My twenty month old has a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. What should I do to help him?
He has activities during the day; playing outside or inside, running around with me when I need to go out. He also has his down time; reading a book, watching a tv show.
I tried to relax him more with music, Country worked for awhile. Now he'd prefer Rap, but I don't like that for him. My sister let him listen to it.
His night time bath is relaxing, but sometimes he just won't go to sleep.
Thanks for the help.
Lili J.
2007-02-02 11:02:31 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
I highly recommend you pick up a book called "The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers" by Elizabeth Pantley. You can learn about her book and her methods at the website listed in my sources. I have found her methods to be VERY helpful for my 13-month old son and my 2 1/2 yr old daughter. She uses gentle methods (some of them common sense) to help your baby/toddler/preschooler learn how to fall asleep and sleep through the night without a struggle. You can also email her directly through her website, she'll probably answer you (she answered me!!) Good luck!
2007-02-02 16:02:51 · answer #1 · answered by calliope_13731 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is he still napping during the day? If so, how long is his nap? If he is napping for more than 2 hours, or waking from his nap after 4pm, he may not be ready for bed at bedtime. Try shifting his nap time to see if that makes a difference. Also a light, cereal rich suppertime snack might help to fill his tummy and make it easier for him to fall asleep, particularly if he's a snacker rather than taking full meals (cereal crackers worked for me). Also, try experimenting with how dark his room is. One of mine slept perfectly when I put up darkout curtains, the other needed a night-light.
Unfortunately there's no one answer, but if you experiment you should find the combination that works best. However, coming up for 2 years old, a lot of kids get sleep problems, because life has suddenly become much too exciting to waste time sleeping. Fortunately it is a stage, but that doesn't help much when you're in the middle of it. Good luck!
2007-02-09 16:51:15 · answer #2 · answered by Viridian 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like he may be overstimulated. Try to calm down the routine an hour before bedtime and lay off the rap. Give him warm milk and maybe some banana, read a book, take a warm bath with lavendar soap (gerber) and keep the room quite. Maybe his brain is still going 90 miles an hour from the daytime and he has trouble settling down. Keep up a routine and he will learn.
2007-02-02 20:32:30 · answer #3 · answered by Florida Mom 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I understand your frustrations.My daughter and my son were the same way.It's like they were afraid they would miss something.
If he is taking naps I would cut those out.It will be hard for a couple days but it's worth trying.
I tried the bath thing , but that only seemed to refresh them and they were ready to go.Maybe a bath a couple hours before it's bedtime would work.
Music sometimes works but sometimes will have the reverse effect. Have you tried nature sound effects? Like a stream or a whistling wind.
Good luck and just remeber this only last for a few years until they are teenagers and never sleep at all.
2007-02-10 15:46:08 · answer #4 · answered by bjustnape 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A bedtime routine. If it is the same every night...studies show that your child will go to sleep easier and stay asleep longer. The best book...The baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg.
2007-02-02 19:53:45 · answer #5 · answered by Ana Z. 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When my daughter wouldn't sleep we would put a children's story CD on and than follow it with calming music, like forest sounds or spring rain sounds. She would love to lay there and listen to the story it would relax her and then the music would just put her to sleep. (We bought the story Cd's as a Weekly Reader set from QVC. I have seen them in other stores too)
2007-02-10 18:59:09 · answer #6 · answered by Cheryl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had the same problem too. i just spent more time with my kid, cuddling her and ensuring her that another day is tomorrow. She never falls asleep for long so i give her story book to read, one that is not very interesting, it always worked.
2007-02-07 21:50:45 · answer #7 · answered by Lornaz 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
rock him in your arms , talk to him, tell him that you love him and sing little baby rhyms..........like old mcdonald and mary had a litttle lamb not reggae and rap heck no
2007-02-07 23:58:38 · answer #8 · answered by sweetbahama mama 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
MAKE SURE HE HAS A NICE FULL BELLY BEFORE BED! THAT SHOULD REALLY HELP!
GOOD LUCK :)
2007-02-09 01:46:31 · answer #9 · answered by bortharris@sbcglobal.net 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋