Sleepless Child
I have a three-year-old son and a daughter of 18 months, the three year old goes to bed without any problems but I just can't get the youngest to go to bed. She’s still running around at midnight.
Does your ‘live wire’ have a bedroom to herself, or does she share with her three-year-old sibling? She may stay up for the company, so allowing her to share a room might be one solution,
if she doesn’t do that already.
Another solution might be to keep her calm ‘after hours’ and not give her undue attention, so she gets bored. She may, of course, stay up to have you all to herself, in which case, can you give her special time alone with you earlier in the day?
If your daughter has a daytime sleep try to cut these out, so she’s tired at night and ready to flop.
Bedtime games and clear rituals with songs and cuddles can make going to sleep fun and soothing. These can be stopped as a ‘consequence’ if she climbs out of her cot or bed when they’re finished.
Another tactic would be to stay with her until she goes to sleep.
What ever approach you try, stick with it for a while to make it clear that you mean business. Your health visitor will be able to give you more tips and advice.
A book on sleep that you might find helpful is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Marc Weissbluth.
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