Oh, My 34 Month Old Is Driving Me Nuts with Bedtime!

I went thru the same thing with my son...Even tho it is very annoying when you are tired and want to get some sleep and you have to keep getting up...i just kept putting him back in his bed everytime over and over again...every night for like 1 week.....untill he got the point.....i know its not alot of info...but it worked i would feel so bad because he would cry and cry...but i stayed firm and said no bedtime....when he would kick the wall and stuff i would just ignore him until he knew i was not getting up again.....and when he kept getting up to go to the "bathroom" i would just tell him if you keep getting up i will close the door or turn off the lights if he got up again i would turn them lights off or close the door for like a min.....he would see that im not playing games and he would stay put..it sounds kinda mean but i worked he sleeps in his room now every night...hope this info is a little helpful

Come on, B.- lay down the rules! I know that losing Evan means that you never want to withhold kisses & hugs- but you have to do what's right for your family, which means putting the kabosh on night-time theatrics!! She's manipulating you- I know, I'm raising two girls. In our house, bed time is bed time. I give kisses, hugs, more kisses, more hugs, tell 'em I love 'em, squeeze 'em, and tuck them in. They go potty before they get in bed, so no excuses there. They get a sip of water before they get in bed, so no excuses there. They have blankies, stuffed animals, etc., so no excuses there. Take all the excuses away, give your kisses all at once, and tell her no getting up, and stick to it. When they call for me, I ignore it (unless they are sick or its urgent, obviously, which they would let me know). I never have that problem, though, because they know that bed time is sleep time, and they always have.

I think what happened is, after losing Evan, you resolved never to pass up the opportunity to give a kiss, and your little smarty-pants is taking advantage of that! lol No one can blame you there- but if you are resolved to never pass up a kiss, you will just have to live with the bedtime resistance. I couldn't do that myself- I need my 'me' time after the girls go to bed.

Be firm on the rules for bed time. If she goes potty an hour after her last drink she doesn't need to go again. It's not fun to put discipline in the same arena with bed time, but we did, just because we knew we couldn't deal with nightly theatrics. Our 2 1/2 and 4 year old only get one trip out of bed, and after that they would get a swat on the bum (after being warned the first time they come out) if they got out again-but they never come out twice or throw fits or yell. Its always been very comforting to them (after initial rule enforcement first couple of times around age 2) to know bedtime is for real, and a relief to us for the quiet time at night. 34 months is almost 3, she can do it!!!

She is almost 3 so her sleep may have changed a little. Can you move her nap up to 12:30?

This way she is up at 2:00 and ready for a snack , some inside play or craft and then really active outside play (running, climbing, swinging, trike riding) or swimming for 1 to 2 hours.. Then a nice quiet activity while you prepare dinner.. Maybe this will help her sleep earlier in the evenings again.. Also is her room dark enough?

It is so light out side till almost 9:00 it would be hard to go to sleep with all of that nght..