At my wits end with a 2year olds bedtime

ganderson1804

My 2 (past May) year old daughter is giving us a nightmare at bedtime. She is in her own bedroom in a toddler bed (was her cot).

Initially she went to bed no bother. Then she started the getting out of bed routine. Finally the supernanny routine worked and she settled again for a few weeks. Then it started again. Supernanny didn't work, it would go on for hours. Bedded at 7.30pm, still coming out at 10pm. So the only thing that worked was shutting her bedroom door so she couldn't come out. Again this worked for a few weeks.

Then came the playing. She would get out of bed and play with whatever she could get her hands on. Toys, games, clothes, bedding you name it! I removed her toy box, put away all her games in the wardrobe and used elastic bands to keep it closed, removed dolls. Then she started on other things. Last nights she emptied her whole chest of drawers, 250 nappy bags, moved her bed and then striped it.

Tonight I put everything back in her room. She just has to learn not to touch it. I tried rewarding her with a sticker system but this didn't work either. I ended up sitting next to her bed until she fell asleep.

Please help!!!!! Unfortunately she's a smart cookie, too smart for her own good does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do? I've even tried stopping her day time naps as thought she just wasn't tired but nope!

whitewing

Could you take her to the park for an early evening run around/climb/swing in the fresh air? That has calmed my (slightly older) daughter down considerably.

moomoomama27

It sounds like she's perhaps not ready for bed if she has the energy to do all that! Is she napping in the day? Could you perhaps encourage a shorter nap or make it earlier if applicable? Perhaps a good calm wind down routine, no tv or electronic gadgets, a bath a quiet play and a book?

At 2 mine weren't ready for bed until around 8-9pm which was late when compared to my peer group, however I didn't have any bedtime problems, ever! They settled well and slept right through uninterrupted. Of course you have to do what is right for your child, but it may be worth shifting some things about, or trying a newer, perhaps later routine.

Indie_Kid

It's still fairly light until gone 9pm. Could it be something to do with that?

Blackpool_Saver

Not much fun is it :-( I remember it well, you just have to get through it, remain firm and calm.

GwylimT

The only bed time rule we have ever had really is that you only leave your room to use the bathroom. At that age our daughter wasn't going to bed until around 9:30 as she wasn't ready to sleep, she would the fairly regularly play in her room until she conked out.

Put her in her room later, explain that it's bed time and she needs to stay in her room, then leave her to it, she might cry, play or stomp on the landing, but it won't last forever, if you keep trying different things she is gaining attention more and more at night, so she will play up more and more at night.

Alikay

Could you keep her toys downstairs? 2 year olds don't tend to play in their bedroom anyway as they're downstairs with you all day. I only kept teddies and a couple of books in my kids bedrooms until they were at school as I found keeping the bedroom clear reinforced the idea that it was for sleeping in, not playing.

Also a good wind-down routine of tidy-up time, game (dominoes, doing a jigsaw together etc), followed by an episode of Night Garden or Peppa Pig (nothing too stimulating like cartoons) then bath, story and bed works well. I've found with my own children and foster children that taking that hour to end the day properly and prepare them for bed is effective and enjoyable for everyone.

Edited to add:

Oops, sorry. I see you've tried removing toys and she just plays with whatever she can get her hands on:(.

PartTimeMe

Been there, done that ;-)

Your little girl sounds very much like my little boy (turned 2 at the end of May, very bright, very physical, etc). He has never been a good sleeper but being referred onto a Sleep Tight course was the turning point for us. I can only share what we were told, but one thing that was drummed into was consistently and routine. We were also warned at the start of the course that things would probably get worse before they got better as we implemented the techniques.

No tv or flashing/noisy toys for at least 30min before bedtime routine.

A structured fine motor skills activity between dinner and bedtime to tire them mentally (this made the biggest difference for us).

Not putting him to bed until he was tired, this means he doesn't start his bedtime until many of his peers a going to sleep, but he now goes to sleep within 30 min of being left (a 2hr improvement) and sleeps through.

Things went pear shaped for several weeks after we had to move him into a bed as he learnt to climb out his cot. Like your daughter he caused havoc with anything available. His room now just has his bed, chest of drawers, a couple of soft toys, with a babygate across the door. He soon gets bored and puts himself to bed.

His room has been rearranged to prevent climbing.

I don't allow him to nap much over 1hr, and have gradually moved this forward folate morning/lunch so that come bedtime he has been up 6+ hrs and is actually tired.

We've gone from him taking several hours to settle, and then being up numerous times in the night, to self settling within 30min and sleeping 10-11hrs. Any changes to his routine, such as holiday, are horrendous and take a few weeks to straighten out again, but on the whole we are all feeling much better.

It's tough, but you will get there.

onlyroz

With us it helped to make the room absolutely pitch black. So thick curtains and paper covering the little window over the bedroom door.

marisco_2

What works for my youngest is having a calm routine leading up to bedtime. TV goes off an hour before and he does something quiet like playing with his Lego or a puzzle.

He has a plug in night light that takes a lavender and camomile pad to scent his room. You can get this from Boots and I have found it works a treat in relaxing him.

A warm bath playing with his robofish calms him right down. Then it is toilet and teeth wash so he is all comfy, before sharing a story with me. I was once advised to be careful which books to read kids at bedtime. Anything to adventurous fires up their imaginations and makes it hard for them to switch off and settle.

Maysie

We are struggling a bit at the moment. Previously she was having 3 hrs naps in the day and sleeping 6-6. Now its barely a nap and 7-9 going down to -5.30-7 getting up. I am shattered. We have tried a few things. Definitely trying to get her down later. She fell asleep on the sofa twice this week. once she was sounds i transferred her to bed. If she falls asleep in her bed its because i have been laying next to her. She screams hysterically if left and bangs her head on the door. We are trying to bring her stress levels down about sleeping in a bed before trying a routine again. I am doing extra walks in the day as i know fresh air in the afternoon is good for sleep. We avoid berries in the afternoon. My son is adhd so we avoid aspartame and other sweetner drinks anyway as they used to make him worse. I know not to give calpol as that affects her like it did her brother. Any pain relief the ibuprofen one seems to work fine.

I am going to try some nursery rhyme music and lullaby once i get round to putting it on a gadget for upstairs. Have it quietly going on the landing.