26 month old sleep/behaviour is hell

[NikNak03]

Hi. Im just looking for some advice please from one desperate mum!

My DD was 2 in March. She goes to bed at 7pm and wakes up anytime between 3-4am and just climbs out of bed she learnt to climb the cot so thats gone.
She just screams uncontrollably thats not tears just pure angry screams until we bring her downstairs. Ive tried the keep putting her into bed but literally she just gets back up and its constant for hours until we have to get up anyway. I dont know what to do because she naps about an hour in the day.
her behaviour is absolutely diabolical. I mean it gives terrible twos a whole other level. She’s constantly throwing things, biting us all inc her brother who is 6, she hits and just constantly screaming. Its a constant battle 24/7 and its really getting me down. We cant just sit and watch tv for 20 minutes because she will be up and start jumping scratching and attacking everyone. It’s horrible and im at my wits end i dont know what to do with her.
any advice would be really appreciated!

just to add this phase has been happening for about 4 months!

My daughter had trouble sleeping at 2 also. Im not an expert but I think its a normal age for a bit of regression.

We moved bedtime to 8. /8.30. Made an effort to get out most days to the park etc so she took an earlier nap. By 8.30 she was tired enough to sleep through to 7am.

Its difficult when you get so used to a certain routine but I think you have to be a bit flexible in these early years and settle with a solid routine when they are a bit older.

I hope my experience helps in some way.

That sounds really hard and we’ve had some really awful periods with sleep too although not violent just not going to sleep and crying a lot.

what does a regular day look like for her?

That does sound really hard. When tou say that she has only been like this for around 4 months can you think of anything that started this all off like maybe a cold or sore throat?

What’s her eating like?

@Kkyla rogally agree, I think routines are great but they need to evolve with your child. They need to adapt to suit their needs which are changing all the time.

we’ve always had a routine for the day but not necessarily exact timings, it’s more a guide and it changes depending on how the day is going. If the old routine isn’t working anymore it’s probably time to make some changes

Thank you all!
she eats absolutely fine, health wise is fine too!
were out most days either at a soft play or the park or something so she doesn’t completely destroy my house!
We do the same sort of things weve always done and weve tried moving bedtime till later. Yesterday she didnt go to bed until 10pm as family were visiting and she was still up at 5. But now shes exhausted and really grumpy because she didnt sleep in. I have an appointment with the HV on 19th June so hopefully theyll be able to help xx

I know that this might come across as a bit of an odd question but is she tall by any chance? I’ve always found that tall little ones need a lot of calories and it could just be that she’s a bit hungry and the food she’s having isn’t sustaining her through the night.

This guide from the Caroline Walker Trust might be useful as it gives information on portion sizes and also gives sample menus. We’ve used their guides a couple of times just to tweak what our DC eat and we’ve always had a positive outcome.

If I remember correctly the No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers has a section on early waking which you might find helpful too

Sorry I forgot to add. If you are seeing the HV anyway i would fill in these two assessments and take them with you to the meeting:

27 month Ages & Stages

and the 2 year Social & Emotional Ages & Stages.

@NikNak03 does she nap? If she went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 5 she will definitely be overtired. This will spike cortisol which is making her not sleep well.

even if we have family over, our children don’t go to bed at 10pm. Protect the routine at all costs! We just say ‘we’re putting them to bed now’ at 6.30pm and come back down after an hour or so. We either have an early dinner so the kids can join it or eat after they’re in bed.

It may be that she’s quite overstimulated and needs more quiet time,things can be quite overwhelming for little kids as it’s all new and they’re growing and changing so much

How are things now @NikNak03?