How to make your child sleep better in the night?

[mishamisha]

The combination of bedtime stories and warm cup of milo seemed to work for me. Although i have to make a point of making the milo less sweet to ensure my daughter does not develop a sweet tooth.

[Kathong]

My son is 3 yrs plus. He is sleeping with us in the same room on a mattress beside our bed.


He always want me to accompany him to sleep. The only problem that he has is that he sleep very late. He will sleep at abt 11.30pm if he has any afternoon nap of 1 to 2 and 1/2 hrs. the only time he sleeps early is when he did not nap in the afternoon. In such cases, he will sleep at abt 8plus till the next morning.

How to make him sleep earlier?

[schellen]

Kathong:

My son is 3 yrs plus. He is sleeping with us in the same room on a mattress beside our bed.


He always want me to accompany him to sleep. The only problem that he has is that he sleep very late. He will sleep at abt 11.30pm if he has any afternoon nap of 1 to 2 and 1/2 hrs. the only time he sleeps early is when he did not nap in the afternoon. In such cases, he will sleep at abt 8plus till the next morning.

How to make him sleep earlier?

When does he nap? What time does he wake up in the morning? What does he do during the day? What does he do before bedtime? Is there a bedtime routine? How long has this been going on?

I'm sorry for asking so many questions but if you can answer them, it'll help in looking for the solution(s).

[Kathong]

Hi schellen,


My son wakes up at 8am. His sch bus picks him at 8.45am and comes back at 12.30pm. He will take his lunch, bathe and watch tv till abt 3pm. he will nap from 3.30pm to 5pm or sometimes 6pm. he will play and follow by dinner. He watches tv again from 9pm to 10.45pm. In between watching tv, he will play his toys, trying to imitates the tv’s action. i will off the light slightly before 11pm, on the music and massage him. he will then sleep at abt 11.30pm…

You may think that i should off the light earlier. But prior to this, i used to off the lights and start the soothing process at abt 9.30pm. btm he will still sleep at 11.30pm. thereafter, he releases that there are his fave cartoons at 9 plus, the more he refuses to sleep.

Pls advice

[schellen]

I can see the problems already:


1. He naps too late in the day. When DD1 was 3, and if she napped from 3pm, she'll end up sleeping late (9-10pm). We always get her to nap from 1 and wake her up at about 3.

2. She used to watch a lot of VCDs/DVDs (my fault) but we never let her watch past 6pm. Luckily, she watches more VCDs/DVDs than actual \"live\" programmes because the former format makes it easier to \"control\" her schedule. 6pm is the time she gets ready for bed. Yes, at 6pm but the routine has many steps and we do not rush them. She has her shower, milk, brushes her teeth and we read her bedtime stories before lights out.
When your son watches TV till late at night, he will be too excited for bed. You will need to spend a lot of time to calm him down before his body winds down. Young children have difficulty realising this and knowing what is needed to calm down for bedtime so adults must lead. He may not be jumping around but his brain may still be buzzing due to what he saw on TV.
When DD1 (now 7) wants to play near her bedtime, we restrict the activities she does. She has to choose something that is quiet and requires her to sit down. For example, she can draw, read or play a quick game of cards with us. If your son plays by imitating what he saw on TV, his body will still be full of adrenalin when it is time for bed.

3. I don't think that switching off the lights and playing soothing music helps some children, especially if the child has to switch suddenly from an energizing activity to something that only requires him to lie still. Even when we exercise, we still need to cool down before actually stopping, right?
You will have to wean him off the late night cartoons. No choice. He doesn't know what's good for him but you do so you have to enforce it. He is too young to understand the reason behind it so there is no need to explain it to him. Just do it and bear the initial tantrums, refuasal to sleep, etc. You can even \"lie\" to him by saying that his programmes have been cancelled or something like that. Eventually, he will realise that no matter what he does to get out of sleeping early, you will not respond. When he does co-operate, even if only a little, praise his action. Don't just say, \"Good boy!\", as he will not know what he did to receive that praise. Be specific; you can say \"I'm happy you are lying here quietly.\" Remember not to overdo the praise or it'll backfire on you.

The realisation that parents have to do something before the situation worsens is the first step. Subsequent steps to remedy the situation will be difficult but not impossible. You must be firm and confident, and have the support of your family. It will not help to have other family members undermine your efforts in anyway. Good luck!

[firsttimemummy]

when is the best time to really train a child into goos sleeping habits?mine is jus 6 weeks ?m i being too kiasu?should i just let my baby b a baby? :roll:

[Kathong]

Hi schellen,


I think he naps too late too. but he would only comes back from sch at abt 12.30pm to 1.30pm. Maybe should let him nap earlier like 2pm to 4pm..?

thanks for your advice. Btw he will be joining childcare in end nov, hopeful all these issue will be solved.

Oh... the children at the childcare will nap from 1 to 3 pm. Hopefull this will work.

:celebrate:

[schellen]

Kathong:

Hi schellen,


I think he naps too late too. but he would only comes back from sch at abt 12.30pm to 1.30pm. Maybe should let him nap earlier like 2pm to 4pm..?

thanks for your advice. Btw he will be joining childcare in end nov, hopeful all these issue will be solved.

Oh... the children at the childcare will nap from 1 to 3 pm. Hopefull this will work.

:celebrate:

Yes, 2-4pm is good at home. We used to do that too when we got back after lunch after enrichment. Childcare will generally stick to 1-3pm for naptime as teatime is usually about 3-3:30pm, otherwise the children will get hungry. Childcare will help to \"train\" him, I guess. Hopefully, he listens and obeys more easily when it's someone (not a relative) in a person of authority, and the childcare should not have TV on its schedule, except maybe in the last hour/half-hour of the day, when there are few children left waiting to be picked up. Maybe he'll be weaned off his addiction to TV. Good luck!

[happychick]

wow ! thanks everyone for sharing their experiences !!

can someone help with my "problem" ?

DD (4Yo) gets back from Nursery at 12noon. She will try to eat and bath but will refuse to sleep - i think this stemmed from last yr when i placed her in childcare and they "forced" her to nap from 1 - 3pm. Apparently, she wld kick up a big fuss (uhhh, now i’m making her sound like a ill behaved kid : ) and not nap - she eventually would lay down on her mattress (in Childcare) when everyone was sleeping.
I’ve since taken her out of CC, and she comes back home every afternoon. She will drink her milk (2 bottles sometimes) and do colouring, cutting, playing in the sitting room quietly but NOT SLEEP !!!
Should i be concerned ? She wld go to bed at abt 9 - 10 plus and sleep till 7 in the mornings - undisrupted so i think she gets a good nights rest.
i’m in two minds about quitting work and staying home to try to get her into a routine.

[tutormum]

My 3 DS never take naps since they were toddlers but sleep at about 930pm to wake up at 6 or 630am when they need to go school the next day. Otherwise, they’ll sleep later and wake up later. They sleep very well at night. I believe that as long as they have the required amount of sleep which is minimum 8 hours, and function well in the day, they don’t need the nap.