My 2 year old has recently been having issues with sleeping, both for naps and at bed time. He refuses to nap at an appropriate time, then he falls asleep late i the afternoon or sometime in the evening. If he naps late in the afternoon, he does not fall asleep, even if we put him to bed, until 10-11. If he falls asleep in the evening, he will sleep most of the night, then wake up at like 3 and not go back to sleep until 5 or 6, then want to sleep till 9. His bedtime is at 8, I try to get him to nap around 1 or 2. I think part of the problem is he needs to get up earlier(he has not been waking up lately until around 8, I think he needs to be up around 6), but lately I have been so exhausted from being up with him on his crazy sleep schedule that I am sleeping through the alarm at 6, so I can't wake him up if I can't wake up. Does anyone have any ideas to get him on a better schedule? Also, even if he does not take a nap at all, he has been laying awake in bed for hours before going to sleep. He has a bedtime routine that worked well up until a few months ago, but it just doesn't seem to relax him as well anymore. Any ideas? His routine now is diaper and jammies, snack and some water, brush teeth and wash hands and face, read 2-3 books, hugs and bed. We do not do a bath every night because of dry skin and eczema issues. Thanks in advance.
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. This book has helped work wonders in the sleep department over here!
I really liked the book The No Cry Sleep Solution For Toddlers. It gave tons of suggestions and a chart showing how much total sleep kids need at different ages.
have you had him checked for adhd, this was my grandadughters problem for almost three years we went through the same thing finally we got her checked out and sure enough she had adhd on medicine and doing fine she's 11 now. other wise if he naps only let him sleep for about and half and hour, and also try the c.d.s that have the rain, and crickets sound like that on them, we used them and that worked well
I say follow your gut... my girls go to bed about 745-750 and are asleep by 8! sleep 'til 6-630am.. the little one takes a nap about 12 (after lunch 1130) I NEVER let her sleep past 2!! I'd say, if he refuses to sleep in the afternoon.. does he melt down by dinner time or is he fine? If fine.. maybe he's done iwht naps.. if not.. wake him up early in the morn.. keep him BUSY.. put him down for a nap or take a ride in the car and let him pass out! (no music and refuse to talk iwht him windows cracked or noise in the car so he can't hear you n visa vers) force him to adhere to a schedule you want!!!
good luck!
It sounds like you might need more of a consistent daily routine. Also, some two year olds start dwindling their naptine down to nothing. Although us mothers may need them to nap, their bodies may no longer need it. My older son, start dwindling down at age 2 just like the pediatrician said he may and then by 2 years 4 months was done with naps. Also, I'm not sure why you would need to wake either in the morning or from a nap. Once they have a routine, you shouldn't need to do that. Let him sleep until 8am, no nap and if during the transition of no nap he is crankier in the evenings, then start his bedtime a little earlier. I take my kids to bed at 7 every night, we have a very structured routine and the two are in bed between 7:30/8:00 every night. They know what to expect every night. You didn't mention if your 2-yr is awake or asleep when you leave the room, but most children will sleep better at night if they fall asleep on their own so that they know how to put themselves back to sleep when they wake during the night. I left a sippy cup of water in my older son's bed when he was that age in case he became thirsty during the night. He just liked knowing it was there. Most of the time he didn't even use it. Anyway, good luck, stay structured and consistent.
Call sleep guru genius Dr. Weissbluth: ###-###-####. Your child's bedtime needs to be MUCH earlier.
Hi, maybe there is something in the air! My son just turned 29 months, and things were great up until 2 months ago. I am attributing it to the fact that he was sick then, and is having a hard time getting back into the routine - who knows? But he used to love his naps, and now he doesn't. I need him to take a nap! Usually once a week I don't give him a nap now, and then put him down at 7p that night! I don't know...I put him down at 7:30p every night, and he talks and plays until 9p...crazy!
Anyway, this too will pass....just keep up the routine, and don't give in. Once you do, you have to go in there EVERY night. I could have choked my hubby, cuz' he did one night, and of course he didn't wan't Daddy, he wanted Mommy, and I am still trying to fix this same issue...
Good luck!!!! (Maybe growing pains too, who knows)!
I could have written this post! :) I have an 18 mos. old that is doing the same thing. I wake her up at 8 am. and make sure she has alot of physical activity until 12pm. With the weather improving, I try and get her out of the house everyday which helps. I lay her down for a nap around 1pm. and she normally is asleep by 1:30 sometimes 2pm. I wake her ____@____.com later then that she won't go to bed at night at a reasonable time. We also don't bathe every night due to dry skin issues, so our routine is similar to yours & she goes to ____@____.com usually plays quietly until she falls asleep around 8:30pm. Is your son's room dark enough @ naptime? I put a blanket over her curtains to darken & that also seemed to help.
Good luck, hope this helps! :)
Both my girls quit napping at about two. If they napped, they didn't want to go to bed at their reglar bedtime and I thought it was more important to get to bed between 7 and 8pm than it was to have that afternoon nap. My oldest started school and goes to bed between 7 and 8pm no problem because that has always been her bedtime....thus she gets enough rest for school.
I would just cut out the nap and put him to bed at 7pm. See what happens after a week. It may take some time to get him on a regular schedule again. Don't let him nap late in the afternoon...if he gets cranky or tries to fall asleep, then let him help you cook dinner....put him on the counter and give him things to stir and put in the bowls. Keep him entertained until dinner time and then do your bedtime routine with bath and so forth.
Sounds like you have to work more on his getting exercize during the day. Fresh air EVERY day helps. Get himouside to run and jump with you. The workout is good for mom and tot. When he does sleep late in the day, wake him up after 1/2 an hour and make sure he has plenty of activity until night sleep. A warm bath always helps. You can add babyoil or lotion for the ecezema and pat dry don't wipe with towel.
I have used the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and it has really worked well for me. We have a two year old and an 8 month old, so sleep is always an issue between the both of them. This book covers a lot of different issues for up to ages 7. Right now our 2 year old goes to bed around 8:45-9 and then wakes up between 6:30 and 7. I start the nap routine around 12:30 and somedays it takes him longer to get to sleep than others. He is still in a crib so that helps. We haven't put him in a big boy bed yet because I am sure he would always be getting out. I hope this helps some.
Another suggestion for Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. His research is based on decades of experience with infants and children and has helped many parents.
