how can i get my 2 year old to sleep through help?

Question

sometimes she wont go to sleep untill 9 at night no matter what we try and then sum nights she still gets up at 2 and 4 most mornings she gets up at about 5 30 i think this is still early for a 2 year old what do u think ? please help i need loads of ideas i wana try everythingi can. she is very active in day as she goes to playschool so i cant see why she isnt tired

Answer 1

All children are different & whilst the answers you have received so far are good you have to remember your child is not like the next persons! I have a 2 yr old daughter & she gets up at 6.30 - 7am, she goes to bed at 7pm & she has a nap during the day of about an hour sometimes longer! I also have 10 month old twins who are going through the early morning waking & it's very hard to get them out of it! My daughter went through it when I was pregnant with the twins & my health visitor told me to replace the milk I was settling her back to sleep with with water & let her cry herself back to sleep, it wasn't easy but it only took a week although your daughter may take longer or may not even need a week! It's very stressful listening to your child screaming when all you want to do is sleep but you have to remember it won't be forever, I'm finding it extremely hard at the moment, the twins were up at 12am til 1am this morning, then 4am, then 6am, then finally at 7am! I will admit I was not impressed but I stuck with it & hopefully tonight will be a bit better! Please don't put your daughter into bed with you, if nature intended that your children would be permanently attached to you, if you do take her into bed no doubt you will be back on here shortly asking how to get her out of it! Good luck, I hope you sort it out soon!

Answer 2

First look at when her sleep patten changed. Was she always
like this?
Could be she is getting a lot of sleep during the day. Check with
the Playschool. They give them long naps and don't necessarily
keep them very active they may just keep them "occupied".
This could be why she is ready for "action" at night.
You need to look more closely at the childs actual environment and level of physical activity during the day.
Also her diet. Is she getting the right foods. Sugar, too many carbs not enough protein will disrupt sleep.
2 is a very active age on all levels.
If she's happy at night but just active, this would be the where to look.
If she is crying and craving your attention then you need to find out what is causing this. Could be you need to spend exclusive time with her for a couple of hours each night. Doing things together, then best remedy is reading bedtime story every night.
Give her a structured evening schedule that she can predict that includes a fixed bedtime and sleep time. Be prepared to enforce it by not giving her any attention when she is supposed to be sleeping. Be firm not angry, use good control. She will need your help with this.

Answer 3

What we did was make sure that the routine is exactly the same for going to bed each night, eg. food at the same time, bath, story, bed all at the same time. Even if they don't seem tired, although if they are never tired then maybe they need a slightly later bedtime but I would have thought 8pm or 8.30pm for a 2 year old would be the latest.

Then if they get up, just put them back in the bed - don't chat, argue, get cross, etc., just put them back and tell them they have to go to sleep and go out of the room straight away.

If they get up in the night, do the same. Keep doing it until the time you want them to get up.

In the end they realise that getting up is boring because they get no attention and they just have to go back to bed.

Also, make sure the room is completely dark (ie. thick curtains even if you have a night light or something) so that the light doesn't wake them up in the morning. Finally (like Quiet Warrior said) no sugary food or drinks close to bedtime.

Maybe you already did all that and it didn't work, if so, sorry, but it worked for us.

Answer 4

Doesn't matter if she doesn't sleep until 9, as long as she stays in her room. It's teaching them to stay in their beds and not bother everybody else in the house that's the important thing. And, if there's no reason to get up and have fun, she won't do it.
DO NOT engage with her if she gets up. Don't let her into your bed. Don't talk to her. Don't play with her. Don't cuddle her. Just put her back in her bed and keep putting her back in her bed. If needs be, keep her door shut. Tie a rope round the handle to the stairs or to the next-door handle so that the door can open a little but not enough to get through.
You might have a week of screaming and shouting and you will feel bad, you will hate yourself inside, but, after a week, your problems will be over.
Or you can be nice and kind and soft and have a lifetime of misery.

Answer 5

Most children at 2 wake up at 5-5:30. What you must do is make sure that the child gets plenty of exercise during the day. The child has outgrown naps. Make sure there is no nap and no liquids after dinner.

Answer 6

I had the same with my son and i had to redecorate his bedroom and everything to make sure he was happy in his surroundings!!! It turned out that he was just scared of missing something so i made it very very clear what i expected of him at bedtime and made him a promise that we would do some fun stuff that he likedat the weekend which seemed to work, now he asks to go to bed and i don't see anything from him until about half seven the next day, just keep trying with her, good luck!

Answer 7

i know how you feel my daughter is 2 and she still doesn't sleep all night Ive tried all sorts as well she used to need a drink to back to sleep but i stopped this and that worked for about 2 weeks and she slept but she has started waking up again she just gets in my bed and goes back to sleep, i know people say don't do this but the way i see it is at least we go back to sleep.

Answer 8

My daughter just turned 2, I make sure she has a nap at 1.00pm and if she doesn't have her nap she goes to bed early and wakes up in early hours, I put her to bed at 8:30pm and she sleeps through til 8 or 9 am.

good luck

Answer 9

If she is taking a nap during the day, she doesn't need it anymore. You need to make sure she is tired at night.
She is waking up for a reason---she's is being rewarded (possibly by your presence, comfort, attention). No more reward leads to no more waking up.
Another thing to consider is whether she is waking up because she needs to use the bathroom.

Answer 10

do you have a bedtime ritual? If not establish one. My 14 month old bounces on the bed with Poppa and then off to bed she goes.

Is she drinking caffinated drinks? if so--cut them out after four p.m.

Watch her sugar intake. Let her stay up later if necessary. Cut out day time naps. Teach her to stay in her bed when she wakes.