How to Get My 2 Year Old to Relax at Night

I agree with a good nap. And at least 1 hour of very active play in the mornings and again in the afternoon. Running jumping, climbing peddling.. He has a lot of energy and needs to use it up. Running errands is not a physical activity.

It gets darker later, so if is room is still bright, you may want to consider putting up something to block out the light. I used to hang up quilts.
We also found if turned down the lights all around the house and made sure the TV was off, so it did not seem like anything else was going on it helps your child not feel like he is missing out on anything. Speak in quieter tones. No rough horsing in the tub or while drying him off.

Also if there are neighborhood noises and sounds, that could also be sounding interesting to him.. Kids laughing, people talking, car doors closing. Maybe a nice sound machine or some quiet music.

When you read a "bedtime story", this is not the time to engage your son.. Do not ask him questions about the book. Do not get all animated with your voice. Read it in a quiet tone and towards the end of the book, begin reading slower and slower.

Remember vitamins need to be taken in the morning with food. They pep up a lot of kids, so if you give them at night, it may be too much of a stimulant.

One of my kids did this. I finally realized, it was because she was learning she was all alone and instead of throwing a tantrum, she'd make request after request after request. I found that what worked for her was about 1-1.5 hours before she was going down, I'd close all the blinds in the house, turn off all the tv's, only have secondary lighting on (lamps, accent lighting in bookshelves, that kind of stuff)and put her in jammies so her brain began to be signaled as bedtime was approaching. She usually got all of her "requests" out w/in that 1-1.5 hours before bed so we could read quietly by the lamp in her room and she'd go down (most of the time) easier. Good luck!

Does he nap during the day? My son started doing this at that age. I cut back his 2-3 hour nap to just 1.5 to 2 hrs. It got him back on schedule but it took about a week.

I know you probably do not want to hear this, but I think it's adorable that he wants to talk about all the things he wants to do when he wakes up. His brain is on over drive it seems at night! It's developmental and he seems very bright =-)

This is COMMON at this age juncture and age stage.
They are changing... so much, cognitively and physically.
Growing pains for them, in many ways.

It will pass.
Just keep to a routine.
It will pass, as he matures.

Kids this age also do not have, fully developed impulse-control yet.
And at this age, cognitively, they begin to have dreaming/nightmares/and night time 'fears.'
So this tweaks them too.
MANY things are happening to them, developmentally, at this age stage.

And, when kids are OVER-tired, they have a harder time, falling asleep.
Lack of sleep or naps... makes it worse.

Since he is going through this, start the bedtime routine, EARLIER. Then that way, he won't end up falling asleep, too late or later.

Kids from about this age as well, need to Wind-down, before bed.
They do not instantly fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow.
Before the actual bedtime, make everything dark. Only leave on one lamp. Make things quiet. Setting the stage so to speak.
Don't do any horseplay or active play before bed. This only prevents them from winding down.

Let him have loveys IN his bed and a flashlight, and a sippy of water.

There is also something called "Warm Milk" by the brand Animal Parade. They make supplements for kids. If you look on Amazon, they have it and you can read about it there. It is a chewable. To help kids relax before bed. I used it for my daughter. All natural. Natural foodstores or Whole Foods will probably have it too.

But again, this is the age stage. At 2 years old, this commonly happens.

is he napping in the day if not start giving him his naps back mine used to do this and he wasnt napping and everyone said give him his naps back and he would quit and they were right. he gets a 2 hr nap in the day and crashed hard by 930 and wakes up about 9am.

Once you get into his room, you can try "you get two requests, and then it's bedtime." Or "if you need something else, ask now, because once we get to your room, it's time for bed." It's just kind of setting the stage that the requests can't be asked and honored forever. After the two requests, some diversionary tactics might be helpful: i.e. him: "Can I have some water?" You: "What song would you like to hear before I turn off your light and you go to sleep?"

Good luck.

I agree, I think he is trying to manipulate you. Sounds like he doesn't want to go to bed! Classic two-year old behavior in my [limited] experience. Could you give him about 10 minutes alone in his crib with a picture book, after his routine is done? We call this "lights on time" in our house and it helps the kids wind down in bed before it's lights out. And you know, you could always just firmly say "No, no more special requests tonight. I love you! Sleep tight!" and leave the room/shut the door/etc. If he protests, well...too bad. He might not be happy about it but it sure would send the message.

Sorry in advance for the novel... but I think we just moved through the EXACT stage you are talking about! Even the potty requests! :) And God forbid if you "forget" something in the routine, you have to start ALL over! It can be really frustrating to drag on the bedtime routine, but I found that I had to "prepare" for bedtime before she was ready. So I would turn off her big light and turn on her nightlight and white noise before she even went into her room.

First, maybe if there are things he consistently asks for, you could keep a little basket nearby with those items, so while you are reading stories he could put on his chapstick and eat his vitamin (for example.) With my daughter, it was always "I need to take my temperature." (I have no idea why!) So I kept the thermometer nearby and she could stick it in her ear and take her own temperature while we were reading stories. Thankfully once I gave her permission to do it, she stopped "needing" it!

I also love his adorable request for talking about tomorrow, and maybe you could add this into his bedtime routine so it is something you do every night. (I am saying this because my daughter ALWAYS asks to "talk about our fun day!!!" So we always make up songs about the fun things we did.)

And lastly, somehow the "end" of our bedtime routine became singing Twinkle Twinkle, ABC's, and Baa Baa Black Sheep while we snuggle. When this is over, there is NOTHING else to do besides sing "I'm a Little Teapot" and we "pour" her into her bed at the end of the song. Seriously, it sounds ridiculous but it is like a mini-transition from the actual bedtime routine to getting her into bed for the night!

I think that, like any other transition, toddlers need time to move through the transition in a way that really lets them know that something is ending and something else is beginning. So now you just have to figure out how to get it back down to 30 minutes...

Mine does the same thing so I:
make sure he is good and tired throughout the day: play, walks etc
I've also adjusted his bedtime to a little bit later..that has helped
I stay in his room w/him for awhile sitting in a chair
Oh and a nightlight was key so he wasn't scared.
I made sure he was comfy not too light of a pajama or too heavy of one for hte weather we were having.
bedtime routine.
I do kisses, holding him for a bit because I figure this age will never come again and while it's taxing.......soon he will be grown, not want me to hold him or hug & kiss him and someday will fly the coop and be gone out of the house :(

He sounds like a very bright, charming little boy who is just so excited about life! I agree with the others about calming things down for an hour or so BEFORE you start your bedtime routine, and lots and lots of active play during the day. Just stick with the routine and don't pay much attention to him when you know he's just stalling. This cute little fella still needs lots of sleep :)