At what age did you give your child(ren) a bed time?

Question

what is the best time?how do you make them stay in bed?
my 3 year old son falls alseep about 11 or 12 every night and wakes up in the morning tired and crying and the daycare told me he does not want to play but instead take a nap. i try and make him go to sleep at night but he will not?any help please and thank you!!!

Answer 1

It's very hard when the daycare let's them nap. I would start a routine with him. Every night begin giving him his dinner and bath at the same time. Turn off his lights and put him to bed around 7 or 8. That way, he won't fight so long trying to stay up. When he goes to bed, try to relax yourself. If you watch TV or talk on the phone, do it in your room, or turn off as many lights as you can so that he isn't distracted by you being up. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 2

The longer you delay bed time, the harder it gets. Kids need structure & routine, so they know what to expect, they also need to rest so they are fresh, active and happy the next morning. At this age he should be in bed no later than 8pm not at midnight, no wonder he is tired. Experts says that it takes a day per month of age to set a bed time routine but you could try to set the mood by giving him a bath, playing soft music,reading books, brush his teeth and dim the lights, by doing this every night your son will get used to a bed time routine by knowing that once you give his a bath, his bedtime is close. It takes time but at the end you will have a happier child in the mornings. There are many books on the subject also, it depends what are you comfortable with, some parents believe in the CIO method (cry it out, put the kid to sleep and let him cry for a few minutes until he falls asleep), some people use co-sleeping which doen't teach the kid to sleep by himself and you may be in the same spot you started at.
I believe that setting a routine works great, my daughter has been on one since she was 3 months old (she is now 2 years old) and stills goes to bed at the same time (7-7:30) she wakes up happy and ready to go to daycare (6am).
Good luck

Answer 3

I have twin girls that are 3. They take a nap during the day from 2-4. We do the same routine every night. We eat dinner, then they play for a little while. Then if it is bath night we head up for a bath around 7. Then come down stairs and clean up the toys. Then usually by 8 they are watching show/movie to wind down, then we head up stairs about 8:30 but usually earlier. Then we go potty, brush teeth,a nd read 2 stories. Then go to bed, they sometimes take a few to get to bed. Then they are up around 8 the next morning and it starts all over again! I think you just need to get on a routine and you may want to tell the daycare to stop letting him nap if that seems to be the problem.

Answer 4

My son was 2 when I started consistently putting him in bed at 9. He is 4 now, sometimes I even put him in at 8:30 depends on how his day went. If he had a nap, sometimes I let him watch a movie on a portable DVD player just to help him unwind. I would suggest calming him by 7 with a bath, reading or his favorite movie so that he will be ready for bed by 8:30 or 9. I'm sure you could use the break too. Remember be consistant keep the same routine every night! Good luck.

Answer 5

My twin two year old toddlers are in bed by 8. They rise at 6 or 6:30 AM and take anywhere from a one to two hour nap around 11:30 AM or noon. Right now my son has trouble falling asleep by himself. I always have a good evening routine - his breathing treatment (about 10 minutes), a bath, stories, a sip of water, then bedtime. I usually have to sit by his bed and rub his back and talk to him. I also play a classical music CD while he sleeps.

Ask the day care to not let him take a nap, if they can. Sometimes state law mandates the kids have a long nap or rest period.

Answer 6

We enforced bedtime since birth and we have never had a problem. When my daughter was an infant up until she was 2 her bedtime was 7pm, with the occasional 7:30- 8:00pm, but she was never awake past 8. Now that she's older, 4 years old, her bedtime is firm at 8pm and will stay at that time until around middle school age. You are putting your son to bed extremely too late at night. He's overtired and sleep deprived. No wonder he is having a hard time at day care. Sleep is just as important as food to young children and you have to protect it for them. Of course he doesn't WANT to go to sleep, what fun is that, but you have to be firm. He needs to be in bed no later than 8pm, he's going to test you with this for a few days, but if you don't give in he will be used to the earlier bedtime in about a week and then hopefully up in the mornings ready to go play with his friends. Come on, mom, you have to know midnight is not a good bedtime for your 3 year old. Be firm and make sure he gets a decent night's sleep. It will be so beneficial to him in the long run.

Answer 7

You should start getting them used to going to bed at a certain time every night as a baby. As a baby my daughter slept really well and even still to this day. Her bedtime was 7:30 p.m. as a baby with her usual naps throughout the day (less and less as they grow), and as of the age of 2 when she started preschool it was 8:30 p.m. with one hour nap in the afternoon. It has always worked for me but every kid is different. She was so easy. Just remember you are the parent and you need to make them. When they get back up, you put them back in their room. Do not lay in bed with them. It only slows the process. The first couple nights are going to be long nights. I never really had a problem with my daughter but I saw that on an episode of Nanny 911 and it worked for those kids hard to get to sleep. You can't let the child control you. Kids will test you throughout their life and he has been doing this to you already by you allowing a three year old to go to bed so late. It's not healthy for you or him. Be stern. He will respect you more when he grows up and be able to learn and interact with the kids when he is at school/daycare.

Answer 8

He should definitely have a bedtime at his age. It should be around 7:30 or 8:00. It will be hard at first but if you start a bedtime routine it will make it easier. Try bath, snack and story or favourite show or movie (for 15 minutes max), explain that if he goes to bed without a fuss, he'll get to watch it a bit longer the next night (which you don't really have to do - he won't know the difference). You can also tell him that if it goes well all week, you'll let him stay up later on the weekend.

Answer 9

My daughter is almost 18 months old and she has been on a routine for a while. She takes a nap around 1-2pm, she goes to bed between 9:30-10:30pm and gets up in the morning around 9:30 am. Its a good schedule we think.

Answer 10

As the mom of 7 I have had this battle - you are not alone. First thing is to remove as many toys as possible from his room. Second is a routine (eg,bath, book, bed) and to put him to bed at the same time every night. If he cries (and he will at first) let him cry it out. After a couple of days it will get easier.

I now have a rule that everyone's bed time is set and on their birthday it goes up by 15 minutes - no fighting and no worries!

Hope this helps.