3 yr old daugher WILL NOT sleep at night, or take a nap....?

Question

She refuses to go to bed, and cries all night if we leave her in her room, but has tonz of energy all night and stays up the entire night! She won't go to sleep until it starts to get light outside.
She won't nap during the day, either, and seems really scared of the dark, of seeing things, and strange noises. What could it be? What do we do?

Answer 1

a 3 year old cannot survive without sleep for very long (neither can an adult)

what you describe sounds so extreme that I wonder whether you could not be giving her some drug, without realising.

I'm talking about, for example: caffeine (Coca Cola contains tons of it, ice tea also).

My kids don't drink either, and the couple times they've had some (say, at a b-day party) they couldn't sleep all night.

If she's on a heavy Coke or Ice tea diet, try water for a while. Not only is it better on the caffeine front, but it also is better for her teeth, to prevent obesity, you name it. And by the way it is also cheaper, and greener.

If she's not on caffeine, then maybe you're giving her a lot of sugar-rich food close to her bedtime? That would cause a sugar rush (assuming you really give a LOT of sugar) and could cause excitement.


Also, don't forget that you're the boss. If you let her stay up all night, and then sleep through the day, you're never going to get anywhere.

Finally, have you tried a night lights? My kids have had times when they were afraid of the dark, and even though they never behaved as extremely as your kid seems to, they were much helped by a night light. Just be careful, if the night light is too strong, this can be bad for the eyes (cause myopia).

Hope this helps

Answer 2

It sounds like your 3 year old is calling all the shots around the house. Two of my children were like that.
My suggestions.
1) First check with your doctor to make sure that she is healty & that nothing physical is wrong with her.
2) Set up an evening routien. Put it on a chart and sit down and discuss it with her (these kids understand more than we realize.
Tell her that it isn't good to be missing so much sleep & here are the new rules. And also the conquences for not keeping the rules.
Fot instance.....quiet down her enviroment to a more peaceful place. Turn down the lights, put on some relaxing music.
A nice warm bath will help her relax.
Then brush her teeth. Before heading to bed she needs to go potty. Also ask her if she is thirsty and tell her that she can't get up for a drink of water because she just had one. Have her pick out two books for you to read to her.
2) Establish that it is betime & quiet time. Tell her the rules need to be honored. No getting up for any reason unles her life depends on it. A consequence for each time she gets up you take something away from her, starting with her favorite toy. Keep it for two days. If she is stuborn she just might not have any toys left.. If she does't care then make a punishnent that matches what she values.
If you are consistant, she will stop pushing the boundries.

3) Make her accountable fore her actions. She will pretent that she doesn't understand buy she does.

4) make a reward system to reward her for each night she goes to bed well and doesn't get up.

5) about nap time. The way I delted with this with my kids..........they had to have a quiet time in bed, with two books. And she needs to lay flat. Set a buzzer that will let her know she can get up. Encourage her to rest eyes

give a reward for a good reat time

K

Answer 3

Checking her diet would be number one. If she is getting too many sweets or caffene during the day, it can keep her wired. Try getting her to eat more fruits and veggies. You might also take a look at what cartoons she has been watching. Some of those have nasty, mean creatures in them and she may be afraid "monsters" will get her at night.
Start a bedtime routine and be very consistant with it. Children like to know what to expect. It will take a little time for her to adjust, but once she knows what to expect it is likely she will come down. On nights when she takes a bath, use the lavender scented bubble bath or body wash. Otherwise start out with going to the bathroom (if she is potty trained) and teeth brushing. Brush yours right alongside her so she sees you doing it. If you need to, play silly little games with her or have a race to see who can finish brushing first. Then let her pick out which PJs she wants to wear and what story books she would like read to her. Make it a rule that she has to stay in the bed or the story stops. I would keep lots of happy sweet stories available for her to select from, nothing with scary story lines or pictures. If you don't have one already get a dimmer switch on her bedroom light so you can dim it a little while you read and then a little more after the story is finished. If she needs you to, after the story lay down beside her. I always found it helpful to softly sing lullabys. You could also play a classical or instrumental CD very softly. You can put the CD on repeat so it plays through the night. A back, head or foot massage may also relax her. Use the lavender lotion from Johnson and Johnson. It relaxes them. After she falls asleep, dim the light a little more, but leave it on enough that if she gets up, she can see that she is in her room.If nothing has changed after a few motnths, I would call her doctor for a check up. Best wishes!

Answer 4

My kids stopped napping at 2 and by 3 I don't think they really need to sleep during the day anyway. If she is scared of the dark, leave a light on with a low wattage bulb. My 8 year old still sleeps with the light on!

Answer 5

Your child may have ADD or ADHD. My brother refused to sleep in his room until he was 12 years old, and always opted to sleep in the hall outside my twin sisters and mine's room.

My parents didn't do anything about, and let him sleep with them on occasion, and outside our room.

The reason I don't agree with having your children sleep with you, and not in their bed, is because they tend to become spoiled.

As a parent, you should set rules and guideliens for your children to abide by. Even if she cries all night, you should make her sleep in her room. She may have too much energy due to not having enough to do during the day.

When I take care of my three year old godson, he has more energy than I do. I take him to the parks around where I live, and have him play for a few hours, and end it with running up and down the hills there.

In winter, I let him play in the back yard (as long as it isn't too cold).

You could enroll her into some classes at the YMCA during winter also, like gymnastics.

Answer 6

maximum youngsters of two in user-friendly terms nap sporadically at particularly random situations of the day. if your daughter is so scheduled (i understand some toddlers are) that she extremely falls asleep on the comparable time on a daily basis it sounds as though like she nevertheless desires the nap. while she would not, she'l start up falling asleep later interior the day, or bypass it altogether. Many toddlers have completely given up slumbering long earlier they are 2, yet others nevertheless want naps some situations a week and a few (like yours, curiously) nevertheless want a daylight hours nap often. because of the fact she does nevertheless nap, she in all probability desires a later bedtime. If she's getting an hour and a nil.5's sleep interior the daylight hours, she in all probability in user-friendly terms desires approximately ten hours at evening. As for waking up - various youngsters try this ,no count if or no longer they have daylight hours naps. you ought to purpose protecting her conscious interior the daylight hours, yet while a newborn falls asleep that's extremely somewhat perplexing!

Answer 7

DO NOT LET HER SLEEP IN YOUR BED, it is a really bad habit to start and it is not fair to the parent or child.i agree with reaper p, you should ask your health visitor to refer your daughter to be assessed for ADHD or other problems. my boys are aged 9 & 5, my eldest boy has ADHD and he was put in a behaviour school last year, there has been a slight change in his behaviour, but the biggest inprovement has been in his reading and writing. they both hate the dark but when i put nightlights in their rooms they were ok, i try to let him burn his energy off in the garden now that he's older. when he was younger i used to play a game with him, when it was coming up to bed time all his cuddly toys would be on the floor garanteed, so we would have tidy up time, help your girl to pick all of them up, see who can throw them in the toybox or on the bed, now throw one over the other side of the room, let her see and laugh while you say "look it's flying"[or something similar,change which one you throw so she's not picking the same one up all the time, just make it fun so that she does'nt get bored so easily] it will tire her out. be patient and you just might here them magic words. we still have plenty of problems but who does'nt, if she does have ADHD or something similar, don't push her into trying activities which other children are doing unless you know its what she wants, in a year or two she will make it clear what things she's intrested in, then just help her. as for the strange noises, even i get scared and go looking. try to show or tell her what the noises are, with persistence it will slowly put her mind at ease [keep an eye on what things she watches on the telly, even kiddies cartoons can be scary sometimes]. hope this works for your family, good luck..!

Answer 8

I would not recommend that you start to share her room as she will expect it all of the time. My little one was exactly the same at that age, by chance I was going to a chiropractor at the time and had a moan to him about it, he suggested that I took him in so he could check him out, he had a subluxation of the spine, which he re-aligned in about 4 weeks, my little one now sleeps all night and is so much calmer. I take him back once every 2 month for a check up. It works wonders.

Answer 9

do nothing. it is a stage. i went through it. my son is now 4. he is sleeping most every night in his own bed. took long enough though. the worst thing to do though is put her in your bed. she never get ou and you will be fighting this same issue until you deal with it. he is just a suggestion. my co-worker gave me. we just moved. my son is terrified of the dark and he started having bad dreams. nightlights are wonders. but she suggested let hI'm pick some stuffed toys "we call them friends" and put in his bed to feel safe have him talk to them every night before bed. im going this will never work. first off he is a boy and secondly he doesn't play with his stuffed toys there always on his shelf so how is he going to be convinced they will protect him??? guess what it worked wonders. we made a little saying it goes" your in my bed to keep me safe. no more bad dreams only good ones. if you do your job i will give you big hugs and big kisses in the morning." he did too he woke up hugged and kissed all 12 toys and he slept great. lasted about 2 weeks and he doesn't hardly even feel he needs to say it anymore. routine is crucial too. he was never om a routine before. hes my only child and his dad was deployed for 2 years and he basically went to bed when i did. once he started pre-school it all changed. i have to tell ya it made a huge difference in him being on a routine. even though i never thought it would. you also have to be consistent with her. bath her read her one or two books. cut down the lights and let her no you will not tolerate her getting out of bed. it will take you a couple of weeks to battle her but in the end you will see results promise!! good luck and i promise she will move onto the next stage in her life to drive you absolute nuts!! one thing at a time though :)

Answer 10

I would suggest having her sleep in your room. Children are aware and frightened of the dark and being alone and parents need to be aware of this. Your protection will work wonders, GUARANTEED, 100 PER CENT. It is vitally important to your daughter's well-being that you do this.

If possible, have her sleep in the bed between you and your husband. There is no better remedy in the world.

Very bad answers by reaper and tariq.