How can i get my 2 year old to sleep...?

Question

for naps and on time at bedtime

ok everything you see here except the jokes i have tried. any other ideas

Answer 1

I think every kid is different, but with mine it's easy for them to take naps and go to bed. If they don't, they get stuff taken away or miss the next snack or outside time that we are going to have. My 16 month old usually falls asleep first but my 4 year old sometimes will lay there and talk or read a book.

Also, I've found that if they are actually TIRED it helps. :) If he/she is sitting inside all day of course he/she won't be wanting to nap or sleep. Take him/her outside on the swingset, or to run outside in the grass. My girls like doing flips and handstands in the grass. That always wears them out. In the evening we play on the swings and that gets them ready for bed. Also a movie before bed is a nice reward if they take a nap.

MAKING him/her go to sleep isn't really what you should do here. Enforcing quiet time works MUCH better. Just tell him/her that he/she HAS to lay there for X amount of time. When that time is up he/she can get out, but if he/she doesn't lay there quietly they won't get _____.

Don't let him/her make the rules. You're the parent. Let them know that.

Answer 2

Well getting a two year old child to sleep is quite a challenging thing. It would be best if they had schedules for sleeping so that they can become accustomed and well I took a class for development of humans taugh in University and I learned that running around and playing with the child to tire them out is NOT a good idea. It gives them a rapid heartbeat which is not good for a child when they are about to sleep and can cause the child to have nightmares or sleep uncomfortably. Try to read them a story every night and while doing that, provide quiet exercises along with the reading so that they are able to have some fun but feel satisfied with themselves as they doze off. Also toddlers are really attached to their parents in this stage so you can probably try to let them grab onto your arm or something for comfort as they are falling asleep or have a comfort toy that they can hug every night as their closest thing to safety at night. Hope this advice helped ^^

Answer 3

for my 2yr old, routine is key! whenever i stray even a little bit from our routine it completely throws her off. Here is what we do every night... bath, lotion & pj's, then i turn a small radio on with calming music (usually Country or light comtempory..not pop or rock) and i turn on a night light, I sit with her in my rocking chair, she has a blanket and a stuffed bear of her choice while she drinks some milk. When she is done with her milk, I give her a hug and rub her back for a minute or so, then I put her in her bed. I cover her with the blanket and kiss her forehead. Then i leave the room, most nights that is all it takes, she rolls over and falls asleep. Some nights, she gets out of bed and crys at her gate, but usually will get back in bed on her own after a couple minutes.
I think a 2, this is definately the testing age. but as long as you keep a routine, they start to know what to expect. Hope this helps, good luck!

Answer 4

Make sure they are on a schedule...naps at the same time every day, bed time at the same time every day and wake up at the same time. And make sure they get lot's of activities (park, running around playing, Mc Donalds play land, what ever) every day to wear them out.

Toddlers need structure and you have to be the parent. Read them a story or two as part of bed time, or give them a warm bath and some warm milk just before bedtime...just be consistent, and they will get it.

Answer 5

oh please these answers are pathetic, too bad people have to make dumb comments, I just hope they don't have any kids of their own. My answer is CONSISTANCY. My son is like clockwork, whether he spends all day at home being bored, or exerting tons of energy he still takes a 2 to 3 hour nap a day and he 2.7 months old. CONSISTANCY means you work your whole scheudule around your child except for vacations or other setbacks. My son goes to bed at night at 9 and wakes up at 7. I noticed if he passes his "window" of time to sleep he is harder to fall asleep. He takes his nap at 1. I don't even think it makes a difference if you wind them down or not, they will be programmed no matter what to take a nap and go to bed after being consistant. Make going to bed fun, read stories together and get a neat dora or spiderman blanket only to use in their crib or bed. Be stern, they learn fast.

Answer 6

When my 18 month old has a hard time going to bed it's usually because she is over tired. When I put her down for a nap after noon she is ready and goes to sleep, and then is tired enough at bed time to go to sleep. It works best when she sleeps about 3 hours for a nap.

Answer 7

Hi
i think u r facing the same problem what i m facing with my 16 month old daughter.
they don't like to sleep in the day time esp. at this age as there r lot of things to attract them around them .
but few things which u can do r---
in the afternoon u can take him to swiimming as that's a good exercise n they will sleep after doin it or if u don't have that facility then u can involve in some other activity by which he gets tired --like running ,catching ,jumping etc.
in the evening take them out to the play area for 1-2 our n then bring them hoem n give dinner. after dinner give bath with warm water n then switch off the lights n try to put him to the bed.


TRY TO DO IT DAILY . MAKE IT A ROUTINE N HE WILL UNDERSTAND VERY SOON.
im sure it will work as it worked for me.
GOOD LUCK

Answer 8

yeah...one tablespoon of liquor in the koolaid.....don't draw your face back in disgust. The kool aid squashes the taste and the liquor acts like a sleep aid. It would probably work with cough syrup as well.

Understand that if you try such an old home remedy that you run the risk of having an inebriated toddler and that if something were to go wrong and he is in the hospital, that youre going to jail missy.

Answer 9

Place the child in the carseat and go on a drive around a few blocks. The movements of the car rock them to sleep. I had a teacher that has done this with her kids.

Answer 10

I helped take care of about 30 first cousins on the father side. And putting them to sleep is easy for me. Just let them scream and run around and play as much as they want. Then they'll be too tired to play and sleep soundly. For this to work, you either need to have a lot of patience, or enjoy playing with them(like I do).