Calming down Before Bed

I agree that she is just being a normal 2 yr old but what we do/did that really worked was bath time right before bed. Nice warm soothing water....might be worth a try!

I'm confused. How is her watching TV (her show) before bed not within your control? Is your husband encouraging her to watch TV before bed? I don't understand. That is the first thing to ditch.

Even if you can't (?) ditch the TV, I would have her put on PJ's in her room, or the bathroom... not in front of the TV.

When it is time to start getting ready for bed, all TV/games/playtime should be essentially over. Not to say that you can't be silly or have fun brushing teeth or whatever... but no chasing through the house games, etc. In my experience, men have less awareness of this. They play louder/rougher/more exciteably than moms do. It's just in their nature. But it makes bedtime harder for the kids to some degree. Some kids are more effected than others. And age can be a factor, too.

When I would put ours to bed, I would only have the lamp on the dresser on while getting PJ's on and reading the story. After reading a story or two (or solving some puzzles in an I Spy book) I turned the lamp off and I would rock and sing for a minute or two. Then into bed, where I would sit with them and say prayers. Then I left. It is a gradual transition that slowly gets more serene. Starting it out tearing them away from a favorite TV show doesn't get things started on the right foot, imho.

I'd tend to agree with your husband - but, I think the common theme in all the questions about sleep is that we expect our kids to follow the same routines day in and day out (like we do) even though their bodies are going through massive amounts of change in the first few years - not to mention their understanding of the world.

Our current challenge with our 3.5 year old is this new fear of the dark that we can't understand. But, it has changed how we have to handle bedtime.

I'm going to venture to guess her bedtime needs to be pushed back. I think a lot also has to do with how much energy she's able to get out during the day - sometimes our kids are like caged animals and need serious energy outlets before they can wind down.

My best Mom guess is that her sleep needs are changing, and she needs an adjustment to her schedule. So, either cutting back/eliminating the nap, or adjusting the bedtime will probably have the most successful outcome. But, I'm not an expert.

Good luck.

What we did was turn off all things like tvs, and lights in most of the rooms so she thinks that we are all going to bed at the same time, and then give the little one a bath for a good 20 minutes. After the bath we would get her into pjs, and read a book together. Then say good night and turn off the lights and close her door. There were times when she yelled and screamed because she didnt want to, but after a while she got the idea of the routine. :)

I agree with alot of the other moms. try coloring a picture or two instead of t.v. a bath right before bed helps alot too, the johnson's bedtime bath is a great thing to use. after bath, read a story, sing a song, lay her down and shut the door. it may take a day or two for her to get the idea, but once she has it, she'll find comfort and realize it's time to sleep

You've had some good suggestions, and I do think her behavior is pretty normal. Kids just hate to give up all the fun and excitement of being awake and active. Some things I've noticed:

My 4yo grandboy craves physical activity, so we encourage lots of it during the day.

He can come up with an extra burst of physical "enthusiasm" at bedtime, and having him dance, wrestle, jump off furniture, etc. for a half hour before bed doesn't necessarily make it harder for him to settle down.

Watching TV does apparently jazz up lots of children. Research suggests the passive programming acts like a drug on the brain, then taking the kids away for bed suddenly deprives them of their "drug." The resulting excitability is like a rebound effect.

My 16 month old son is the opposite. For awhile (when he still took a bottle) we gave him the bottle and read books or just had quiet time. Now that he has a sippy cup, he doesnt want to take the time to drink it and sit and read a book. I am sure it is a bad habit but we have started to watch 15 minutes of a disney (Handy Manny or Mickey Mouse Club) and then he will sit on my lap or dads lap and drinks his sippy cup. Otherwise he still wants to play even if we are in his room. We are lucky though, once he is in his crib he usually goes right down. Goodluck!

My son was the same way. He was tired, but moving around was his way of fighting feeling sleepy. I'd have him on my lap on the rocking chair to read bedtime stories and show him the pictures. Just sitting still long enough would have him yawning and rubbing his eyes. Then it was tucking in time.

she probably is just being 2, but maybe cutting the tv out would help? it may be getting her all jazzed up and then she just cant wind down. is she taking any naps during the day? if she is, then maybe she is getting too much sleep and just isnt ready to wind down at 7:30. good luck!