Change in Sleeping Habbit

I have a 2 1/2 who is touch and go with naps. He goes to bed about the same time every night (between 9 - 10pm and wakes about 7am) but on the days that he gets no nap it does take him a long time to settle down and finally fall asleep. I have started to give him is bath just before bedtime instead of shortly after dinner and it does seem to help him with settleing down. I know he is overtired. I am confidant it is just a "phase". The weather is getting nicer and we have been spending more time outside so I am hoping that will trigger his nap schedule again.
Good luck.
J.

M.,

Sounds like she may be over-tired? 7-8 hours is not enough (as you mentioned), in fact the most recent issue of Parenting Magazine says that Toddlers should get 12-14 hours of sleep per day. That includes nap and bed time. It also has another portion of an article that says that naps are usually given up between the ages of 3 - 5. If your little one doesn't want to nap, you obviously can't make her, but it does suggest that you enforce some "quiet downtime" in her room alone at the same time she usually napped. At our daycare center, they turn the lights off from about 12:15 - 2:30 for naps (our son is 21 months old) and the kids stay on their cot until the lights go on. If one happens to wake up, they bring a book or queit toy over to them for quiet play on the cot.

As for her recent change, she probably is starting to realize how much fun the world is and that sleeping is a waste of time! Lol. Seriously though, she needs more sleep than she's getting. I don't know what schedule you are on or that her daycare provider is on, but take a look at that and see if there's a way for an earlier bedtime or a later rise in the AM. Talk to the child care provider and see how she's acting without a nap...is she tired/cranky? I think they would be more than willing to work with you.

Good luck.

T.

I have a suspicion that your problems are due to daylight savings. An hour isn't that big of a deal for adults, but I think it's huge for kids. I'm blaming it for the similar issues I'm having with my son!

It's been a few weeks, but he doesn't want to settle down until at least an hour after his normal bedtime and then cries and cries when we leave the room, despite our bath, story and cuddle routine. He never used to be difficult to get to sleep, we always considered ourselves so lucky! He's waking at 6 am when he used to sleep until 7 or 7:30. And his two naps have turned into one, at unpredictable times and for unpredictable lengths. I agree with the posters who say to put your daughter down earlier. That's what we plan to do tonight.

Good luck!

Hi M.,
I am going through a change with my almost 3 year old daughter. The only difference is that I took her pacifier away about a week ago and since then she won't nap during the day. She used to take 3 hour naps and still go to bed at 8:30p and wake up at 7am. It was VERY difficult, and still is. What I started to do is after lunch, I do our bedtime routine, brush teeth, read story, sing song and lay with her for a little while. Then I explain to her that it's quiet time and she can't get out of bed until I come to get her. I leave 2 or 3 bookd for her to "read" and she'll read to her kitty or her doll. Quiet time is 2 hours and usually after an hour or so, she starts her screaming. Usually I let her do it for about 15 minutes and then I go up there and explain it's still quiet time and if I can hear you downstairs then you're not being quiet. I leave, and don't go back up there until it's time. Usually she falls asleep. It starts at 2p and she'll literally fall asleep at 3:30p.....but at least she's sleeping.

That's what has worked for me and my daughter. It's difficult and very trying, especially b/c I have a 5 month old that is constantly woken up by her, but we're getting through it.
I hope you find a solution. Good luck! :~)
K.

Each child will have their own sleeping habits. Who says that 7-8hours of sleep is not enough sleep? I have one child that sleeps 10 hours and another that only needs 7 hours. If she is having trouble falling alseep, try starting a routine that will make her sleepy, bath, book & bed, we call that the B's in my house. A warm bath is always a soother. If she won't nap in the afternoon, such as mine, I still put her in her room, she must remain in her bed, and she can look at books. Do you use a daycare provider when you go to work? What does your daycare provider do with her in the afternoons? Does your provider make her lay down or roam about? It is important to have the quiet time for 2 hours. Sometimes my daughter falls asleep and sometimes she won't for a nap. You have to set the boundries. We have a set bedtime in our house, 8pm. Bedtime means bedtime. Everyone needs to unwine from the day. Although my daughter still has a pasifier so that's her comfort if and when she wakes up and enough to get her back to sleep.

Hi M.,
If your daughter is not napping during the day, what time are you putting her down at night? I know some people do not agree with this, but I would put her down by 6:00 or so. It sounds to me like she is really overtired. Sleep begets sleep. You will might find that if you put her down early, she will start to sleep longer, especially if she is not napping anymore. The nap issue also might be a phase. She might be getting teeth or starting a new task (potty training/talking more, etc..) A great book is by Dr. Weisbluth. Not sure of the name, but he is right on target with the sleep suggestions.

Best of luck to you. Jolie

I have a 2 year old son that does not sleep well according to how a two year old should sleep. He has always been this way and I asked his doctor why he doesn't sleep as much as a normal child his age and she said he is fine as long as he doesn't seem to be sleep deprived. If she is showing signs of being tired all day or half of the day I would be concerned. If she is not showing signs of being sleep deprived then I wouldn't worry too much about. Some kids don't need as much sleep and it might just be temporary because of a growth spurt. My son stopped taking naps most of the time several months ago (before he turned 2) and likes to sleep only 8 hours and has been that way since he was about 6 months old as for the 8 hours at night. Sometimes when he naps he only naps for 20 or 30 minutes. It makes it really hard on me as far as trying to find time to catch up on studying for college and house work. Everyone tells you to do that stuff when your child is napping but I haven't really had that benefit with my son.

M.,
I'm in a similar situation. My daughter is 2 1/2 years old and while she's always been a good napper, she has never been one to sleep a long time at night. She'll fall asleep usually between 9-10pm and will be up between 6:30-7am. The problem usually lies in the fact that she doesn't sleep a solid night. She'll wake up sometime in the 2am range and be wide awake, come out of her bedroom and into my bed. She'll give me a million different reasons and will not go to sleep again in her room. I can't figure it out but I cannot fight with her for hours at a time in the middle of the night because we both need to sleep. I work full time and my daughter goes to preschool/daycare all day. I cannot figure out how to get her to sleep through out the night and how to get her to go to bed earlier. She slept through the night as an infant and she did well up until a few months ago. that's when the 2am wake up call started. I'm looking for suggestions, too.