2 1/4 Yr Old Won't Go to Sleep Before 9 - Chicago,IL

my daughter will be 2 next month, and she pretty much always has a bedtime of 9pm. This is only because her sister is in school, and i cannot see putting her to bed without her sister. as long as he is not acting tired all the time, i wouldn't see a reason not to let him set his own bedtime. Every now and then I let her sleep in because we don't have to get up right away, and she loves it, but we are up almost every morning between 6:30 and 7.

put him down for the night earlier. Try putting him down at 7 and see if that helps. My bet is that he has passed the window of going to sleep and gone into the hyper stage. I bet if you move his bedtime to 7 he will be fast asleep by 7:30.

And if that doesn't work, then just let him be. The room is dark, he is IN his bed, he isn't bothering anyone, leave him alone to fall asleep as he wants. As long as he is laying quietly in the bed don't worry. I really don't have any clue when my kids go to sleep, but they are tucked in at 7:15 and stay quiet and in their beds till 7 a.m.

I would also tell you don't ever take away his nap until he gets to school age. So many parents make that mistake thinking less day sleep will equal more night sleep but it really doesn't work that way. It's more like they can only be awake for a certain amount of time before they melt down. So even if they get 14 hours at night a preschooler just can't go all day with out a nap and function at top levels.

Sleep begets sleep. Bet putting him down earlier will solve all your problems, maybe even the waking up early issue.

N.

What time is the nap? My kids took early naps (up at 6, naps at 11, bedtime at 7). We eliminated the afternoon nap instead of the morning nap so we would not interfere with bedtime. It would take some manipulating if the naps are later in the afternoon, but you'd get him to bed earlier by switching.

It might just be an adjustment to a new situation with you back at work, but does he act cranky or like he is not getting enough sleep during the day??? If you add up the hours, he's still getting about 11 1/2 hrs total throughout the day which could be enough for him. I know you'd rather he went to bed earlier, but it's not so much the time that he goes to bed, but rather the number of hours...and while 9 or 9 1/2 hrs is a little on the low side it's not unheard of...each kid is different. What time did he used to go to sleep at night??? I would just stick to putting him to bed at his normal time whatever that is and see if it resolves itself as he gets used to the new situation...if he seems tired, try putting him to bed a bit earlier than normal and maybe even if he doesn't go to sleep right away, the exra downtime will help...if he's not getting out of bed i don't know that there's much else you can do...i hope all goes well, good luck.

I think your answer is in your question. You said that he isn't sleeping as well since the babysitter has taken over for you. Could he be staying awake to spend more time with you since he doesn't see you as much? I am not trying to guilt trip you because I am a mom of 4 kids and has always worked full time outside of the home - so I am not coming from that angle. But realize that he is going through a big change - new sibling, mom not home all the time, new babysitter and probably a new schedule too. I don't have an answer for you but it was just a thought that popped into my head when I read your post.

Good luck,

S.

My boy is 2 1/2 and goes to bed between 8:30/9 also. He wakes up at about 7:00AM and then naps from about 1:30-4:30. Some of his buddies, around the same age, also go to bed between 8/9 so I don't think it is too late. I would say as long as he isn't crabby then he is getting enough sleep. My guess is that when they drop their nap for good (which I hope isn't for awhile) that they will start to go to bed earlier again. We don't like that he goes to bed so late either, doesn't give my hubby and me a lot of alone time.

He probably is still adjusting to the new routine and not seeing you as much. Has he had any nightmares? My younger son started having some around 2 1/2 yrs and this delayed him going to bed. Perhaps you can talk to your son about what is going on? If he has good verbals skills you may want to give it a try. Good luck in resolving things.

My son is 27mo. He has always gone to bed late. Now he goes to bed at 9:30 & wakes at 7am. He takes a 2 hr. nap everyday. As long as your son is sleeping through the night, leave it alone! I think when we try to schedule the kids differently, it may upset their internal clock & make their sleeping worse. I think 9pm is fine for a 2 yr. old to go to bed. As long as he's sleeping through the night, is well rested & playful during the day, isn't crabby & having tantrums a lot, then you have nothing to worry about. He is napping too, so that's great! I know you may want him to go down earlier b/c you're probably tired after work, but I think him sleeping through the night is the most important thing. Every child is different...some are hardwired to go to bed at 9pm, some are hardwired to go to bed at 7pm (which would NEVER have worked for my son in a million years!).

Hi M.. I think the advice Nora gave you is absolutely correct. I would not consider eliminating naps for now, and try an earlier bedtime. I'm sure this will be more difficult on you, since you are working, but this may be the key.

In addition, talk to your kids about the babysitter and how things are going. I know a 2 1/2 year old will not have too much to say about it, but you could plant positive ideas his head about the experience (i.e., "why don't you teach the babysitter where the new crayons are" or "how you like your sandwich made," or anything else). Maybe putting him "in charge" will help him feel like he has some control over the situation. Then follow-up and ask him how it went, and praise him for his participation!

you sure that the babysitter is't doing any thing to them when your gone . Because you some times can't trust them.