My 3 Year Old - Stays up All Night...

I would definitely wake her up earlier. I think if she is sleeping until midafternoon, she is stuck in a bad sleep schedule. Wake her up at a time that works for you 7:30 or 8am. For the first few days, this will probably be really hard because she'll be really tired and cranky. You'll just have to work through it, though. I would recommend not letting her nap these days if you can and get her to bed really early like 6 or 7 or she may get overtired and have trouble getting to sleep. Depending on how late she goes to sleep at night, you may want to do this gradually. My kids did not nap at this age either, but they went to bed early. If they napped even a little bit, they'd be up until 9 or 10 at night, which is too late for me. I highly recommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Health Child".

She should be having wind down time beginning at 6:45pm. Then lights out no later than 7:30, earlier would be better. Maybe start winding down at 6:30 with lights out at 7:00. This should get easier b/c night falls earlier and earlier already.

What you did NOT say in your post, was what time your daughter gets up in the mornings. How late do you let her sleep in the morning? Or does she pop up at the crack of dawn, too?

As someone noted -- at three, many kids no longer nap. That's normal.

It sounds like she may be "overtired." Before I had a child, I thought that was a myth. It isn't. She may also be under-exercised, so to speak.

I would have a much, much earlier bedtime; never, ever any television or computer games or even games on your phone, within a few hours of bedtime; flickering images rev up kids' brains -- look at the American Academy of Pediatrics' web site for information on kids and "screen time." And TV or cartoons right at bedtime is a recipe for disaster, but you have already stopped that.

I would substitute more exercise for the "learning time" right now. She needs to get restful sleep more than she needs to be doing math at three. Fit in the learning another time in the day and increase her physical activitiy daily. If you're at a loss how, enroll in some 'Mom and me" type classes at our local recreation center/community center/parks and rec department/YWCA/YMCA.

My ADHD/ADD boys both sleep like champs. They always have. They also napped during the day until they were about 4.

Here are a few tricks:

Have a bedtime routine. Put a pull switch in on her ceiling light so you can shut off the light and she can't get up at 2 a.m. and turn it back on using the wall switch (you can get an insert like this that you can just screw in to the light fixture: http://www.lowes.com/pd_72575-334-718V-SP-L_###-###-####_...= ). Remove any lamps she can turn on. Work to make her room as dark as possible. Remove all nightlights from her room. Children aren't afraid of the dark unless parents make them that way. Put up room darkening curtains to block light coming in from outside. If there is a TV in her room, unplug it or take it out. Remove all light and noise emitting toys. Close the door.

Put her to bed at 8pm (my boys were in bed at 7pm at that age). Make sure she stays there. Use the "Super Nanny" technique of silently putting her back in each and every time she gets out (NO TALKING TO HER).

Make sure she's warm enough/not too warm. A cool room and warm toasty blankets are best for sleeping.

Do NOT lay there with her. She needs to fall asleep on her own. And once it's YOUR bedtime, shut down the house and go to bed. Don't stay up. Turn out lights, turn off computers and TV's, and show her that you go to bed too. If she comes to you, silently get up and put her back into bed.

The very last resort: Turn her door handle around so the lock is on the outside. Lock it until she's asleep (which should happen quickly in that dark, toyless, uninteresting room). Once she's out, go in and put her into bed (she may fall asleep on the floor...no biggie). You shouldn't have to do this for too many nights before she figures out that she's supposed to be sleeping at night. Just be sure to unlock before you go to bed (especially if you're potty training).

The most important thing: Stay consistent. Don't look frustrated...it's like training a puppy. If you keep on showing her how, eventually she will realize what is expected of her.

Best of luck!

Absolutely wake her up earlier. The only way to break this "cycle" is to wake her up early (7:00-8:00) and keep her up. I bet even with an afternoon nap (no more than two hours), which she might start doing with the earlier wake time, she will start going down at 8:00-9:00 and actually go to sleep! I would definitely break this cycle now or its going to be a real problem for you when she starts school, etc.

I find it hard to believe that she is staying up the entire night and only sleeping a few hours. At three, many kids have outgrown naps. How do you know that she is up the entire night? Are you up all night too? Is she falling asleep or acting tired during the day?
My suggestion would be to start putting her to bed earlier. Don't first start winding down at 8:00. Kids who are overtired can have trouble falling asleep. Aim for lights out at 7:30 and see what happens.

I would start a bedtime routine that winds her down and then she goes to bed. Even if she is "not sleepy" or "not tired". My DD no longer naps regularly, but she has to go to bed and stay there quietly. Make sure the nightlight isn't too bright (though my DD falls asleep with the main light on because she recently got afraid of the dark). If you think a bath would soothe her and make her sleepy, then give her even a short one before bedtime. I think if you instilled this, even if she stays up til 4 AM sometimes, you will get back to a routine of sleep.

I also wondered what time she gets up. My DD gets up around 7:30 on her own, so I feel that she gets enough sleep without the nap. If you are allowing your DD to sleep in, then start waking her earlier and earlier so that she's more tired at an appropriate time at night. Make sure she gets out to play so she is more physically tired. I agree that a playground visit (which can be educational - count leaves, look at colors, etc.) may be more beneficial than the learning time.

Is she in her bed till 4 am or is she getting up and playing? At that age, when first dropping naps, all of my kids could have easily fallen asleep at 6 pm. I would try to put her down much earlier.

Well, first off...I would make bedtime earlier. My kids are 6 and 4 and we start getting ready for bed around 6:30 and lights out no later than 7:30. Also, make sure she is getting plenty of exercise! If possible, get her outside and let her run. On days when my kids are particularly full of energy, I take them outside and we make up relay races for them to do. They think it's fun and it's making them run around and burn off that energy. You may also want to pay close attention to the foods she's eating. I know a couple kids that become really hyper from red dye in their food or drinks.
One last thing...if you feel she needs a nap during the day...you can make her take one. It's obviously a power struggle if you say that quiet time has failed tremendously. You're the mama...you make the rules! Kids need rest. Even if they're not sleeping...they should take at least an hour in the afternoon to just rest quietly. Maybe get her a "nap mat" and let her lay on it and give her a couple books to look through. You could even play some soft music. But, let her know that she is to stay ON the mat and can only look at what books you give her. Make sure she knows it's not playtime. Lay down some ground rules. Make her a reward chart or something for when she successfully gets through rest time each day.

If nothing works and she is still staying up all night...I would call her pediatrician and see what they say. There might be more going on than what you can see.

Good Luck!

My friend's child has a sleep disorder and stays up all night. They have no idea what caused it, but yes, you are right, it's not healthy!
My friends are doing some kind of therapy, but I know NOTHING about it. I would ask your doctor about checking into it.

I'm sure that you are not getting the sleep you need either, just knowing that she is awake. I feel for you! I am going on 5 years of extreme exhaustion and it's very hard on me. I hope things get better for you soon!

We wind down at 7, lights out at 8. When wind down starts, I do start turning off all the lights in the whole house, and then when we head in to tuck into bed, all the lights do go out. I've done this since they were babies.

Instead of learning during quiet time, make her quiet time video time. While they don't sleep, their brains shut off enough that it does refresh them. My 4.5 year old even needs this quiet time in the afternoon. We do it for about 1.5 hours.

What does she do from 8p-4a? Is she physically active during the day? Did you talk to her pediatrician?