Soooo fed up of having to sleep on thr floor in my toddler’s room

We have been doing this for weeks with our 3yo without any success at all

Maybe stop stop the late evening bath. Mine were energised by the bath so I bathed them in the late afternoon instead. It gave them enough zip to have dinner and some quiet reading or an early evening walk, and then they started feeling tired again. They washed hands and faces after eating, so it wasn't necessary to do the full bath.

Buy a children's weighted blanket and see if that helps too.

Also cut out all screen time from 4pm on. Don't let him watch content with any adversarial element to it. Avoid dinosaur and large machine content too unless these characters are peaceful and friendly.

How feisty is he during the day, and does he engage in behaviour like head banging or similar at times other than bedtime?

My lg dropped her nap about this age , it is hard for the first couple of weeks and feels sooo early but they do learn to power through. You could also alternate it so nap every other day or on nursery days only for example while he gets used to it
I think this will help with the sleep pressure as it was the same for my girl! Good luck!

My DS got up at 5.30 for years, sometimes 4.30. It’s a phase. If they sleep through the night then tolerating early wakings is just part and parcel of having young DC.

It’s very rare to find a child who has always slept through AND doesn’t wake early.

Try gradual retreat; moving closer towards the door each night. If all else fails consult a sleep trainer. Nicola at Child Sleep Solutions is v good.

It is part and parcel of having young DC though; often there is no rhyme or reason. I stayed with my DS until he fell asleep until he was 6!

I promise it ends. Just make sure you eat lots and rest when you can. Once he’s fallen asleep go back and sleep in your own bed.

I think if you are dropping the nap then you should try early bedtime to escape the overtiredness trap, as then even if takes 1-2 hours to settle, it's not that late and his night sleep won't be so short.

I agree with setting a wake time and sticking with it but it's hard when the night is so broken to start with. You might need to alternate nap and no nap days to start with, especially if waking 5-6am, taking into account his sleep needs over 24h as PP said.

Honestly don't be afraid of early bed time, we've always erred on trialling more sleep before capping, as overtiredness is harder to tackle.

With regards to him staying in bed, then a big bed (single) with a bed guard might make it more exciting/novel, make sure he has a comforter of some description and do some rapid return/gradual retreat sleep training - and don't cave whatever you do and return to sleeping on his floor whatever you (unless you're happy to potentially do that for the next 1-2 years)

Ah I hated this phase spending hours trying to settle him. We had to just drop the nap once my son was 15 months old. It was really hard having him on the go all day long but it did solve the fight at bedtime.

Say a nice goodnight, leave room. If toddler gets out say something like “it’s bedtime now” and put them back in bed. Leave room again. No chat, no shushing etc.

It will work- you might have 1-2 nights of misery but after that you’ll be back to normal.

Sadly 5am is a natural wake up time for toddlers in summer when it gets light so early.
You could try black out blinds if you haven’t already got them, make sure no chink if light can get through. And try co sleeping in your bed, at least you won’t be on a mat in the floor.

A blackout blind really helped my DS sleep a bit longer in the mornings. We have one that suctions on to the window so you can also take it on holiday. I wasn't prepared to leave him to cry due to him having a difficult start in life so I just made a comfortable setup for myself in his room (double bed).

I'm not sure if cutting his nap short will actually make him sleep more at night. He might now be overtired, which could be causing the hyperactive behaviour. Worth playing around with it a bit.

when we took the rails off we put a safety gate on the door

on another note and a serious one please try to put a podcast on your phone - somehow it knocks you clean out - you’d be surprised

I would personally introduce some kind of sleep training

i know lots of people disagree but I know so many people who are still spending hours setting their 6-7-8 year olds at bedtime

And there's nothing wrong with 5am starts

This is why I put all of mine in a double bed and co slept. Life's too short, sleep is king.

I’d just have him in with you , everyone sleeps and eventually he will go back in his own room naturally . If you are worried about squishing him , which I really doubt you would perhaps try him on a mattress on the floor of your room .

One thing not yet mentioned and which feels like the last thing you'll want to do when you're exhausted is to make sure you are completely physically exhausting him in the day. You are already spending hours trying to get him to sleep, an extra hour spent in the swimming pool or running round the park is more enjoyable and productive than what you are currently spending your time on sleep wise.

I also found that if they can't sleep, getting them up to do something that uses both brain and dexterity, like Lego or a puzzle, would often make them feel tired within 30 mins. I would read my book beside them but not fully engage, I didn't want to reward with attention, I wanted them to better gauge when they were actually tired and it worked.

Sleep does settle down when the nap drops completely, but the expectation that you'll cater to every whim doesn't, so do try to find better ways to manage it than sacrificing yourself.

Kids naturally change their sleep patterns. It seems to me he no longer needs as much sleep as you expect.

I would try and drop the nap. He may seem tired in the afternoon for a week, but it should work itself out. You could instead try making bedtime later, if you want to keep the nap.

Stop sleeping on the yoga mat !

You need proper sleep yourself