Almost 3 year old, at the end of my tether

[Discopanda]

Hi, I posted in the under the 'sleep' topic before but got no response so reposting. My almost 3 year old has never been a great sleeper, she started to get a bit better after starting preschool but from breaking up for Christmas holidays at the start of December she's been an absolute nightmare to get to sleep, some nights she's up until 11-12ish. We have tried absolutely everything, she just will not go to sleep. She's back at preschool now which I thought would help but hasn't as of yet. Is there some developmental thing that could be going on or does anyone have any advice? We literally put her back into bed dozens of times, I work from home so when she doesn't go to sleep it has a knock on effect on me as it means I have less time to work. Please help!

I don't think there is any general developmental explanation for this. There could be something development related that is specifically effecting her.

If you've tried 'absolutely everything' it could be that you're not trying anything for long enough. If you're trying a different technique every night/every few nights, it won't work. You need to stick to one method for a couple of weeks at least and see if you notice an improvement.

It's difficult to advise without knowing her/her routine tbh. What time does she go to bed/wake up in the morning? Does she have an afternoon nap? When does she eat tea/dinner? Does she have milk before bed? Is she in nappies? Is she tired, but fighting sleep? Or does she not seem tired? Is she tired the next morning or up easily? When she's up in the night is it upset/crying or laughing/running around? Once asleep does she sleep through?

The only other thing I can think of that can cause hyperactivity/sleeplessness are food allergies/intolerances. It may be worth keeping a diary of what she eats and seeing if there is any correlation between food/wakefulness.

I have a 2y4m old who often isn't asleep until between 11-12 at night, so i feel your pain! I thought i knew the cause of our problem (napping on afternoon school run) and how to fix it (earlier nap) but even on days when she has an earlier nap caused by me driving her around in the car for 20 mins til she falls asleep she will still not sleep before about 11pm. Its breaking me

Is yours napping? If so what times/how long, and what time does she get up? Mine is happy to spring out of bed and into the car to take the others to school at 8:40, regardless of the fact that she wasn't asleep until midnight...aaargh!! I know some need less sleep than others, but it seems the less sleep a toddler needs, the more their parents need!

Watching hopefully!!DD is 2.6,been a terrible sleeper forever.slightly diff prob as she goes to bed 7-7.30 but wakes a few times a night for up to two hours,then is wide awake to start her day at 5.so no advice at all really,just lots and lots and lots of sympathy.

Have you explored the relationship between what she eats and her wakefulness shmuf? It's probably worth doing if you haven't. Just keep a food diary for a few weeks and see if you notice and correlations. Make sure she doesn't have anything everyday obviously otherwise you won't detect a difference. I've known night wakings to be caused by reactions to cheese/tomatoes/quavers/oranges etc. It's worth a try.

DD gave up naps at 18 months and before then it was literally 20-30 minutes during the day. She's always had the same routine; bath, pjs, story, cuddles and milk but since she started preschool she seems to have a real problem switching off, she can literally stay awake for hours just chatting away about what she's been doing so I'm trying to encourage her to tell us about her day before bed. Thanks for the food diary idea, I try not to let her have sweet snacks after 4ish but every now and then she has an extra treat if she's been good. Luckily she doesn't tend to wake up before 8ish.

She gets about 9-11 hours a night atm but doesn't normally wake up during the night. We really want our evenings back and sometimes she's really tired at preschool. We've got another one on the way so we thought it was best to get the sleep thing down so she isn't as disrupted IYSWIM? Most days I do try to wear her out but she still seems to have plenty of energy, I reckon she's been nicking mine lol!