Topic : Sleep Issues

Thanks for the help.  We will try the cd thing tonight!

My daughter is 3 1/2 and we have gone though this.  My daughter has all the excuses in the book, "I am hungry", "I need to go potty", "I need this or that" so first off we made a routine of making sure she got everything she needed before bed.  Then, we found her currency: a special teddy bear. And she is told, "If you get out of bed, special teddy sleeps with Mommy."  And we follow through.  Never make a statement you won't back up. 

Also, my husband is a 7 on 7 off shift worker.  So there were some tough transition times.  The biggest thing is getting her back into bed EVERY time.  If you give in just once you are doomed.  The first time she gets out, she get a hug and kiss and tucked back in.  But if she does it a second time or more, there is no talking at all, she gets put back to bed with nothing. 

Really the most important thing is to do the EXACT same thing every time, so your child knows exactly what will happen if she gets out of bed. 

Good luck. 

Remember, different people need different amounts of sleep. My sisters kids always slept a lot- took naps, went to bed at 7:30 got up at 7am. My daughter came home from the hospital and  never napped. 1 week old, and she was getting up at 5am with me and going to bed at 8pm- (I go to bed about midnight, 1am) My son also came home and while he took a nap on occasion, he has never taken a daily nap. They are now 2 and 4, they get up between 5-6am and go to bed around 9:30pm with no naps. These are active kids, outside for hours a day and although I wished they would watch an entire 1/2 hour tv show, they don't. The Dr said they just don;'t need as much sleep as other kids. Believe me, I wish they would sleep more but they don't, and getting all worked up about it isn;t going to make it better. As the pediatrician said "when they aren't sleeping, they are learning"

My children do not nap either for they are definetly night owls which of course it comes honestly. Without a nap, they go to bed at 10 and with a nap they will be up til at leat 1 in the morning. They sleep til 8 and are just as happy as can be. We do have a routine but the routine set has been set according to them, their bodies and I don't have problems with them going to bed, they will usually tell me when they are ready for bed which is a nice. I remember when my first was born, I THOUGHT she NEEDED to nap becasue it seemed that is what every one thinks, she did take naps when she was real young but as she grew older, sometimes it was a fight to get her to lay down and then one day, My eyes were opened and I realized, the child ISN"T tired so why should she have to sleep? So, as parents, we need to get to know our kids and see what works for them and go with it, it sure does make life easier.

my two keds sleep well a l went to a slep school to tesh me how to get them to slep better and it worked. i injoy them every day.

 I have a 31/2 boy. for about six months he never sleeps(so it seems). I do have a bed time routine. dinner at  5:30 pm, bath at 6:00pm, movie at  6:30- 7:30, and a bed story from 7:30-8:00pm.  He seems to go to bed without a problem , but at around mid-night he wakes up. He does't talk very well so i don't know what he wants when he comes out. I play the game of putting him back in bed from mid-night until aroud 3am. He never goes back to sleep. If i don't here him come out he tears everything out of the frige, floods the bathroom, goes outside, everything the is dangerous he does. I took him to the doc. and they put him on aderul( an adhd med.) it does't help at all. He never naps either. I work alot.  I have to get everyone up at 5:30am just to get out the door at 7:00am to start the day. I am not getting enough sleep to do well at my job, and i get  craby from the lack of sleep.  I cant countinue to sleep on the couch. How do i get this 3 yearold to sleep and stay aslpeep? I am at wits end.

Maybe try putting him to bed a little later and see what happens. I do not put my girls to bed before 9 or they will be up way earlier then need to. They are 2 and 4.

What time is he going to bed? What time are you going to bed? Either there may be a reason he doesn't want to go to school (being picked on is usually the reason or being made fun of.) Or he has figured out just when you are asleep and knows when to get back up & turn on the TV until late hours of the night. Maybe he is listening to music with a head set or reading with a flashlight. What ever it is-he's certainly not going to tell you if you ask. You'll have to catch him at it. If it's a problem at school-when he talks to you or any one else-you'll have to read between the lines and try to pick up on little hints that he says without realizing what he's doing. He's at the right age for this problem. I have 3 grown kids & 6 grandkids & almost all of them have been through this. Remember-if you start asking questions-they won't tell and if they think you're being pushy-they will clam-up and you'll never find out!

recently our 3 year old has been waking up crying uncontrollably. It doesn't seem to matter what we do to calm her, she will just scream then all at once she says she wants to go  back to sleep. I think that is what has caused her to start getting out of bed every night, ALOT.

I have a 7yr old daugher who refuses and panics if she is asked to sleep alone.  A little history...Her father and I divorced when she was 1 yr old.  Since then and even before we divorced she has been attached to me.  She slept in my bed till she was 3.  I since moved in with this guy whom we've lived together for 4 years.  The first two years we lived with his parents (money issues on their side) so we shared a room but she had her own bed.  She would sleep with us, but as soon as she was sleep i would put her in her bed and sometime at night she would end up in mine sometimes.  We moved out two years ago, she has her own room but she refuses to sleep unless i sleep with her.  Sooo, i sleep with her but when she falls asleep i go to my bed, sure enough at least 5 times out of the week she ends up in our bed.  I usually end up going to my room after 12 sometimes after she is in a deep sleep.  This is causing problems in my current relationship because he is fed up with me sleeping in my daughters room and then going to my room like a zombie...But when i tell my daughter that she has to sleep by herself she panics badly, and if I tell her that i'll be there till she falls asleep she wont be able to sleep and she'll panic when i leave.  Please HELP!!!!! I feel alone at this, because he is not helping me solve the problem, and i dont think i do much to solve it because i seee the panic in her face and i dont know what to do.