how do I get my 3.5 year old son to go to bed at a decent hour?

Answer 1

You need to make sure he is waking up at a decent hour. My daughter is four and she wakes at 7:30 a.m. and goes to bed around 8:00 and falls asleep by 8:30 pm. She doesn't nap anymore but when she did I would make sure to not let her nap past like 2:00. Also at his age he shouldn't be taking long naps. Now this depends on the child but I would wake him after a half hour is all else fails. Also a good routine helps, dinnertime, bathtime, storytime, then bedtime. Good Luck :)

Answer 2

Routine is key.

Remember that a child this age needs about 12 to 14 hours of sleep. So, factor in their nap and then the time you want them to wake up. So if he sleeps for two hours during the day, then he needs about 11 hours at night. If you want him up at 8:00, he needs to go to bed at 8. Start by giving a bath, then brushing teeth. I like to lay in bed with my son for about 15 or 20 minutes. We read a couple of books, and talk about our days. The process all starts about 7 o'clock. If you stick to the routine, it will get easier. My son still gets out of bed occasionally, but we are just firm and send him right back. There may be some tears, but it will be fine in time. Good luck!

Answer 3

Make sure he is tired, cut down on any naps during the day. Don't feed him high sugared products like soda or candy. Be sure he plays hard outside (or inside if the weather is bad), don't sit him in front of a tv all day.

Have dinner at a reasonable hour, then bathe him and have him brush his teeth and read him a story. Put him to bed at 7-8pm.

Since you have let your child control your life so far, you are going to have to be patient while you retrain him. Its not his fault that you let this get out of control, so don't take it out on him when he resists. Be gentle and be firm.

Put him back to bed when he gets up, make sure he knows you love him, but these are the rules. Stick to them. You are going to have to discipline yourself to be a parent and not a friend.

If you get this under control now, you will have the tools for later on when your son grows up. Good luck!

Answer 4

Set up a schedule and stick to it. Kids deal best with repitition. The key is consistency... dont let him watch 1 more show, or play with the toy for 10 more minutes, once you set boundaries.
Also don't let him nap late. Have at least 5 hrs. btwn waking from naptime and bedtime.
Does he sleep in late too? If so, wake him up earlier, even if it's just you making extra noise in the room.
If none of this works, maybe just try to make "fun" things unavailable after a certain time.
Good luck

Answer 5

Start by waking him up a little earlier. That way he'll be nice and sleepy by the time nap time comes. you can move nap and lunch time up that way he is on a schedule. Try and reduce his nap time too. If he is taking hour ling naps reduce the time to an half hour. Finally, put him to bed earlier. It's gonna be a fit but he'll get the idea if you do it every night. I've learned that you have to put kids on a schedule. Just like you have one. They have to have one too. Just don't give in

Answer 6

That routine should've been established from birth. But now that you're miserable and fighting him...Try giving him one last short nap early in the afternoon, keep him busy in the evening and give him a warm bath with lavendar soap just before bedtime. It never hurts to cuddle up with him and read a story either.

Answer 7

cut back on nap time.. about 2 hours before bed play and get some built up energy out.. turn off all lights and he should be out quickly.. night lights tend to keep kids up.. if they cant see they close thier eyes and usually out within one minute.. wish i could do that.. and dont let him sleep to long in the mornings. get him on a routine.. bed at this hour and always up at the same hour everymorning even if you have to wake him.

Answer 8

Tell him the truth! Don't cover up with anything, like saying "Santa won't come at Christmas" or "Monsters will eat you"... tell him that if he doesn't, he'll be cranky the next day and you both know how much less fun he has when he's cranky!
Also let him know that toys are much more fun to play with when wide awake =]

Answer 9

keep him up thru nap time until you can gauge how long he can stay awake before exhausted then you should be able to get him on a decent schedule before he is ready for school. This will not happen overnight so i suggest patience

Answer 10

get him up in the morn. dont let him sleep in the daytime.tell him its bed time get in a routine , like bath , teeh brushing , drink , potty , put him in bed, bed time story ,kiss goodnight lights out walk away .if he gets up carry him back to bed ,dont talk to him other then say stay if he gets up again put him back dont say nothing to him just keep doing this it might take several trips for a few days but it will work be strong dont give up or give in....