anyone elses two year old refusing to sleep?

Question

any ideas how to make the constant crying stop

ive tried night lights.... ive tried music.... ive tried sleep blams..... im at my whits end

Answer 1

Yes we are experiencing that right now. He has periods where he will sleep all night and then, like this week, he will hardly sleep at all and get me up in the night. He has just woken from his afternoon nap after less than an hour, when he usually sleeps for 2. I don't actually know how to make the crying stop, I think it is something they do either for attention or out of genuine fears. If my 2 year old sounds really upset or afraid I will go to him a few times, cuddle and reassure him, then leave him to try to get him to settle by himself. If it is more of a whingy or angry noise he is making then I do my best to ignore it (which is hard in a small house). More often than not I do respond because I don't want him to wake his little brother.

Do you find your child has trouble getting to sleep or is he/she just waking in the night? If you have a consistent bedtime routine then there isn't much else you can do. For my son he has a bath followed by a story book with me and then a little quiet play time in his cot - he usually reads some books. After that it is a goodnight kiss and wave bye bye and I leave him to it. He is in bed by 7 but can take a while to get to sleep (especially as we are now in daylight saving). Lately he is waking up before midnight and then again anywhere between 2 and 5am. There is nothing wrong with him so I am clueless as to why.

If this is a new pattern with your child, have you considered the possibility of illness - ear infections have caused a lot of disruption to my son's sleep in the past. Could it be nightmares or separation anxiety? If so then you have to do something like that controlled crying routine (respond but gradually increase the time you are gone until he/she settles).

Good luck!

Answer 2

You have not given enough information to help you - so for the purpose of answering this, I'll refer to your 2 year old as "he"

Apart from that, many things could cause your baby to cry constantly and we need to what they may be in order to help you stop it from continuing.

Has anything changed in his life?

Is there a new child, animal, bed or even room involved here?

Children this age seldom cry continuously for no reason.

How about the 2 year old teeth, are they coming through, have you checked for an ear infection?

Is he pulling at his ears and trying to push his fists into his mouth.

These are some reasons why youngsters cry, also because they are afraid, or too cold or too hot.

Are you putting him down in a new bed / cot in a different room? if so, this could be part of the problem. The "safe, comfortable place" he's grown used to, has now changed and some little ones, don't take easily to change.

If it is a bed issue, try putting him in the bed/cot, during the day while you are in the room with him. He will see you are not anxious and that helps him remain calm. Give him some of his fave things to play with while he is there, that could also help him because he knows them and it will seem familiar.

If you can, let him fall asleep there and go to him with a big smile and cuddle when he wakes up. He'll soon understand that sleeping there is good and safe and will be happier about sleeping there.

It may mean two sleeping places for a little while, during the day in the place you want him to be and maybe where he used to be for a start, let him go to sleep there, then gently move him to his real bed, so he gets used to waking up there.

Hope this helps but if it is just a crying issue, you will need to sort WHY he is crying before you can do anything to stop it.

Answer 3

This is common is small children of alot of ages. Be persistant -
Half hour to an hour before bed do only things that are relaxing - a bath, story etc. No juice or anything with sugar in it. Remind him / her every few minutes that is it almost bedtime - may want to start 15 minutes before bed time.
If you know for sure he / she is OK - do not respond. Let him / her. If you cannot handle that - it is OK but each time you respond to him / her try to wait a bit longer each time. Eventually using these methods - he / she should stop the behavior.
I have twins that did it - one of them used to make herself sick to get my attention. Her father kept giving in making it harder. Many sleepless nights :(
With kids - I cannot say it enough PERSISTANCE !
Children need the same thing over and over, no major changes. Small ones are OK here and there but if their schedule is all over the place or if the parent responds to the same problem in different ways they get confused. If you respond to him every time - he knows he has you. :)

Answer 4

Does the little one have an ear infection? An ear infection hurts even more when they are lying down (has to do with fluid in the ears).

My daughter never complained of her ears hurting, but would cry when she went to bed. That was my sign that she had an ear infection.

Just a thought ......

Answer 5

No sorry my twins sleep right thro touch wood. Maybe something frighned her? try a small lamp as it gives off more light than a night lite.

Answer 6

well are you letting your 2 year old have a LONG nap in the middle of the day? if so shorten it they might be a bit whiny through out the day but when their body adjust to it then it will be easier for them to go to bed at night...

Answer 7

Have you tried rocking the baby to sleep?

Answer 8

i think everyone 2 yr old refuses to sleep lol