4 yr old and bedtime - any help appreciated!

[floatyjosmum]

my 4 yr old dd used to go to bed very nicely but in the past few months has become the devil child at bedtime!

put her to bed at 8 with ds who is 8 and he goes off quite nicely whereas atmidnight she is literally trashing her room (does it very quietly). the other night every toy was on the bedroom floor so she cud make a den under her bed!

she also developed a scream and literally seems to lose the plot slightly, know its all a put on as when we ring her dad to speak to her she calms down instantly, promises him to behave and then promplty starts again when the phone is put down.

tried bribing with chocolate for the next mornign and done the whole star chart thing but the novelty seems to wear off.

any ideas would be very appreciated!

My 4 year old has just been through this, up until now she has slept beautifully.

She did go through a trash the bed room phase but I explained that as I had finished tidying for the day and all the toys have been put away any found out after curfew would be put in the loft.

Then I allowed her one bedtime toy and she listens to her cd player and some bedtime stories.

After 1/2 hour or so she puts herself to bed.

I also tell her something fun we will be doing the next day and tell her she will need to be well rested for it. Hope this helps.

could she be over tired at that time? maybe put her down half an hour earlier read her a story play soft music and see if she settles easier

i find if my ds is over tired he gets up to all sorts as he cannot get himself to sleep so maybe just start routine earlier and see if it makes a difference

maybe also if its to get a reaction from you remove her toys and she can earn them back with good behaviour

try not to show its bothering you also walk away scream and walk back calm as it could be a way of getting your attention

maybe the earlier bed time full attention from you read 2 stories and say she needs to get her rest so she has energy for all the fun things tomorrow

thanku x

think i might try the earlier bedtime and see if that works and if it does then its an added bonus!
have said to both ds and dd that the black bin bags like childrens toys so if they want to leave them out thats fine!

i hope your dd is sleeping better for you

to put it simply ... NO!!

have discovered though that ds who is 8 is encouraging her, but he's a bit more conniving than dd and when he hears me is pretending to be asleep!
however caught them both out sunday night!

ex has had a talk with her - which normally works, she said sorry and promised to be better at bedtime but no luck!

let her come into my bed last night when i went to bed and within seconds she was asleep so she is def tired!

I don't mean to be nosy or insensitive but I was just wondering if it is a recent thing that her dad is not around? Maybe she knows that if she's naughty enough she'll get to speak to him.... Could it be an attention seeking thing? Also is she sharing a room with your ds? Maybe, just to break the cycle, you could put her to bed in your bed, separately from her brother, then move her into her own bed once she's asleep.... Not ideal I know. Got no idea why I'm trying to give advice actually - my dd2 is a terrible sleeper! Just wanted to wish you luck!

make sure they go to bed seperate times so she is asleep before brother goes to bed he can stay down stairs reading book give her earlier bedtime maybe she is over tired give her some one to one story time settle her down have ds in pj's already then send him off quietly to bed