ok my 2 yr old has never been right on sleep since day one. he will get phases he does good but it never lasts. he doesnt nap except maybe once every 3 days and he does it by choice I quit making him take naps to regulate him. it helped. now me and his dad and his brother have to get up at 4 am some mornings dad every morning. I lay him down at 9 he does not get up and if he tries he is told to lay down. but he will lay down like told and toss and turn and toss and turn till about 12-1 am gets up at 930 and doesnt take a nap what can i give him to settle him down and get him to fall asleep. he doesnt cry unless he is told to lay back down but it doesnt last except a minute or 2 and he quits and rustles around and tosses and turns. we wrested him hard last nigh because we knew we all had to get up this morning we attempted to wear him out wrestling and pillow fighting. he still couldnt sleep. help any ideas.
SUCSESS and FAILURE oh my what a child the first night it was 3 hrs to get to sleep after a bath and a full belly. no wrestling and such. and tonight I had GREAT SUCSESS he was asleep in 30 minutes both nights he was put to bed at 830. now its 1130 and FAILURE he is wide awake. keep the ideas comng. he didnt have a nap today if you are wondering but he did have one yesterday. I thought the over exaustion was a great idea. and I totally agreed. I hope night 3 goes better. :( try try again
You are putting him to bed to late most likely.You need to try to keep his schedule the same everyday as far as wake time meal times and bed times.It normally takes an hour for a child to wind down.Keep taking him back to bed and tell him you will check on him in 5 minutes and do that.best of luck.
Have you tried lots of exercise with him? Maybe he's just got all this energy that he needs to let out -before bedtime. Get him TIRED:) It is good for his health, anyways. I've noticed that when my kids are stuck at home or otherwise not as active, those nights are the hardest to get them to sleep. Maybe that is it?
I'm also assuming he isn't consuming sugary or caffeinated foods, cause he's just two:)
It sounds like he's not getting enough sleep. If I put my 4 year old down later than 7:45 or 8, she's hard to get up in the morning and is cranky. I think you need to be putting him down earlier and with a consistent bedtime routine, like brushing teeth, read 1 or 2 books, then lay down.
Hi D.!
First, let me share my information... I have 4 children. A son- 9, a daughter-almost 5, and a set of twins boy/girl -3. Being an older parent (I'm 41 now) I've learned alot over the years watching my friends raising their kids. I am not an expert by any means, but I must say, in all my experience, consistency is critical. This is a typical evening at our house: We eat dinner every night at 6:00 and as soon as dinner is over, bathtime, a short story and then bedtime. We try to keep it calm during bathtime. After bath, we get into our warm pajama's and we dry their hair. The kids get into their beds and the lights are turned down a bit. We read a short story and say our prayers. The lights are out and our children (all of them) are asleep by 7:30. (It is very rare that they get out of their beds for any reason). Guess what! Now mom and dad get to wind down with one another! We get to talk about the day, watch a movie, check our email if needed, or whatever else we choose to do! YEA! We get to reconnect as the couple that we are! Our children are awake around 7:00am and we go at it again. Our children are pleasant to be around because they are rested and structured. My twins still take a nap every afternoon after lunch for about an hour- Their naptime has shortened as they've grown.
Children, like adults, thrive on a schedule. I see a lot of inconsistency in your son's routine. Also, I think that your sons inability to sleep is due, in part to his lack of rest, and I believe that your son's lack of rest is due, in part to the methods (wrestling and playing) that you are using to prepare him for rest. This may sound harsh- it's not my intent- but you need to be the mom. It's your job to help get your son on a routine. He is not mature enough to "set his own schedule". It is very important for a child to have an appropriate amount of rest. For a 2 year old, the appropriate amount is around 12 consecutive hours, give or take an hour. When it is time for sleep, begin setting the environment for sleep. It's a good idea for a nap as soon as lunch is over because he's had 30 minutes or so without vigorous activity so his mind is calm and his heartrate is slower, which will aid in rest. If you are playing with him or wrestling with him before bedtime or nap, his mind will be full of activity and his heart rate elevated which will take an hour or more to calm down-hence the tossing and turning you've observed and mentioned. TV time before bed should also be discouraged as the activity on TV will get his mind in a thinking process rather than winding down to a resting mode.
I do not recall seeing the age of your other son mentioned in your post, but his schedule is important, too. If he's pre-school age, he should be in bed befor 8:00. If he's below the age of 14, he should be in bed before 8:30 or 9:00. Kids who are allowed to stay up until "they" decide they are tired have poor study habits and generally don't do as well in school. The change for your family will be hard to embrace, but the routine will be adapted within a week if you remain consistent. The rewards will be reaped by everyone!
I apologize for being so wordy and I do hope I have not come across as critical or judgemental. I just wanted to share in hopes that you can adapt some of these things. I know it will help all of you, together, be a happier family.
I had a very similar issue with my son who is almost 3. What I did a year ago was establish a very consistent bedtime routine. At 7:30 he takes a bath, brushes his teeth, then watches 1 cartoon then it's time to read a book and off to bed. I also start to turn down lights at 7:30 and ask my husband to keep music, TV, etc. down to create a calming quiet atmosphere. Also get him outside in the afternoon and wear him out. After I made these changes bedtime and sleep issues became much easier. Not every night is perfect but most nights there are no problems because with a routine he knows what to expect. Hope this helps:)
Eliminate sugar from his diet (it's hidden in everything!). Even the foods we consider healthy (like yogurt, etc.). Work hard to get him on a consistent schedule. Exercise him for an hour every afternoon. The park, etc. Lastly, talk to his doctor about melatonin supplements. Maybe that will help.
You already have 3 excellent responses. Consistency is important. Enough exercise is important. What he is eating is important. What he is doing before bed, time he gets up, emotional environment, lighting, darkness routines. There are so many variables, and so many things to look at.
Here is a post you might be interested in:
http://itsnotmental.blogspot.com/2008/07/sleep-critical-y...
There are links in it to other entries about sleep. You are wise to be trying to do something about this now rather than later.
