I don't think my 3 year old is sleeping enough. She won't take a nap during the day unless I force her too which involves crying herself to sleep. Then that backfires because if she does nap it will be for hours and then she will be really hard to get to sleep that night. I have stopped trying to force her to sleep because really it seems she does ok with just 8-10 hours. She doesn't get overly cranky or whiny during the day. She has always slept less then what is recommended for her age but not to this extreme. I beleive 11-13 hours is recommended for her age but she seems to be sleeping an average of 9. Has anyone else had issues with there toddler and sleep? Any suggestions as how to get her sleeping more? Last night she only slept for 8 hours.. I am going to go read to her in hopes she will fall asleep. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Well, my two year old sleeps well at night (8:30p to 6:30 or 7:30a), however, he has started not wanting to nap....oy! For that, I have given up the "fight" too and have just started putting on a hour Disney movie or veggie tale movie or something for him to sit still and watch and at least get some relax time...seems to help. Good luck!
For nights when he doesn't sleep well, I give him a hot bath and massage lotion into him all over and then snuggle for about 20 minutes in bed to help wind him down and the warm bath seems to really relax him and help him sleep better!

When I am sticking to routine around here bath time is 8:00. That does seem to help both my kids to wind down. I know that when I get out of routine it is harder to get her to sleep.

So she did end up taking a nap.. but it was forced and she cried. I read to her for a half hour and saw that the only one getting sleepy was me so I put the book down and told her we are all taking a nap, I ended up falling asleep too. Now hopefully I can get her to fall asleep tonight at bedtime and she won't want to stay up until 11:30. I feel like I need more sleep then her lately. I go to bed shortly after her but she always wakes up before me and half the time I haven't even got in a good 8 hours yet.

Do you think when she does go down for a nap I should wake her up after a set time like maybe 1 hour? If I let her wake up on her own she sleeps for at least 2 hours, then like I said shes up all night. Thanks

All depends on your little one's attitude...if I wake up my son...oy! He is just nasty the rest of the day unless he wakes up on his own...so for me, that would not be a good choice, however your little girl might be different! I honestly try to nap when he does if I can that day...helps to balance not getting as much sleep at night and keep me going into the evening. Maybe use naptime for you too the days you can get her to go down? Sometimes this isn't possible! :D I'm 37 weeks preggo though and I'm always tired...have been since the beginning, so I tend to sleep anytime I possibly can right now! LOL :lol:

Ashlee, we had this problem with our daugher when she turned three. She started to refuse naps and we went through the whole making her take a nap, etc. But what I found worked best (since she didn't seem overly cranky without a nap) was to gradually up her bedtime to earlier and earlier each night. It started at 8:30 and now she is asleep (most nights) around 7:30. She sleeps until 6:00, 6:30 or sometimes 7:00 am. That is about eleven hours average. It all boils down to what works best for your child. Three is a hard year we are learning. :roll: Lord help us all! :lol: :D

My DD is only 15 months, but she has always been one to not sleep very well. Lately she was waking up so many times a night, and her daytime naps, which usually would only be one would be about 45 min only. She was very touchy and I could tell tired most of the day. I tried pretty much everything to get her to sleep more, but nothing worked. I eventually tried looking up herbal remedies for babies and sleep online. Most things you see are just herbal teas, some have homeopathics. The only thing about the things you buy are that they are sooooo expensive. Anywyas, I knew sometimes kids can get into a pattern of sleep or lack of and it's hard to get it to change. What I did (and I am not promoting drugging or doing this lightly or without research on your part) was make a strong tea of chamomile, lemon balm, catnip, and mint. I would try and have her drink some about an hour or two before bed. The first night I gave her the tea she slept almost all night...and has been sleeping longer and better since. She had two episode of "spitting" up (way less than vomiting but a little regurgitation) and I think the tea was too strong or I gave her a little too much as catnip can upset a tummy sometimes. There was a stomach flu going around our church, which I have now... :P So we are not totally 100% sure it was the tea, but I ended up stopping giving it to her after about 4 nights, but it helped change her sleeping pattern to a more desirable one for her and us. She is also sleeping better during nap times too...she sometimes even takes two naps again and then goes down around the same time for bed...so Praise the Lord for that!!!

I hope you can find something to help, I know how hard it is when your DC is ready for the day and all you want to do is hide under the sheets hoping your silence will make them go back to sleep for about 2 hours!

Blessings,

Amber

When my 3yo started preschool this fall hi swhole nap scheudle went topsy turvy. He used to nap every day from around 1-3 and sleep at night from 8 until 7-7:30. When he started school, he began falling asleep on the school bus everyday around 1:30 which wasn't bad. I would carry him in and his nap was regular, until about 3:30 sometimes 4. Now, he has stopped falling asleep on the bus, and comes home energetic, but by 3 or 4 is totally cranky. So, I have him lie down around 3 everyday for about an hour to an hour and a half. I have also started waking him up earlier, so even with the later nap, he still goes to bed by eight. Some day, he does still sleep on the school bus and that works fine too. Usually, that is only if he stayed up past bedtime and still woke up at 6. I firmly believe that all children under 5 need to at least rest for a couple hours throughout the course of the day; in NH, it is actually state law in child care centers and schools that children who are there all day are given at least one hour of rest time, whether they fall asleep or not. I think the resisting of naps has as much (if not more) to do with the child's growing awareness of themself and how they influence people around them, as the actual physical sleep requirement. I remain very calm, firm and matter-of-fact about naptime, despite wailing, crying, screaming, flipping around on the bed, etc. (all signs of being tired anyway). In short, I don't believe that crying means a child is ready to stop taking naps.

I think you make some good points, Andrea. I insisted that my kids take a nap or a rest until they were in school all day. For the older ones, this was first grade and for the younger one this was kindergarten. It gave them as well as me some time to just come apart and be quiet. I knew where they were, they were resting (if not sleeping), they were not with their other siblings, the house was quiet and we could all catch a breather. :) I think if you insist on the practice, it becomes habit and the resistance lessens.

I think you make some good points, Andrea. I insisted that my kids take a nap or a rest until they were in school all day. For the older ones, this was first grade and for the younger one this was kindergarten. It gave them as well as me some time to just come apart and be quiet. I knew where they were, they were resting (if not sleeping), they were not with their other siblings, the house was quiet and we could all catch a breather. :) I think if you insist on the practice, it becomes habit and the resistance lessens.

Oh I totally agree. I have told my daughter that I expect her to take some quiet time whether she sleeps or not. We ALL need that time to rejuvinate. :wink:

Thanks ladies! I didn't get her to go to sleep until 12am!!! :shock: Then she slept until 8:00 and was ready to get up. I think I'm going to give up completely on naps. I think I will try moving her bedtime up every night and see if that works. Maybe give her some Sleepytime tea after her bath too. My goal is to have her sleeping by 9 and up at 8. Then I just need to stick to it and not get off routine!

I can totally relate to that Timmy has never slept as much as they said he should. When he was an infant there were days when (including his nap) he would sleep a total of 7 hours! He slept an average of about 9 or 10 including naps! When he was first born! They said he should be sleeping 16 hours. I was always tired.

That said he sleeps only slightly more then me. I have the same problems with naps. If he takes one he usually stays up till like 1am or something crazy. He usuallu sleeps 8-10 hours a night too.

my daughter is 6, and i have always had a tough time with "naps" - ever since i can remember. but then, i made the mistake of not starting the routine when she was young, cause i know we don't have a fix routine - and if the routine is upset, so is the child...
(won't make that mistake again)
anyway, all that SOMETIMES works with me, is (if she IS really tired) i have to lie down with her, then i tell her to lie still for just 5 minutes. okay, the 5 minutes sometimes ends up being more - but she still cannot tell time, and usually with in 5 - 10 min she is alseep. oh, and if she decides not to "lie still" and starts playing or talk... i just say "6 minutes, ... 7 minutes" i remember in the begining, she would start counting to see if the "new number" was more. she soon learnt that it did not help, and then i would sometime "reward" by announcing the number of minutes getting less.
if the child was tired, and lay still for 5 to 10 minutes, she would sleep, else, i would be the one getting the nap, and she would just play around me.. lol
i sometimes wonder if it is not due to "overstimilation" or "lack of knowning how to relax". my child wants to be busy all day long. and i don't think she really knows how to relax. (i have seen her jumping around while i am trying to massage her after a bath - even when she ASKED me massage...)
donno if that helped any...
Oh, i would always tell her to grow well one needs to "Eat well, Play well & SLEEP Well" (balance-life)