stay up as late as me. I think its just a faze, because kids take naps during the day they always seem to have energy forever and dont want to go to sleep. Try to time her naps, my little sister used to take naps around 12 for a couple hours then we would wake her up and she would sleep earlier. Now shes 5 and doesnt have a problem going to sleep at 8-9 (still pretty late). Just stay persistent, whats good is read them a book when they are in bed till they fall asleep, as long as they are preoccupied young kids seem to be able to stay still.
What worked best for me (my daughter is turning 3 in August) is consistancy! We do everything at the same time week days and week nights ... home from work .. she plays or helps me cook dinner ... eat .. watch 30 minutes or so of TV then bath into bedroom for 2 books, potty then bed .. no deviation ..
Also, how long is she napping in the afternoon and what time are you trying to put her to bed? When does she wake up in the morning?
My daughter gets up with me at 6:30 am ... to school by 7:30 (preschool) naps from 12-1:30 pick her up by 4:30 .. dinner by 6 into bath by 7 into bed by 8 ...
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Mother is the word for God on the lips and hearts of children - The Crow
I think that you need to make that nap shorter or earlier. Part of the reason she's staying up is becasue she doesn't want to go to bed. But she may very well not be tired. What time are you trying to get her to go to bed?
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"Go slowly, breathe and smile" Thich Nhat Hanh
So, she is napping at daycare and at home (from 3-5)?
That is too much sleep .. I wouldnt want to go to bed either! I would cut out her nap at home all together .. as long as she is napping at daycare .. keep the 9pm bedtime that sounds fine with not having to go to school until 9am .. but get a real routine in the evening .. start right away ...
dinner
playtime
bath
books
bed
She may fight you (probably will) and may throw a fit .. but more likely than not .. after cutting that extra nap .. she will be ready to go down without much of a fight ...
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Mother is the word for God on the lips and hearts of children - The Crow
Last edited by dewdrop333; 06-20-2006 at 03:47 PM.
What I wanted to suggest and ask was what color is her bedroom?and does she have alot of clutter in there such as toys?Alot of clutter in a kids room can sometimes cause the child too much stimulation and child won't sleep.Another solution could be to ignore the bad behaviour of coming out all the time and praise her when she's stayed in bed?and have a set bedtime routine and starting it earlier,such as 7pm bath,brush teeth and story,1 story not 2 or 3 and when she comes out you have to keep on her because eventually it will kick in.The delaying could be because she wants to spend time with mommy or daddy or both.
We've got the same problems. It's our own fault, we're busy fixing dinner, doing nebulizer treatments (our son has cf), eating dinner, playtime, bathtime, then after his bath he wants to play again or watch cartoons and we've let him because he's so funny and entertaining -- Probably from the lack of sleep and he just gets giddy.
We've done it to ourselves and we need to fix it. Sometimes it just seems as if there isn't enough time at night to get things done. We've decided we're going to start winding down after his bath, but this past week we've had people drop by to visit who don't seem to understand the concept of bedtime. A couple nights ago, I was driving home from the grocery store at 8:30 and saw the neighbor heading up our driveway -- he shows up for 2 HOURS and never wants to leave, I quickly turned around before he saw me to avoid a long drawn out visit. DS's grandparents are the WORST, last night they stayed until 10:30 and of course DS didn't want to go to bed. And he used every excuse in the book after they left -- book, toys, hungry, thirst, potty. Argh!
