absolutely fed up of bedtime

[rhetorician]

two dds, 6 and 3. Usually the 6 year old is fine - goes to bed, often wants to read/colour etc, but goes to sleep without too much fuss. DD2 is a total pain - she wants one of us to sit with her, to sit on a lap, and cries if you try and leave before she is asleep, which distresses DD1. I told DD2 that if she stayed in bed and went to sleep like a big girl, she would get a sticker. The plan is gradual retreat. I let her sit on my lap for a little while, put her in bed, and went and sat by the door. She went to sleep , but then DD1 starts kicking off yelling and shouting. Wakes DD2 up, and we are back to square one, with a parent in the room while they go to sleep. All I want is to put them to bed, read them stories etc, leave the room, and be able to do my evening (sadly, this usually consists of work, but that's another thread). Will this ever happen? How?

Why was DD1 yelling and shouting? And what did you do about it?

I'd put them to bed at different times. DD2 first, give her a chance to get to sleep and then DD1 goes up.

DD1 can only stay up a bit later if she is absolutely quiet and doesn't wake DD2 up when she goes to bed. BIG trouble if she is noisy. At 6 she is old enough to understand that waking her sister is completely unacceptable.

Maybe give them both a sticker chart as well and they each get a sticker when they go to bed nicely.

outraged I don't really know what the problem was. I settled her down and told her she'd get no screen time today (they get to play games on i-pad as special treat on Saturday mornings)

How did last night go? Did you try a later bedtime for dd1?

I just sit with mine (5&3) until they sleep. Takes no time at all. They share. I understand the stress - I need my evenings for work.

But my eldest doesn't really need me there although it is a chance to talk about any fears etc. And it keeps my 3 year old happy who does need me.

As they get older I can see that they're less dependent on me and adjust as necessary. (E.g. my older one needed me to hold hands but now I don't need to and can pop out of the room with the youngest eg she needs the toilet and my eldest will fall asleep)

last night better, thanks. the 3 yo is VERY strong willed and in the throes of threenagerdom, so I am not sure how well she would tolerate DD1 staying up later. But it's worth a try. Now of course, DD1 has started to want me to stay with her...original post born of particularly crappy night. It is nice that they still need us (mostly)

My 3yo was the same but for us her going to bed first and DS staying up was not for negotiation. Plus I've always liked the time just with DS when did is in bed