Help! 2 Year Old Won't Go to Bed!

HI N.,
Wow...this scenario sounds just like MY daughter, who is now 3. She has never slept as much as I thought she should...but my husband doesn't require much sleep so I think she may be the same. We do the same thing...put her to bed at 8:30 and I can hear her playing in bed. We don't give her any toys, but she can still talk and play by herself in bed! Some nights, she'll fall asleep fast, but others, it takes HOURS. There have been times when I've gone to bed at 10:30-11:00 and can still hear her talking and playing.

We've tried alot of things but not everythign has worked for us consistently. The best thing that HAS worked for us is to skip her daytime naps. We've noticed that when she goes to daycare and gets a nap, she stays up later. On the weekends, we skip her nap and when she goes to bed, she falls asleep right away. Maybe your daughter is ready to give up that nap? Not sure...

Sorry, I don't have much advice, but to say that we've decided to just let it go. We figure if she's tired, she'll sleep! As long as there aren't any toys in her room or in bed with her, she'll eventually fall asleep. So maybe make sure your daughter doesn't have any toys to play with to help her 'wind down.'

You are NOT alone though! Good luck!
J.

N.,

I recently saw a Super Nanny episode that addressed this. She told the parents to stay in the child's room and every time the child gets out of bed to put her back without saying anything and do this every time. So the mom sat on the floor with her back to the bed and every time her daughter got out of bed she just put her back and covered her up without saying anything. It took a few nights of this but pretty soon the little girl would stay in bed without mom having to be in there. Good luck!
C.

You didn't mention if she seems sleepy or is wide awake at 8 or 9 at night. If she is wide awake, maybe she needs more physical activity during the day. Both my sons will go to bed with no trouble at all if they have had a chance to run and play outside, but being inside all day causes us to have to move their bedtimes to a little bit later time. Maybe you could take her on a walk each afternoon, weather permitting, and see if that helps.

I am a firm believer in the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It has worked wonders for my sons. My 20 month old sleeps from 7:30 at night to 8:00 in the morning and naps for 2-3 hours at 12:00. The book would tell you that your bedtime is too late. She is probably staying awake because she is overtired. The book recommends a bedtime between 6 and 8. Taking away a needed nap in order to make her sleep at night will only make her more tired in the long run. The best piece of wisdom in the book is "sleep begets sleep". Check out the book from the library. It discusses pretty much every sleep problem you could have.

My daughter did the same thing but she was 3 years old when it happened. Once we stopped her daytime nap, that solved the problem.