3 Year Old Trouble sleeping...HELP!!!

I think her bedtime is a little late. Maybe it is time to stop that nap or not let her nap as long in the afternoon.

I have twins who did the same thing you are describing above until they were almost 3 and a half. First, wake up time in the morning should be about the same time each day. You can continue naps, but do them at the same time every day and try cutting down the time. Wake her up from her nap after about an hour. If she wakes up on her own, she will sleep too long and be too well rested. DEFINATELY start the bedtime routine alot earlier. Start bath, pajamas, book, bed around 7:30. Do the same routine each night. With my kids, it helped to go over the routine first, telling them we were going to take a bath, get dressed, read a book, etc. Also, when you take her up to bed tell her then what she needs to do. You are going to lay down, sleep in your bed, and stay in your room. It is sleeptime for everybody. Setting clear expectations helps the kids feel like they are actively making those decisions about having good sleep routines. Also, have your daughter choose her own pajamas, book, and special bath and bed toys. This makes her a big part of the routine. Tell her that helps her show how much she is acting like a big girl, and part of being a big girl is sleeping in her own bed. Also, if she has a favorite stuffed animal or toy tell her she has to stay asleep so that she doesn't wake up her toy. They had a long day and need rest too. My kids still fall for that one. Good luck.

Hi K.,
I have 4 children (8 yrs, 5 yrs, 3 1/2 yrs and 2 yrs). What time does your child get up in the morning? Mine are up by 7 AM. The little girls lay down for a nap between 1pm and 2 pm for about 2 hours. We start getting ready for bed around 7pm. We take a bath, get pajamas on and read a story. By 8pm they are all ready for bed (the 8 yr old can stay up until about 9pm). This works really well I think because they all know the routine and what to expect. Children up to age 4 1/2 yrs can benefit from a short afternoon nap, even just an hour. Maybe if you get a good routine going it could make things easier because little kids love routine.

Hi K.! I also have a 3 year old but I have a boy. I think what might be happening is she is over-tired. My son usually takes a nap around 1:00. Then I start bedtime ritual at 8:00 p.m. He is usually in bed at 8:30. Just recently though he has been waking up after about 7 to 8 hours and coming into mine and my husbands room to sleep with me. (My husband works nights so there is plenty of room) I tried to take him back to his bed but he doesnt want to. But when he is in our bed he does go right back to sleep and then I get him up at 6:00 to get ready for daycare. Also, your daughter knows that if she gets up she will get water, watch tv etc. so it is fun to her so why should she go to bed. I think if you make it as boring as possible and just keep taking her back to bed with very little words, she will start to see that this isnt any fun and hopefully start sleeping. Try putting her to bed earlier too. Hope this helps.

L.

I feel for you! I always say that I can handle just about anything if I can get some quality sleep.
We had real difficulty with our multiples and then my pediatrician told us to check out the book : Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, MD.
We did read it and then applied it and now we have three children 4, 4, and 3 sleeping through the night in one room.
I hope this helps! Good luck!

first i would like to say your hands are full. well have you taking her to see a doctor if not i think you should see one right away, Maybe they can give her some meds to help her sleep like we need sometime if we cant sleep, Because if it was me that's what i would do. Hope this helps

K. -
I have a three year old who would not sleep, well.. he would but not until 10-11 at night after several renditions of Twinkle Twinkle. We started weening him off his naps and life is much better. We start getting him to sleep between 7:30-8. Get teeth brushed, read 2 books and talk about the favorite parts of our day. Usually my husband or I are out of the room by 8:15. For the most part he is asleep by 9. He sleeps through the night until 7-8 in the morning. Yes, he does get tired toward the end of the day and sometimes can be cranky, but... we like it better without naps. My day care person sometimes will nap him and there is a huge difference at night - in otherwards if he naps it makes for a long night (sings, yells that he wants us to check on him, rub his back, read a book and the list goes on)
Hope this helps
L.

Hi K.,

I would cut out her nap all together and get her going to bed routine done earlier, which will give you more time to yourself!! You will have to put up with a crancky kid for a while, but she will get used to the routine and adjust fine.

I find that my 2yo, while sometimes she's extremely crancky during the day, I can get her to sleep faster at night. Around 7:30 is bath time. I also have to stay with her, but it makes it easier that she goes to sleep right away. If she does fall asleep during the day, even for just 5 minutes, it will take me an extra hour and a half to get her to sleep at night!!! I know that she could really take a nap some days, but I believe she sleeps better at night because she doesn't.

I hope this helps!!

P.

Hi K.
I also think her bedtime is pretty late for her age. It's good that she still takes a nap, she will give that up on her own pretty soon, but you should start going the bedtime routine around 7:30, bathtime, brush teeth time, then tuck in bed time and maybe a short story, kiss in forehead and leave the room. There are a lot of moms that think it's good to be in the room with the child until they fall asleep, but that has the downsides as well. just very nice gently talk to her, read to her and tell her you're going to your bed because it's nightey night and that you'll see her in the morning. even if she cries some, it's ok, she needs to learn how to calm herself down unless she's sick.
good luck
vlora