My 3 Year Old Refuses to Fall Asleep by Herself. Wha Do I Do?!?!

Noone will agree with this but this is what I did because the lying down to help fall asleep drove me crazy.....

Read to her, sing to her, pray with her, give her kisses and hugs, tell her good night.

If she screams and cries you could say "sweetie, you don't have to go to sleep but you have to stay in your bed." turn a lamp on, give her some books, close the door. Mine always fell asleep after "reading" for awhile.
(I would give my 3 year old her entire collection of Dora books to look at)

I always told my kids that mommy time starts around 8 - gotta clean up, need to talk to daddy, etc., etc.

My girls love me, are nutured and happy kids. They are also sleep champs at 10, 8 and almost 4.

Why is this a problem? Don't you like to fall asleep next to your husband? There is nothing wrong with this. I'ver never heard of a teenager that wants to sleep with their mom. Enjoy the cuddle time.

Try bringing her to her bed and either read a book, sing a song or just talk for about 5-10 minutes. After that kiss her good night and tell her she has to go sleep and she can't get up of bed.
When she start crying come back and tell her is time to sleep and start walk away. When she comes out bring her back to her bed but this time without saying anything, and keep doing this until she stop coming out. Check for signs that she is in pain or needs a diaper change, but other then that you have to keep bringing her back without saying anything.
This was very hard for us and I am sure for many other parents too.
In order to not feel so bed, I was sure that I fulfill all her needs before putting her to sleep (clean, well feed, favorite pillow, good night kiss, etc).
In our case, this last for almost a week, and everyonce in a while we have to do it all over again, but they are a lot more easier and faster then the first time.
Good luck.

What you need to do is set up a routine and if she continues to cry then let her cry it out...it is hard but she will get tired and eventually go to sleep. The crying will probably happen for awhile but she will get it after awhile and eventually stop. I read this advice and more from a site called the skinny scoop you should check it out...I find it very helpful!

link: http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/sleep?utm_campaign=t...

How about just staying with her until she falls asleep. She is only 3 not 30. There will come a time when she no longer wants or needs you to help her fall asleep, until then just enjoy the quite time you have with your daughter. There will come a time when you will miss these days and wish that you hadn't been in such a hurry to end them.

I say let her cry for a little bit, then go in and reassure her. My 4 year old always asks us to "check on him." So we put him in bed, and check on him usually only once and then he usually falls asleep. But, at 3 he was the same way and you just have to be consistant and not give in. Give her a stuffed animal, blanket, or something to keep her company while she is trying to fall asleep. My son had a nightlight he liked to hold, a stuffed animal, and the music on until he fell asleep.

Just tell her you will check on her in 5 minutes.. then do it.
When she cries, tell her you will not check on her until she quits crying.. Then the 5 minutes will begin..

My kids did that too. Just keep up what you are doing. Eventually she wont need you to stay.

My dd was the same way. Ironically, you being there is stimulating to her and she will have a harder time going to sleep with you there than if you are gone. Like some of the other moms suggested, the "I'll come check on you, I promise," worked for us like a charm and inevidably, she was asleep when I went back. Good luck!

I had to do that with my daughter too. She is grown now and tells me she just wanted to be close to me. Your daughter will otgrow the need and she'll only be little for a short time. Enjoy it!