Playing up for one parent at bed time and not the other - why is this????

[PutThatInYourPipeandSmokeIt]

DD is 15 months old. When DH puts her to bed, she drinks her milk and then he puts her in her cot and she more or less dismissed him straightaway and he re-appears, job done.

With me, she won't lie down in her cot and wants cuddles and kisses and laughs and larks about. I have tried singing to her but always end up having to leave the room to get her to take me seriously and then we start again. It's a protracted business compared to when DH does it!

I'm the primary carer and we are both soft most of the time but firm on the battles we choose, so she does have boundaries which she knows about. I spend loads of one to one time with her playing and reading and being out and about, so she gets loads of attention from me. DH generally only sees her at weekends due to his work hours.

What can I do to make a smoother bed time for mummy????

[dandycandyjellybean]

I just had this with my ds 2.4. Dh can't put him to bed often coz he's disabled and night times aren't good for him, so it was driving me mad coz I didn't want my last minutes with him to be horrible, but he was being an absolute terror, hitting me, throwing stuff out of bed, kicking his legs over and over as i was trying to settle him. After threatening the naughty step which he thought was a brill idea coz he got to stay up a bit later!!!

I decided there was only one option open to me and told him I would take away his beloved teddies ~ he has 2 the same that he loves and twiddles with their tails to get to sleep. I did it and felt like the worst mother in the world, he was absolutely howling! I left him for 2 minutes then went up and returned them, reminding him why I'd taken them in the first place and asking for an apology.

He has been to bed like his old lovely self ever since, and if he starts to play up I only have to mention it and he is as good as gold. hth.

[helenelisabeth]

Sorry to tell you but my DD1 who is 5 is still like this. She has gradually got better the last couple of months and hops into bed for me now but on and off since she was very small she has gone to bed in 2 mins flat for DH and can sometimes take up to half an hour for me, what with wanting more cuddles/kisses, needing a toilet, wanting a drink etc.

I am slightly softer than DH although I do think it is because she has a stronger bond to me and doesn't really want me to leave her. I would say the same with your DD, she just having a tighter bond atm to you. I was the same as a child.

My advice re getting her to bed quickly is to make sure you stick to a RIGID routine and do not keep going back and forth to her.

Good luck!

[helenelisabeth]

needing the toilet!