My 2 1/2 yr old won't go to sleep. Any ideas?

Question

My daughter has been on a consistent routine since she was born. 7:30 bath and 8pm sleep. For the past few months she has been staying up much later. She won't stay in her bed or her room. She doesn't seem tired and we spend a lot of time trying to get her to bed. She usually naps during the day and I am wondering if we should do away with her naps so she's more tired at night. Any and all suggestions welcome.

Answer 1

This is mostly a reply of compassion with only a little advise. Our 2 1/2 year old is in the "fight sleep" stage. She has started getting up in the middle of the night, she makes demands on all the things she wants before bed, she wants us on her bed holding her hand or she yells, she gets up at 5 am., wants to be in our bed, etc. It's normal. She's gone through sleep weirdities before, she'll grow out of this one.

In the meantime, we do what we can to cope . She goes to bed at 9, we will sit on a chair in her room until she falls asleep but won't give in to the other demands, we have a sleeping bag on the side of the bed so if she gets up too early or in the middle of the night, she can lay there, she takes a 2 o'clock nap.

My only suggestion: you can't make her sleep but you can coerce her to stay in her room either through a reward system for good behavior or consequences for bad behavior. This might solve the problem of you spending a lot of time getting her to bed. She may not be sleeping but you get some space. Maybe 8:30 is "quiet time" and she can look at books, play with her toys, listen to music but not come out. You could try a sticker chart for a toy reward after 5 good nights.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Hi there! I have a few suggestions, as I have worked with many children, being a former day-care assistant. First thing is, she may have too much sugar or caffeine in her system. Giving kids sodas and sugary fruit juices often will make them unable to sleep. Try sugar free juices or 100% fruit juices, which usually contain less sugar. Don't give kids soda!!! Not even the caffeine free kind, because it has TONS of sugar. Also, you can't beat the old bedtime story, I know moms are tired at the end of the day, but try a nice short story before bed. If she sleeps in a room by herself, she is at the age now where she realizes she is alone. She may not want to be alone in the room. Maybe sit with her a bit until she starts to get sleepy. Don't do away with naptime! Rest is essential for growing kids, even mid-day. Try to make her nap earlier by an hour or so and shorter, no longer than an hour. The closer nap time is to bed time, the less likely you will get them to sleep on time. Establish the fact that bath time IS NOT play time, bath are usually relaxing, but too much bath time fun will often override a bath's relaxing qualities. They also have baby wash you can add to the water that has aromatherapeutic qualities, this may help. Finally, try your best to do things in order at the same time every night, she should begin to associate these events with sleep. Be firm, I know its hard to resist a cute face, and as a mom I'm sure you do to, haha, but bedtime means NOW, be sure to make that clear. I really hope this helps! Good luck!

Answer 3

She is getting older. She doesn't need as much sleep as she did when she was a newborn. If you're having her take more than one nap a day then cut it to only one maybe around 12 noon or right after lunch. If she is having only one nap then try not giving her one at all. After awhile she might be ready for bed by 7:30 and sleep all night. None of us I don't think have stuck to the routines that were set up for us as a child. She just needs to have her own routine that is reasonable. Also you might try waking her up 1/2 hour ealier than usual.

Answer 4

Yeah, my oldest went through this, and we had to nix her nap during the day. As my mom said at the time, "you can't expect them to sleep their life away!" As she has gotten older, her sleep needs have changed. Try letting her go without the nap, and she'll start getting cranky pretty early. Go through the whole nighttime routine of bath, drink, story, prayers. kiss, and then let her know she will not be allowed up even if she does not go straight to sleep. She has to stay in bed, no matter what. She may give you a hard time at first, but if she hasn't had a nap, she should go down pretty quickly. It may take a few days for the new routine to become a real routine, but stick to your guns and you'll have your evenings back in no time!

Answer 5

I think that perhaps she naps too much during the day, toddlers run on some sort of natural wind-up batteries that do have trouble running out, at least on my experience on my nephews. However I know for a fact that most girls do have a tendency to nightwalk their way into their parents bedroom, while most boys are naturally independent to that matter.

I think it's better that as she starts to grow up, try controlling and level her naps so that eventually it coincides with going to sleep at night. Also, avoid high-sugar drinks and food at night, that's usually their booster. As always, no soft-drinks nor sodas. Water is good, but a small amount.

Try finding a game that will stimulate her brain a lot, usually that's the first part of their bodies that runs out of energy. Soft music is also a good alternative.

Good luck!

Answer 6

I've spent a lot of time working with kids (hyperactive at that), and I always found that activities during the day always do the trick.

You could try doing away with the naps also, but adding some sort of physical activity wouldn't really hurt.

Also...waking kids up is a lot easier than making them go to bed. If you have a certain wake up routine that could help. I'll betcha they'll go to bed if they don't sleep in.

I'm 2nd oldest of 11 kids and I deal with it every time I go home to visit. I also was a couselor for abuse neglect kids (all ADHD). I was in charge of the bedtime routine for them....counseling at 2am isn't worth it. Running them during the day worked for me.

Its always tough to find what works, but its all part of the fun. Good luck!

Answer 7

if her usual bedtime is 8, no nap past 2. u may need to move her bedtime to 830 or 9. Make sure she gets enough active play during the day so she'll be worn out by bedtime.keep the bedtime routine constant.read books, act calm, not rushed(even though u may want to hurry),let her talk about whatever, maybe tell u a story, just so its relaxing and pleasant for her.when the routine is done, be firm and leave the room.When i tell mine goodnight, i leave the room and don't linger. if they get up, i see what they need, and get them right back to bed. Any changes in her life lately? something small to u might be major to her.

Answer 8

It could be the "terrible" twos. She could be pushing you since there was a consistent routine. Perhaps she is testing you. Children do this to see how far and how much they can get away with.

Also, the nap(s) I take it there are more than one .. should stop, or limit to at least one a day. After lunch is always good. Works for children in school.

Answer 9

Wow she seem like a busy body, kids her age still needs there naps maybe she's taking naps too late in the evening and try short naps instead of long ones, also if she eats alot of sweets that can make her very active. Good luck.

Answer 10

well my three year old is the same way. There actually over tired from the increase in activity in there lives I.E. playdates, daycare, summer playing and programs, it is a hard battle to win but it is possabile!! Someone reccomended to me to change there bedroom around or buy new sheet set or what ever to keep her excited about her room then rotate them with the exsisting ones once in a while. Reading with them and telling them stories or singing songs also help the children to relax or wind down at the end of the day. Its funny how much mommy or daddys soothing voice will calm a child down.