in expecting my 2year old to be asleep now as she has been up since 5.30am with only a 30 min nap?!!!!

[Quicksilver]

She is lying in her cot pretending to burp and then saying 'Excuse me'.
She should be exhasuted! This doesn't make sense!!

My three yr old is the same

she woke up at 5.45am and hasn't slept all day

she's singing in her bed

LucyJones glad I'm not the only one.
It is maddening! I need more sleep than she does.

I feel your pain too, my ds is 3.8 and for the last fortnight has been up at 5.40 exactly. And is not asleep before 8, and no nap, and despite cycling 3 miles, running round a park, bouncing on a bouncy castle and slide, jumping on a trampoline. I am knackered and he is ready for more.
Bring on the teenage years of sleeping until lunchtime....

In my experience sleep begets sleep
when a child of mine has not slept since early apart from a cat nap they never go off well and often sleep fitfully

The opposite extreme is also true ime - a child who has slept for a three hour stint in the day often goes off beautifully and sleeps 'till dawn

they get over-tired.

I love that lying awake in cot thing though - good all round!

She is asleep! lankalto I can't imagine a time when I actually have to wake her up. Seems like a distant dream.....

Posy It sounds good in theory but I honestly think dd would be up til midnight if she slept for 3 hours in the day.
It is cute listening to her babble to herself in her cot though - up to a point.

Mine dropped her naps at 12 months

Sometimes we get this sort of rigmarole at bedtime. Agree with PPP that it is worse when she's very tired, the silly little sod

anybody have any idea what exactly is the RIGHT tome for a child to go to bed. mine all seem to be budding maggie thatchers and can survive on 4 hours per night.

My dd doesn't nap in the day any more either
and I have to wake her at 8am to get her brother to school, who although older sleeps 7-7