Bedtime - Las Vegas,NV

My kids are 4 1/2 and 16 monthls old. They go to bed at 830p.

I'd probably shoot for 8p if I could, but working, there's just no way to get dinner made, eaten, cleaned up, lunches made for the next day and baths done and maybe a MOMENT of time to hang out with them and still get them in bed by 8p. 830p seems to work well for us.

-M

my kids gave up naps at 4 years of age. i still miss naps. they always went to bed at 7:30, on weekends 8. no matter how early or how late they go to bed they always wake up before 7. but if they don't have enough sleep they're bears to deal with :).

Read 'Healthy Sleep Habit Happy Child' by Doctor Marc Weissbluth!!!! I would try putting her to bed a LOT earlier than you think.... i.e. 6:00 or 6:30 pm. It might take a few days but it could help a lot! Sleep begats sleep and sleeplessness begats sleeplessness. Your overtired child can suffer from high concentrations of cortisol being produced by her brain which is a stress-related hormone and is linked to extra adrenaline that can make her act wild, edgy, excitable or unable to fall asleep easily or stay asleep; it's a state of being hyperalert. Don't let her stay up later if she gets a nap.... trust me, it doesn't help the situation. At 3 1/2 she should be getting around 13 hours of sleep out of every 24 hours. Good luck.

My daughter will be 3 the end of this month. For her, she goes to bed around 8pm & wakes up around 8am. I try to have her nap each day, but lately it's turned more into quiet time! When she would nap, it would be about 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day. She was also the type to still be awake an hour after I put her down. I would be very persistent and constantly go into her bedroom, about every 10-15 minutes and sternly remind her that it is ni-night time and that she needs to close her eyes and go to bed. After doing this for about a week or so, she finally started going to be when I put her in her room. Trust me, there was a very noticeable change in the mornings! That was also about the same time that she stopped taking her naps, but I think that's just because she was finally getting the sleep she needed.
Good luck!

My daughter is 3 1/2 and I think she may be close to giving up her nap as well. She seems to do alright without a nap. I try to put her down for a nap between 12 and 12:30 and let her sleep for 1-1.5 hours. Anything longer and she has a hard time falling asleep. Bedtime routine starts at 8:30 (potty, brush teeth, prayer and book). Lights out at 8:50 and then she falls asleep within 15-20 mins. She does wake up after 2 hours but falls right back to sleep till 6:15-6:30 in the morning. This is the routine no matter what, nap or no nap. We stick to it like crazy. She knows the routine very well now. It's been working for us. Next month we will move our 9 month old in with her so that will alter the schedule a bit. So we'll see how that goes. Anyways, Good luck to you.

My 3 year old's bedtime is 7pm and wakes up anywhere from 6-7am. She doesn't nap anymore because when she did she wouldn't go to sleep until 10, then wake up tired the next day. I think the naps have to go!
GL!

Since she wakes at the same time each morning, I would count back approx. 10 to 12 hours and aim for between those hours.

I put my daughter to bet between 8:30-9:30 (after a bath and story) and she sleeps until around 7am. She may take an hour nap once or twice per week.

We would also allow our daughter to have a book with some pictures if she wasn't falling asleep. I know that sometimes helps me if I am having a hard time getting to sleep and seems to work for her as well. HOwever, we always stick to a consistent bedtime.

regardless of whether she naps or not a 3.5 year old should go to bed at 7pm. Consistency is key as her body will automatically wind down for bed. Biologically she is set to wake at a certain time (which is why the bedtime makes no difference) and also go to sleep at a certain time (7pm for a child this age). If she seems extra tired try putting her down 1/2 hour to 1 full hour EARLY. It may not make logical sense but an earlier bedtime will not cause an early wake up. If 7pm isn't working try 6:30pm.

My daugther had similar difficulties at that age as she slowly gave up her nap (she's 4.5 now and naps one weekend day typically). Her bedtime varied too and seemed somewhat dependent on if there was a nap and how long it was, but not always.

I finally settled into an 8:30pm bedtime (I need the rest of the evening to prepare for the next day) and let her turn on a small light and read if she wanted. Sometimes she would read until 10pm, other times she would go to sleep quickly. Once she stopped napping during the week, I moved bedtime closer to 8pm and she usually goes right to sleep.

I think you're just going through a transition period and may have the variability until the naps get dropped completely. Sounds normal!

you are absolutely right.. kids seem to have a programmed wake up time... they wake up at the same time no matter when they go to bed..

I would chart her sleep for a week or so.. see how many hours she is actually sleeping (so you will have to chekc on her to see when those eyes actually close)

also chart her mood...

figure out how much sleep she need so she is a pleasant child. just because she is not sleeping in her bed .. she is still resting which is good too.

my daughter needs a lot of sleep.. she takes 3 hour naps and sleeps 10-11 hours at night.. at age 4... my son sleeps about the same schedule and he is 2 1/2.l