How do I get 1 year old to sleep at reasonable time??

[janeybooks]

DD has always fought sleep and naps. Consequently have always breastfed to sleep which I know has made rod for back. She rarely goes to sleep before 10pm and screams if I try to put her in cot awake. Help please?

I would down bath , feed and bed at 7pm. Then just keep going in and reassuring her everytime she screams. Don't take her out of the cot, just shush and pat. It'll take a few nights but eventually she'll get used to the idea that 7pm is bedtime.

Trouble is she just seems to be at her most playful in the evening. Nothing seems to get her into the calm, sleepy mode!

is she having a nap too late in the day?

Maybe. Because she doesn't sleep enough at night she often has a long nap in morning, then will get grizzly at 5ish and have a short nap.

They say don't let them nap after 4pm if you want them to go down at a reasonable time... but our 11 month old often naps in her pushchair after that, and there's not a lot i can do!

would it be worth waking her up after 45 mins in the morning so she can have an earlier nap in the afternoon? i do this sometimes with dd - i think she's generally worse at sleeping overnight if she has a long morning nap. she doesn't seem too bad if woken gently after 45 mins as i think this is when she comes to the end of a sleep cycle. then your lo might be ready to go to sleep earlier if had earlier naps.

My ds is the same, fights naps all day (won't even be bf to sleep) but nighttime got much easier when i decided he was going to bed at seven instead of half nine, now as long as i don't let him nap after half three he will go to sleep about seven. Its makes for some pretty stressful supper times if i can't get him to have a nap at lunchtime but i prefer that to him being up all evening.