how to make a 4 1/2 yr old sleep?

Question

my mom is going crazy form this problem he naps after pre-k for 1-2 hours (between 12:30pm -1pm) then goes to sleep usually between 9pm-11pm or 8pm-9pm and then guess what.... he awakes at like 1am-3am if he goes to sleep early (rarely) like at 7pm-8pm he might wake from 11pm-1pm , he stays awakes for 1-3 hours until my mom/dad plays a little feeds and/or give him a drink of juice or milk then goes back to sleep

PS my dad is having a harder time dressing he for school in the mornings the past few months

Please give me some advice me and my parents thank you!

ALSO IGNORING HIM DOES NOT WORK!

Answer 1

At 4-1/2, he needs a consistent bedtime. He might also be about ready to give up the nap.

Answer 2

My daughter is 4 and quit taking naps. That does help with her going to bed at 830pm. She never really wakes up in the middle of the night-every once in awhile. I do have a hard time dressing my daughter also, but I let her watch disney for about 10 minutes then she picks out what to wear to school. Try the no naps and see what that does because by 7pm my daughter is so tired.

Answer 3

Definitely get rid of the nap - he can still have a quiet time where he reads books during the day but don't put him down to sleep.

Set a bed time and stick to it. Develop a routine. We brush teeth and go to the bathroom at 8:30PM and then read books until 9PM. Then we say prayers and each child gets to pick one song to sing.

If your child wakes up in the night, do not feed him, do not give him a drink and do not play with him. That will only encourage him to continue to wake up in the night. The only reason my four year old is allowed out of bed is to go to the bathroom. You may have 3 to 5 nights of crying as he gets used to the new rules. (We recently went through this with our two year old because we are no longer allowing him to have a pacifier. He was used to sleeping with it so it took him about 5 nights to be able to get to sleep and stay asleep without it.)

Children usually do best when they have a set routine. So set a bedtime and stick to it and develop a routine around it. Reading books is a great way to settle them down. When he gets up in the night, take him back to bed and tell him he's old enough that he needs to sleep through the night now. Keep telling him that and returning him to bed. It should only take about 5 days to break the habit as long as you don't give in.

Answer 4

You have to be consistant with ignoring him. After about 2 weeks he'll figure out that you aren't going to get up for him and he'll get tired of screaming and go back to sleep. The problem is that your parents get up and feed him or whatever makes him happy, if you keep doing that, they'll keep thinking that this is an ok setup and keep doing it. A 4 year old SHOULD be sleeping all the way through the night. Stop getting up for him, that's the big problem I promise you. You can't just ignore their screaming and ranting for an hour or two and then go in and check on them, consistancy is key, don't go in at all. It sounds harsh, but there's NO reason that your parents should have to keep getting up with a 4 year old, he's not a baby anymore that needs to be fed in the middle of the night, 4 year olds can EASILY make it without eating the whole night. I have a 4 year old too, and ignoring him was the ONLY way to get him to stop. I only get up for his potty breaks now, and once he goes potty, it's straight back to bed for him. before he goes to bed I make sure he's fed, and has water to drink, other than that, there's NO need for me to get up unless he has a bad dream. Potty breaks are the ONLY excuse he should have, and if he start abusing that policy, let him go potty, make sure he goes and then send him back to bed, and don't let them out. It works for us, I have a year old with behavioral problems and I do this for his, and my sanity.

Answer 5

no nap time my daughter is 3 1/2 and she dont nap during the day

Answer 6

I would say cut out his nap, and see if that helps.

As for dressing him, maybe have him pick out what he wants to wear and let him dress himself.