Bedtime is a nightmare...help!

[Bear]

I have a three year old girl and a one year old boy and neither one of them ever wants to go to bed...EVER! Recently, it has been midnight or later before the oldest will go to sleep, and her brother (in spite of being tucked in about 9) usually doesn't actually go to sleep until somewhere between 10 and 11. Even if we wake them up at 7 am it doesn't help make bedtime any easier. My three year old doesn't take naps at all anymore, and the one year old is getting to where it is once every 3 or 4 days.

 

[meowcow]

Are they being put through activities? I found that enrolling them in sports and really getting them into it helps because it makes them really tired by night time and it gives them exercise and sunlight as well. I also found that when they were not in sports or other hobbies or activities that they were more prone to playing video games and eating junk food and lots of sugar, so it really was a nightmare come night time and their mind and body was still very much active. Hope this helps!

 

[fairbjosh]

I got pretty luck in this situation my 2 year old daughter is still sleeping in a crib and she does not love going to bed but she does not mind it we usually put her into bed about 9pm and she will cry for about 5 min than fall asleep. It was not always this easy but I think she finally learned that if she cried we were not going to go get her.

 

[Squeesh]

Are they being put through activities? I found that enrolling them in sports and really getting them into it helps because it makes them really tired by night time and it gives them exercise and sunlight as well. I also found that when they were not in sports or other hobbies or activities that they were more prone to playing video games and eating junk food and lots of sugar, so it really was a nightmare come night time and their mind and body was still very much active. Hope this helps!

I agree, Having them use a lot of their energy around 3 or 4 PM will help them get to sleep in the evenings. Even if its not sports, take them to the park, go for a walk with them, play with them for a hour and have them use as much energy as possible. Hope this helps! good luck!

 

[fairbjosh]

Yes using a lot of energy around 3 or 4 is great idea, but also you need to start bed time ritual example: Around 8:30 we give my daughter a bath, after bath we brush her teeth, 9:00 we lay her in bed to watch tv with us for about 30min than we put her in bed about 9:45 and read her book this seems to work very well to have a ritual so she knows bed time is coming.

 

[Regis]

You could try taking them on a long walk after dinner. Do you eat early enough? Sometimes eating a late meal will keep them up because their metabolism then wants to burn through all the excess calories/energy.

 

[Victor]

I can really relate, Bear. We have all kinds of sleep issues around here, despite having consistent bedtime routines, waking early or having naps. I'm starting to think my girls aren't getting enough physical exercise, as meowcow suggested.

 

[Bear]

These are some good ideas guys. We eat around six so I think that is probably okay, but burning off more energy would definitely help. I'll be glad when it's not so hot so they can play outside more.

 

[Andersson]

With activities they will eventually tire out but some kids are really stubborn. I remember growing up my brother was like this and I swear he could get by on a few hours of sleep where I always needed at least nine!

 

[Timothy]

Bear - I found a website that talks about an indoor game for 3-5 year olds that sneaks in exercise. Maybe you could try something like this until the weather cools down and you can take them outside again.

 

[Bear]

Thanks for the link Timothy. The littlest one is doing the activity they had for toddlers now (throwing socks into the laundry basket). Last night went really well and both kids were in bed asleep by ten. No such luck tonight!

 

[Victor Leigh]

Don't be too upset about not getting the kids to bed on time. If they really went to sleep like clockwork, then you should be worried. Tiring them out before bedtime is a good idea, though.

 

[Waynefire]

I can relate to this issue. My son who decides 6am is the best time to be up decided last night he wanted to stay up until 1130pm. Even after being up the night before until 10pm because we were out looking at houses. It was terrible and now he was a complete grump today!