My 3 1/2 year old is not sleeping well at night or for naps. If she doesn't have a nap, she is very cranky in the afternoon. In the middle of the night she wakes up and has a hard time falling back asleep. So to fill that time she gets into things that are off limits. Fortunately my husband hears her before there's too much destruction. Moving her bedtime later does not make her sleep better, in fact she sleeps worse. Moving her bedtime forward doesn't seem to help either. I don't know what to do, she use to sleep so well!
My 5 year old son wakes more frequently at night when he's tired and hasn't gotten enough rest...could that be it? Are you very strict with a schedule? Perhaps she's at the point where she needs to be told to lie down, no matter what, for acertain period of time?
Charity's advice is great - may need to take her nap away starting with only 1 day a week and increase it as you feel the need to...maybe just a resting time during the day would help instead of an actual nap. Hope this helps!
L.
I think you should try omitting the nap for a week and see what happens. I am betting that she is cranky in the afternoon not because she is needing a nap, but because she didn't sleep very well the night before. If she is up all day she should sleep better at night. If she sleeps better at night, maybe she may not be cranky during the day.
Also, do some more physically active things with her in the afternoon or before supper. Go outside and kick a ball back and forth or play in a kiddie pool for a little while, play tag, or go for a bike ride or something. I know at least with my son, he has sooo much energy and if he doesn't burn it off before bed, bedtime is much harder on both of us. And on the days when we were out at a park, or went swimming or took a long walk around the neighborhood he sleeps so much better because he truly is worn out from the activity.
Hi E.
I sounds like she may be over tiered. I loved the book SLEEPLESS IN AMERICA. was very helpful and insightful.
I agree with the previous poster. It doesn't make sense, but the less sleep my boys get, the less they sleep. It's a vicious cycle. At 3 1/2, though, you might need to get rid of the nap altogether, have a rest time in the afternoon (do something calm like read books or watch a movie) and make her bedtime earlier.
In the evening, make sure you have a set time for dinner, a bedtime routine, and no computer or TV or other stimulus. Make it a calm, quiet time.
