Best Ways to Get a 1 Year to Sleep?

Hmmmm.... that's hard! Have you tried putting him in your bed at night, to sleep next to you? Do you run him around a bunch right before bed to make him tired? I've heard of that happening before, but not with a one-year-old. My son was confusing nights and days, so once I let him sleep in bed with us, the problem was solved. You could try reading The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantly or Dr. Sear's The Sleep Book. They might have good tips for you. I would also go to www.askdrsears.com. He's got a ton of sleep information on his website. There is also a forum that you can post the question to, if you need more feedback. Sorry I can't help more!

Of course the best way to get him on the right track of sleeping at night is to limit his sleep in the day. It might take a week or two of hell on your part since he might want to stay up all day and night but it will be worth it in the end. Just keep him active in the day......the weather has changed for the better so there is no other way to wear out a baby than to let them roam around in the park or backyard. He is only 1 year old so he should be getting 2 naps a day. My daughter took an hour to an hour and a half at around 10:30 then got up for lunch, played then went down again for another hour or so at around 3:00 then bedtime has always been at 8:00. Now of course she is 2 and takes only one nap at noon. If you don't let his naps go over 2 hours or after about 4:00 then he should be ready for bed. Naps are for resting not regenerating like night time is. He will most likely be crabby if you wake him form his slumber during the day but is the only way to break the habit that you let him get into. One thing about babies, they are easy to adjust if you can take the time and suffer through the tears.....good luck

Hey D.-
I'm a big advocate of Richard Ferber's advice for sleeping. He saved my sanity when my son still was not sleeping through the night at 6 months. In his book he also addresses sleep phase shifts. I would highly suggest going out and getting it. It addresses so many other issues a lot of kids wind up having (half the time we don't even know it). It's called "Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems". Here's a brief synopsis. He says it's much easier to get a child to wake up earlier than it is to get them to go to sleep - makes sense. The example he gives is for a one year old however this one year old did not have his days and nights completely switched. Though he suggested to wake the child up 15 minutes earlier each day until he was on the schedule that the parents wanted. If they wake up earlier, then it would seem natural for them to go to sleep ealier. So maybe, if your sanity can't take it, try waking him up a half an hour earlier each day: say he normally wakes up @ 5pm...wake him at 4:30 instead. You could try waking him up from naps early too. I would think this may take at the very least 2 weeks if not a month...if you want to do this gradually. I'm assuming you've tried an abrubt end to the sleep problem & it didn't work. I don't know if it will help but it's worth a try. Good luck. Let me know if you need more info.

I have 4 children ages, 18,14,9 and 6. My oldest was the hardest to put down. Not to discourage you, but she was two before she slept on her own, however....We would trick her by giving her a late dinner and then bath right before bed. Usually after eating, and a warm bath (sometimes with camomille) children tend to get a little drowsy. Just make sure you dont give him anything with a lot or any sugar. Sometimes she would fall asleep in my arms or in our bed and then i would take her to her bed. Hope it woks out for you, good luck