Bedtime NIGHTMARE

seperate them. if you can't use positive reinforcers. Earn a sticker for each little step accomplished (staying in bed, when that get accomplished, being quiet.... just break the problem into easy to be successful steps) then say with so many stickers you can have a prize- a toy, go out for ice cream... whatever. I know it is hard. patience, my dear....

ugh - i dont have too much advice, just wanted to sympathize lol, because i had this trouble with my boy who is now 6, he didnt sleep a full night till he was five, he just didnt need a lot of sleep, and still doesnt.

it works better for him if i get him up early in the morning, around 7 or so, then he is usually in bed by 9, but he is still awake at 11 almost always, reading under his covers!

he used to come into my room almost every night, and the way i got around him waking me was i set him a pallet up on the floor, and he could come in and lie on it in the night, as long as he didnt wake us up, he did that everynight for around a year!, i didnt mind that so much as he tried his best not to wake us up.

my son fights me every night to go to bed - i think some children are programmed to do this, no matter what "rountines" we set up for them.

i used to share a room with my sister and remember doing the exact same thing you describe, and my mother shouting up the stairs "im going to separate you 2" lol.

maybe you could seperate them, or tell them they are not under any circumstances allowed to leave their own beds - they can talk quietly to each other or look at a book, but no throwing, jumping etc, if they leave their beds they get spanked/confiscations/time out/add your punishment etc.

my son just could not go to sleep at 8pm, not ever, even when he was a baby.
hope you get some better advice than i have given

Our pediatrician suggested trying the token approach. Give them each a token before they go to bed. If they get up, then they have to give the token back to you. If they sleep all night, then they get to keep the token. If they accumulate _______number of tokens (you decide what is reasonable), then they get a __________(new book, special playdate, a new toy, etc.). Also try giving them their bath earlier and eating earlier. One key point is to make sure they have had enough exercise during the day so they are tired and want to go to bed. Good Luck!

One thing we tried on vacation when our two kids had to share a room was putting them down one at a time. Once one was asleep then we took the other in and put him to bed, so there was no one else to fight/play with.

If you figure out how to stop the climbing in bed with you please let me know...I have yet to wake up without a kick in the face by our four year old who sneaks in and joins us in the dead of night. Some nights I just go get in his bed and sleep alone...

Hugs!

Hi E.,
Try keeping them up a little later.... apparently they are not ready to settle down that early. If that does not work you may need to seperate them if possible, then when they are ready, you can put them back together- Most children if they have had a really busy day are ready for bed around 8 30 or so- try to keep them awake during the day- no long naps- that may help.
good luck and blessings

could you put the girls in the same room and let the boys have there own seprate rooms. put one boy to bed first then make the other go to bed after he is asleep. we had the fear of dad in us and we would never dare get out of bed...unless we were sick or had a nightmare. then we werent allowed to sleep in their bed but we had to take our own pillow and blanket and sleep on the floor. they never came and slept in our room. i would lay some laws down and there are nanny 911 episodes that address this exact situation.

I would suggest making a schedule chart with cute clip arts and show the times they wake, eat, watch tv, bathe,etc. including sleeping! Give them a star or sticker for "staying on schedule" and see if that works. Also, offer a special surprise for who ever falls alsleep first or stays in bed. Make it a competition, boys love to compete. Good luck.

I have 23 month old twin boys, I realize a little younger than yours, but bed time has never been an issue - they actually going running to the bedroom when we say time to go nunight. The first questions that came to mind as I read your question is what type of schedule do you have them on and what time do they get up in the morning? I wake my boys up at 7:30 and they take a nap at 12:30 - I don't let them sleep much over an hour and then about 1 1/2 hours before bed we go play in the back yard for about 45 mins to wear them down a little, come inside get a drink and get ready for bed, then put in a 25 min little einsteins where we sit on the couch and watch with them to help them settle down more. Then when we say nunight time they literally run to the bedroom and climb up in bed (their toddler beds are side by side). We normally put them down at 8pm, but with daylight being longer, we put them down now when it's dark and they're typically asleep within 10 minutes - putting them down when still light didn't work. Hope this helps...

We have 4 yr old twin boys who share a room. When they got toddler beds all hell broke loose! I spent about an hour doing the supernanny thing where you don't say a word but put them back in bed...it didn't work so good! They were so excited to have freedom! Then my husband went in there and told them to be quiet and listen carefully...there were dinosaurs in the yard...shhhhh, listen! It worked like a charm, they need to be calm and quiet and BAM, they're out. This worked for over a year. A revolving cast of characters came to see them at night in the yard - Diego, Elmo, Squirrels, Monkeys, etc, etc, etc. Might be worth a try! Good luck! It'll get better, I promise!

personally ithink u should put one of them to bed in their room and the other (clean it up so here is nothing interesting to look at or paly with) in the living room then rotate them so it will be 'fair'
if that doesnt help start taking stuff away
good luck

I sometimes have this issue with my 7 and 4yo who share a room. Put them to bed separately. Send one at 8 and one at 8:30. Put one to bed in your bed if you have to, but use that as a last resort. Also, make strong repercussions if they do not go to bed right away.

I think Supernanny uses a technique where you stay in the room with them to immediately and silently put them back in bed when they act up. You could try that. It will take some time, of course. You cannot say anything to them except something along the lines of "bedtime, not playtime" They are doing it because they get away with it. Sit in that room and stop them.

Good Luck!