Desperate for my toddler to sleep! Help!?

Question

My daughter is 2 1/2, and she is only sleeping 5 or 6 hours a night, and she wakes up 1 or 2 times a night. She also is incredibly overactive. i have tried all sorts of routines, cutting out tv, making sure shes not getting junk food, herbal teas, aromatherapy, every suggestion from every parent and doctor, even a movie once every night at bedtime. every single thing worked for one or two days. then it would never work again. I even took her to a sleep disorder center last month. they told me it was a discipline problem. i could see why they would think that, because i have become so desperate for sleep that recently I will turn on cartoons and dose off next to her. But it wasn't always like that. She has been this way her whole life. she's mostly well behaved, (other than a few typical things) and she has always been on the quick side of developement, doing things very early. And boy is this kid smart! shes every parents dream....but the sleep! I don't know what to do!

Thanks for the suggestions so far, but Itried routines and sticking her back in bed for 2 months. 2 months straight and every night she would scream for at least 3 hours nonstop. I even spent months with doing things exactly the same time every day. wake up meals, play, and bath and bedtime. music wont work either. even classical - she gets up in bed and conducts like shes in front of a symphony. which is odd because she has never seen that done. i even tried hypnosis tapes. and i cut out sugar from her diet.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, but Itried routines and sticking her back in bed for 2 months. 2 months straight and every night she would scream for at least 3 hours nonstop. I even spent months with doing things exactly the same time every day. wake up meals, play, and bath and bedtime. music wont work either. even classical - she gets up in bed and conducts like shes in front of a symphony. which is odd because she has never seen that done. i even tried hypnosis tapes. and i cut out sugar from her diet, and i just can't see putting a 2 year old on sleeping pills. there has to be something other than drugs.

Answer 1

My brother was like this. He just naturally never needed as much sleep as other kids. Even today, he's 24, he works 2 full time jobs because he gets bored while the rest of the world sleeps.
The up side is that he will have made his first million $$ by the time he is 30. Seriously.
My parents had to take turns staying up with him. Until he was 6, then they left him to watch television by himself. He was banned from the kitchen and wasn't allowed to make more noise that the television set. I suggest you do something like that.
If you are a single parent, or your partner can't stay up with her, set firm limits on where she can go while everyone is sleeping and how much noise she can make. Start now and be absolutely firm.
If possible you can even sleep in your bed with her watching TV in there with some toys if she wants them. Lock her in with you and enjoy some much needed sleep while being certain she is safe.
Good Luck
PS. My mother was offered sedatives, but didn't give them because she didn't think it was healthy long term or fair to him. It is just his natural chemistry after all.

Answer 2

My son was like that. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep seems to come with a smart mind. you will just have to set a routine, and stick to it. put her to bed at a specific time, and shut the door, and don't let her back out of her room until after she has fallen asleep. She is going to scream and holler for the first few weeks, until she realizes you mean business, then she should settle down. you should also have set times for meals, potty, and play time. If she is in a highly structured household, she should just play quietly alone in her room when she is awake, thus allowing you some more sleep. The other alternative is for you and your husband ot take turns staying up with her, six hours at a time. that way you get some sleep.

Answer 3

Hi. Unfortunately, by moving her cot into your room and letting her 'pass out' in the living room and laying in her cot with her. You have only reinforced, that she has something to be frightened of. You need to go back to your original routine and stick with it. Exactly as you did before and leave the room. Go back after 5 minutes, lay her back down. speak softly and reassure. Then leave the room again. Don't pick her up. Don't interact with her. Go back after 5 minutes. Repeat, repeat and repeat. Use a timer, it's better than clock watching. You must be consistant and persevere for this to work. If she makes herself sick. Don't react to it. She is now looking for reaction. Because of what you have done since this happened. Just quietly clean up and go back to the routine of leave for 5 mins etc., etc. This may take you a week. As she has now to relearn that all is ok. Make sure all the normal household noises are going on, such as TV etc. etc. These things happen. It's your reaction that guides them. I have looked after so many children and they would all sleep through a hurricane! In fact, my 4 boys did!

Answer 4

ok this is going to e hard but you say she is over active or maybe you don't have her doing enough active thing try going out side a bit more often it work for me i would let my daughter play and shes an only child so it was just me and her and my schedule is full but i realized that if i want sleep at night a good hr play time would be in call if not longer and it helps if you have more then just yourself i would go pick my nephew up to come play with her because hey would wear each other out so find her a friend and ut it to the test good luck

Answer 5

If she isn't waking due to a wet bed or nightmares, she may just have vivid dreams. I've always woken a couple times a night.
When you go to her at night, don't turn on the light, use a night-light, preferably blue. Don't do anything that will wake her up more than she is. Just tuck her back into bed. Don't make a big issue of it. If she says she isn't sleepy, tell her she doesn't have to sleep, but she has to stay in bed until morning. Let her have a soft toy to play with in bed, but she has to lay down.
If she's used to you staying with her, you may have to wean her gradually. Don't chat with her, stay with her just until she's settled back into bed and then tell her Mommy's going to sleep.

Answer 6

Try putting a musical box next to her bed. Ask your doctor about prescribed sleeping aid (medication) for children. I know of a brand name called Lunesta but I'm not sure if it's suitable for children under the age of 6 as most medication aren't. Anyways, try the lulla bye/musical box idea and see if it works. Good luck.

Answer 7

my 4 year is this way too-she'll go to sleep fine around 8:30p but she's sometimes up at 3a wide awake. i can get her to go back down but she's up again for good at 7a.

what i've found that works pretty good is a routine.

make her naptime early in the day and shorten it to no more than an hour. my daughter takes her at 11:30a and sleeps till lunch time. by the time 8:30p rolls around-shes out and she's been staying out till 7a lately.

we also have a bedtime routine that never changes. she gets her bath at 7:30p, brushes her teeth and gets a story, then it's one last trip to the potty,a sip of water, and she helps me turn the night light on and off to bed.

remain consistant no matter how she reacts-this will be hard the first couple of weeks. if she wakes in the middle of the night-put her directly back to bed and tell her that it is night time and big girls don't get out of their beds when it's dark and since she is a big girl-she needs to go back to sleep. explain to her that it is time for mommy to sleep too. she will cry the first couple of times this happens but stick with it. you can also try putting her in a corner for minutes of time out if she continues to get out of her bed after you've returned her to it a few times.

this might take a few weeks but it works-my daughter has adjusted well and understands that if she tries to get out of bed at night-she's going to be put in the corner or right back in her bed-so she stays put.

Answer 8

she may have a chemical imbalance. if so, a dr can prescribe either a sleep aid or something to help her sleep more normally. it may also be a sugar problem that you may not realize she has. if she eats sugar in any form, cereals, candy, cookies ,etc. try giving her less and even try having her tested for diabetes. dont use punishment to change her, it'll only hurt her development later in life. stimulate her mind, and make sure she's getting plenty of physical activity as well, even if you have to send her to pre-school.

Answer 9

You're not sticking to it. You're quiting after a couple of months. You're not being consistent. Everytime you get tired of doing one thing you change it. THAT is what the problem is. YOU need to stick to ONE routine and quit changing it. You have to do it over and over and over for two months, for four months for six months for eight months for ten months for twelve months. That is called PARENTING

Answer 10

try crackersand cheese before bed, maybe she is hungry and doesnt know it. IF she is in a diaper then also warm milk. maybe no naps duing the day. Take her for a before bed walk and give her a bath after words