Toddler who sleeps until noon and stays up until 4 a.m.?

Question

My 2 year old has very strange sleep patterns. I've really tried everything I can think of.
The staying up until 4 a.m. just started this last week or two but she can easly stay up until midnight or 1.
I will sometimes deprive myself of sleep and wake up early on the mornings after she's pulled an all-nighter just to wake her up early. However, she can outlast me anyday.
Let's say she stays up until 1 a.m. (very regular occurance). I will then wake up at 7 or 8 the next morning and wake her up at that time as well. By about 2 in the afternoon she is VERY tired and by 3 or 4 she is almost unbearable to be around. But still...no sleeping.
She will easily fall asleep right around dinner time (6 p.m.) but only to wake up at 9 or 10...then she's ready for another all-nighter!
We have a regular nightly routine with bath and some books. Does anyone else have any more ideas on how to get her to sleep on a more regular schedule. I have 3 other girls but they never had sleep issues.

I would love to stop the 6 p.m. nap! I just can't keep her awake any longer. It's torture!

The poor thing has fallen asleep with her face in her plate. I try really hard to keep her awake but she just can't go any longer. I lay with her during the day and she uses me as a jungle gym. After about an hour I just get up...sometimes I actually doze off.
I lay down with her at about 9 pm with a book and she'll lay still but rarely falls asleep. I eventually just get up and let her out of her bed...she'll run around until she drops.
She doesn't always take the late nap but it just seems whatever time I wake her...she never takes a nap. If I let her sleep until noon she's less cranky but if I wake her early she's horrible and still won't nap!
I've actually seen her slap herself in the face to keep herself awake. I have no idea where she's ever even seen that!
I've heard this is an early indication of ADD...I dont' know because I've never had this in my family but my step son is still struggling with it. It's pretty much under control without meds though.

Oh yeah and she is still on a nightly bottle because I want her to SLEEP!! But just as a last resort. I only put water in it because I'd like for her to kick that as soon as possible.

Answer 1

Continue to wake her up by 8 a.m. even if she went to bed earlier than normal the night before. By 2 when she is tired and cranky set aside some quiet time and don't allow her to do anything. She must sit on the couch quietly until quiet time is over. If you're tired at this point it would be a good idea to lay down with her on the couch. Snuggle up. You can pop in a boring movie that you know she won't be interested in or turn on something that won't get her excited and keep her awake. Hopefully after 1/2 hour she will have passed out. What you want to do is get that 6pm nap closer and closer to afternoon hours. And whatever you do, don't let her nap for more than an hour. Otherwise she is too rested and ready to keep you up all night. Good luck!!----->you'll need it.

Answer 2

When I had my first son, I got the best advice ever. NEVER let a baby or child sleep between 5 and 7 PM. EVER! Napping before that is OK and after that is called bedtime.
How does your child fall asleep? Do she run until she's ready to drop? Do you have to lay with her? You defintiley have to change this pattern, as you are aware.
I would try to get her up early, 7 AM. Keep her up until about noon or 1 PM. Put her in for a nap. Even if she's not tired. Even if she cries a little. She's old enough now to not have to worry about her crying it out if you are worried about that. Make sure it's really dark in her room, quiet in the house and just put her in bed. She'll probably play for a while but she might just fall asleep. If she's not just screaming her head off, let her stay in there for a while. If you do this every day, it might become habit for her and she might just start falling asleep. Beleive it or not, kids need some kind of schedule. They are much more irratic when their schedule is all over the place. Once she starts napping at noon or 1 PM, she'll wake up between 2 and 4 PM. Then, under no circumstances do you let her fall asleep again. Keep her up and playing. Take her outside and play, etc. No tv at night. No sugar or treats like that. Watch what she's eating. Keep her sisters from waking her when she's napping and at night, I'd do the same thing for her bedtime that you do for her nap. Make sure her room is dark, quiet and leave her in there. Obviously, make sure the room is safe first, can she climb out of the crib, is she in a toddler bed, etc? Other than that, just stick with it and keep trying. Don't give up! You'll sleep again one day.

Answer 3

One day wake her up by 630 am and start the day at this time. Then make her lay down early afternoon (I'd say by 1 or 2) for a nap. If she lays still long enough, I promise she will be out especially if she went to bed at 1 the night before, as she would of only gotten about 5 1/2 hours of sleep at night. Do not let her sleep past 2 hours for a nap though, I would probably do more like a hour and a half at the most. Then have her lay down by 10 that night. If you keep doing this for a couple of weeks, she will learn that she sleeps at night and not during the day. With my niece(2 1/2), if she hasn't laid down for a nap by 2, then she doesn't get one. She is not a pleasant child to be around with no nap but I will not sit up til all hours with her so I just deal with it. It will not happen within a short amount of time and you will have to just be strict when it comes to following the schedule but it will come along. I would make her stop taking the dinner time naps and a nap shouldn't be for 3 or 4 hours. That is what is giving her all the energy at the end of the day.
I would say as soon as she has lunch, it is time for her to clean up and get laid down for a nap. This is what I do with my niece. Everyday after lunch, she cleans her hands and face, brushes her teeth and then goes and picks out a movie. She lays on the couch to watch the movie, is not allowed to get up and usually by the end of the movie she is out. It is just a matter of getting them to lay still long enough to fall asleep.

Answer 4

Sounds like she's way off schedule! Continue to wake her in the mornings, make sure you open up curtains and blinds so she gets the idea that "Hey the sun is up, it's day time!" Put her down for a nap in the early afternoon, 12 at the latest. If she doesn't sleep at first, that's fine and completely normal. She'll have to adjust to the new schedule and it may take her a while to do so. Put her in her room, close the curtains and blinds, give her her blankie/animal, and tell her it's time for a nap and that you will wake her shortly. If she keeps getting out of bed, put her back in every time. The key is being consistant and not giving in. You may even set an egg timer for her, for an hour and tell her that when it goes off, she can get out of bed. When she gets up from nap, open curtains/blinds again and do what you'd usually do during the day. Then keep a bedtime routine. Kids thrive best when they're kept on a schedule during those infant/toddler years. After dinner, do bath, read stories, brush teeth, then lights out. When she fights it, put her back in bed. The key is consistancy and not letting her win! You're the Mommy, show her you mean business. After a few nights, she'll realize you're not backing down and will give up her fight to be up all night! Good luck!

Answer 5

Take her out to do something.

Example... go somewhere big and exciting like the zoo. Go ASAP in the morning. Stay at the zoo until about 2 PM and drive home. She will probably fall asleep on the way home. If not, keep driving until she does. She'll be tired if you let her run and play at the zoo.

Then, bring her in while she's sleeping and let her sleep until 3. Wake her up, no matter how cranky she is. Take her to another place like the swimming pool (this knocks kids out) or the park and play and play and play.

Eat a late dinner that night, about 7 PM. After dinner, give her a bath and lay her down.

Hopefully she'll be exhausted enough to go to sleep.

Answer 6

My son did this. The key is to remain consistent. She needs a rhythm set up.

Wake her around 7am
Give her a nap just after lunch.
Bedtime by 8

Do this EVERYDAY no matter what for three weeks. If she starts to get sleepy and is being a real handful around six trying to go to sleep, take her outside to play, turn on some music and dance, engage her in an activity, even if it means putting dinner on hold, keep her awake.

By the end of the third week you will have established a pattern and then can stray from it occasionally without horrific results. But make sure you do the same sleep schedule everyday for those three weeks.

Answer 7

Yikes! I agree with what you are doing, but I'd change one thing. Definitely keep waking her up at 7 or 8am in the morning - that is a very reasonable waking time for a toddler.
My daughter gave up naps at two, so if she is not willing to nap at a reasonable hour (NO later than 3pm) then I would ditch the nap, as painful as it is. It will get better once you get the sleeping at night sorted out.

ANyways, the one thing I'd change is - for me, any time after 6pm is game for bedtime for my daughter. So put her to bed then if you've both hit your limit. BUT - when/if she wakes up at 9pm or whenever - DO NOT let her get out of her bed under any circumstances. Don't read to her, nothing. I'm assuming she gets out of her bed or calls you... if that is the case, just keep bringing her back to bed, no talking to her. Even if it takes 100 tries, keep marching her back to bed. It may take a week or so, but she will get the hang of it, that she should sleep from 6pm on through to the morning. She may still wake at times, but she needs to learn to put herself back to sleep.

This worked with my daughter, who had a somewhat similar issue. Once she started sleeping through from 6pm to the morning, she was MUCH more tolerable during the day, and as she got older (she's 3 now) we could inch back her bedtime a bit later.....

Good luck!!

Answer 8

First off when you wake her up at 7am or whatever do not let her take a nap of an evening....My son wakes up at around 630am - 730 am and he always gets his nap at the same time! He takes a nap from 1130-130 maybe a bit longer or shorter....so try to get her to take a nap then and if she doesnt do not let her take a nap of an evening ....keep her up and then put her to bed around 8 or 9.....It may take a few nights maybe up to a few wks, but be very consistant and she will get the hang of it!

Good Luck!!

~~~IT may be torture, but that is why you need to make her nap earlier in the day! and then keep that time consistant every day and she will get the hang of it!

Answer 9

o.k, well you have to make her take naps at normal times. And NEVER let her nap at 6 p.m. Do you let her stay up until that late, does she stay up with you, or do you put her in bed and she's constantly getting out of bed until that time? Get her up at 7 ish each morning, start a regular routine, breakfast, crafts, errands, whatever, but keep her busy, tire her out. Then have normal lunch time,and even if it interferes with your life a bit, always spend at least 1 hour of quiet downtime with her. You can put in her fav cartoon and lay on the couch, snuggle on her bed and read books,etc. the point is to make her sleepy, then make her rest for a while. If my son doesn't fall asleep within an hour ( I always give him rest time, then put him to bed for a nap) I make him lay down and have quiest time for at least 1.5 hours. Get her up from the nap/rest time at around the same time everyday, unless she's sick then extra sleep won't hurt. Stick with this routine, don't give in, as it will take a few weeks to get this established. and absolutely NO EVENING Naps! Keep her up, no matter how cranky she is, and to bed no later than 10 p.m. I guarantee with this schedule though, she won't be up later than 9. You have to set the routine, you may get frustrated, but in a few weeks you will both be sleeping better.

Answer 10

Make her a poster of what her day should be. For example, breakfast is at this time, so there's a picture of food. Nap time will be set at this time, so a picture of her bed. Try and stick with this and hopefully, you can reset her clock. Kids thrive on schedules because they know what's going to happen next. Maybe that will help her get through the day. When you want her to nap during the day, make her room as dark as possible. Make nightime as boring as you possibly can. No stimulation whatsoever. Don't have the television on in the evening. It can be way too stimulating. Also, you could try white noise and see if that works. Sometimes, when my daughter doesn't want to sleep because she knows stuff is going on, I play a cd in her room that is the sounds of the ocean. It's very relaxing and blocks out voices and regular household noises. Good luck!