Owners of 3.5 year olds...

[CountessDracula]

how long does it take you to get them to bed. Do you have endless curtain calls?

Not toooo long - really he needs a nap in the afternoon but usually he goes without now so he is quite tired by bedtime.

Have this problem with ds1 more - he's just 5 - despite endless activity and saying he's tired, he stays awake babbling on for ages!

No curtain calls. But she sleeps with her brother in bunk beds and he's fab at going to bed. She takes her cue from him. Any getting out of bed after lights out is dealt with ruthlessly.

No, bed first time.

But she wakes and gets into bed with me almost every night.

zzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Ds has just turned 4 but he's a really good sleeper. Whinges a bit when I say bed but he gets in anyway and is usually asleep within 10 minutes.

No problems, he goes at 7pm & then we don't see him till morning....

Awwww what bliss........

Sorry no I mean how long does the whole bedtime routine take eg from after bath to into bed

We do

get into jamas

play for a while

3 books

milk

bed

and it takes an hour!

She is master of prevarication and she will have some milk, then get into bed then just as I am leaving says that she wants the rest
If I say no we get hysterics and it takes hours to calm her down. She also drinks her milk unbelievably slowly.

Have threatened no milk and she is better for a day then bad again. Have started a star chart but it doesn't seem to be working. She usually responds well to them

I am starting to dread bedtime as it is so wearinng

after all this faffing she goes straight to sleep

Half an hour.
Straight into jamas, stories in our bed with milk, teeth and wee, lights out.

I'd cut the play out.

If mine say they are thirsty once they're in bed they get water. And the light stays off.

well we only do baths twice a week. We get into jimjams, brush teeth, DD1 reads her school book then up they go. I read 1 chapter of a book to them (they share a room) and then they go to sleep (allegedly - normally there's some chitting and chatting first).

But at about 2am, comes the pitter patter of tiny feet and the steely hissing of me saying 'go back to BED!'

Then I give in, and in she gets and out DP gets the other side.

Like clockwork.

CD, we have a similar baggage! Have v similar bedtime routine to your dd's and we also get called back to perform the same rituals every night (doesn't work if we try to do them before leaving the rooom). First call back - "I need a wee", second - "I need a drink and can't find my water", third - "put my muzzy on me", fourth - " I need a tissue", fifth - "I need another kiss".
Then she goes to sleep (normally). Takes an hour to and hour and a half. If we don't perform all these rituals it fasts degenerates into a nightmare...

oh god yes

and her latest ritual

"mummy look after me til I count to 40"

I then have to cuddle her in bed til she counts to 40

bloody weirdos 3yos

DS is just 3 and it takes the following (or better said, he demands it):

-BAth
-A story read from a book
-Another story
-another one even if it's told from memory.
-When I'm about to turn off the light he screams he wants to go to the toilet (usally not true)
-BAck on bed he says he needs to poo
-Toilet (50% of times he doesn't lie about this)
-back to bed
-More milk
-water please
-a cuddly toy
-going to mum's bed
--back to the room
-toilet again
-... add infinitum

I'm just waiting for the incomming holidays to finish to start super nany training, not much use now if we are going to be sharing a room during the holidays... Will be checking this thread soon :)

15 minutes usually.
PJs, wash, teeth, milk/story.
Tonight over an hour.
No idea why.
He is driving me nuts.
Am off to work now.
His dad can have him.

When ds was faffing about like this I drew a picture of the bedtime routine and gave him a star for each bit he did nicely. It really worked.

I am tougher now though, dd gets nothing for being good! If ds saw her getting away with that kind of behaviour he'd start it too.