bedtime

[sassybabee]

Can someone advise what a reasoanable bedtime is for a nearly three year old? sure he's going to bed too early!

he goes to bed between 6-6.30pm. but i have to sit with him till he drops off, then have hell all night as he wont sleep without me! need to give this cc again!
some nights he goes off within 20 mins, buit other nights i can be sitting there for nearly an hour!
just want to get him sleeping on his own , i havent slept in my own bed for 3 months now, and its getting ridiculous!

What time does he wake up?How much does he sleep during the day (if at all). Maybe instead of cc you could do the Little Angels thing of gradually withdrawing - ie sit with him, then sit further away until you are out of the room and he is going to sleep without your being present. Not sure that these two issues (bedtime and waking up in the night) are connected. Do you think they are? Why do you think he is going to bed too early? What happens if you make bedtime later. My ds goes to bed about 8, but still has a daytime sleep.

daytime naps are dependant on if we go out in the car during the day. dosent tend to sleep during the day as a rule thou.
i have been putting him to bed about 6-6.30pm, he usually sleeps solid for about 4 hours, then starts waking up a lot.
i tried the backing off method, didnt work! i think the cc is the only thing that will help.
just difficult trying to do the cc with him, when i got dd2 getting into my bed as soon as im out!( dosent want to sleep on her own)

Have you tried story tapes, push lights he can activate himself and then cc? 3's are stubborn and also big enough to know better and that they sre winding you up! Reward charts/star charts, HUGE padlock on door (only joking). Persistence until he learns that bedtime is bedtime, you need your time and space and he can go to sleep on his own. Favourite toy/brand new sleepytime very special only for bedtime toy? Bribery Sympathies, my littlest is 6 and knows that mummy changes at night time into mumzilla, ask for more than one drink of water and suffer the consequences! I've given up, he goes to bed and reads/listens to tapes and falls asleep, in bed for about 7 and sleeping at about 8ish. He's sharing a room with his sister at the moment, so sleep routines are out the window.
Good luck, remember you are the grown up and if he's sleepy the next day, keep chatting to him about how much better he would have been feeling if he'd gone to bed properly

OMG! you mean this sleeping nightmare goes on way passed 3 years old! OMG!!!
I cant stand it, Ds at 18 months has slept through the night only maybe 6 or 7 times since birth and i was kind of hoping it would calm down as he gets older.....OMG!
Quick people....advice advice....

Donbean, my dd was a sleeping nightmare until she was 2, now, at 3, she's an angel . We did the gradual withdrawing from the room aloha describes and it worked for us with only a few tears.

If I'd been told a year ago how well she would be sleeping now I'd never have believed it!

hi all
my ds is 14mths but wont go to sleep without a story and then i usually leave lullabies playing very quietly, mainly because he was waking up and seemed scared of being alone...now hes fab. He goes to bed at 8 and sleeps till 7am but also has one nap in the day for around an hour. Maybe 6-6.30 is a little early y dont u try 7.30 and see how he is...also maybe a tape or he can have a story in bed dont know really as all kiddies are different
mishi

well all my kids have been atrocious sleepers...my 7 year old has only just started sleeping throu. and when she gets up in the night , i hardly hear her

Oh, thats reassuring. Its not that he wont go to sleep alone, he does every night. He just doesnt stay asleep.Like sassybabe describes,he sleeps for 4 hours then its hell.
I have taken the step of closing the bedroom doors. That way it is more bearable and not as acute. Last night i didnt go into him, i left him. the thing is he doesnt cry he moans, whinges and shouts. Its easier to leave him in this instance, its if he cries i cant bear it.
Today he has been grumpy and hard work,tonight im going to do the same thing. I got about 2.5hrs sleep last night.TONIGHT HOWEVER.....
We are going to pig out with friends, they are bringing an indian takaway with them, im going to have a drinkypoos and get pissed on 1 glass of wine, love every one in the world then snore loudly all night. Woohooo, cant wait!

put little man to bed at 6.35pm, gave milk as usual , cuddles and kisses. then i told him he has got to sleep on his own from now, and be a big boy. he patted his pillow and said " you in bed", but i said no, and walked out and shut the door. left him wingeing for 5 mins, went back in , he had a bit more milk, as i walked out i just said do not get out of bed...and he didn!! been asleep since 6.45.
something has got to give...im knackered!

ds got given an elephant today which you heat up in the microwave so it's nice & warm & snuggly. although he has a pretty good bedtime routine, he quite often demands to sleep in our bed (& almost always comes in during the night - anything for an easy life...). anyway, tonight he couldn't wait to snuggle down with his new elephant & cuddle it to sleep, so that might work for your ds too. good luck!

where did the elephant come from??

it's this kind of thing . but the elephant is a lot nicer. it came from a friend of my MiL, i will do some investigations.

Well,had wine,had Indian meal, friends left at 2.10am and we all slept all night till 7.30 this morning.
Therefore my top tip is wine!
Tonight will be another story im sure of it...Hell springs to mind!