Falling Asleep at Night for a 2 Year Old.

I don't have any special advice, I just want to let you know that you are not alone. My daughter used to be asleep by 7-7:30, and now we are lucky if she is asleep by 10, even 11 sometimes.
I was told to continue with a bed time routine, not to give in to her. Avoid over stimulating games before sleeping, try to set "calm" mood, and hope for the best :)

Sounds like a pretty normal transition for him. Because he can sit there and sing to himself and still end up going to sleep, means he's got GREAT sleep habits. My oldest doesn't go to sleep right away either.. and sometimes wakes up early and lays around in bed and does whatever (reads now, etc). My youngest is out almost as soon as he hits the pillow! =)

I say if he's happy and content and sleeping good.. leave it as is! =)

Hi C.:

This is totally normal, from my experience. My son is 2 1/2 and for a couple of months this summer/fall he started doing the same thing (and he too loves his bed). We just kept putting him down at the normal time every night (7:45-8pm)and after a couple of months, he started falling asleep earlier again. Now that I hear other 2 years old do the same, perhaps it coincides with a growth spurt - who ever really knows. It your little guy is anything like ours, it will pass. Let him use that time to talk and laugh and don't feel guilty relaxing!

I would shorten his nap to no more than 2 hours during the day. For example, today my trio were up at 7:30am, napped from 1:00pm to 2:30 and they were asleep by 8:15 this evening. It was HEAVEN. I can't say they do this all the time but I have notice that if they nap longer than 2 hours during the days, it's harder to get them to sleep early at night. That said, if your little one goes in his crib and doesn't fuss, count your blessings...let him have his time to "unwind" until he falls asleep.

when curtis was young and even today he liked music real soft playing he liked the kind like on the cable info channel works everytime. good luck

I don't have any advice but I am experiencing the same thing with my 2 year old girl. She has always been a wonderful sleeper and for maybe a year now has been sleeping from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. and taking a 2-3 hour nap during the afternoon. Just in the last couple weeks when we put her to bed at 8 she too will just sing and talk in her crib for up between 1/2 hour to 1 1/2 hours. I really don't know what to make of it but as she is content I am just going to keep sticking with it. I did experiment with putting her to bed later and she still would stay up longer anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if this is just a phase they are going through. I have heard to that if a infant or toddler is learning something new (lots of new words, how to walk, potty training) they can regress in other areas including sleeping less than normal.

If it isn't broken, don't fix it!
I would not worry about it, C..

I think if he is singing happily in his crib for an hour before falling asleep, that is great!! I don't know of any toddlers who are content for that long in their crib alone. I really think it's good. If he's sleepy enough, he'll fall asleep earlier. I think as long as he's sleeping & napping well, and is well rested during the day, it's fine if he is in his crib for that long singing until falling asleep. My only other suggestion would be to play with him or read to him a little longer, and put him in his crib a little later. However, it seems like you want to stick to the earlier bedtime & given that, I don't think you should change anything. I think you should consider yourself lucky!

You should not feel bad at all about putting your son to bed even if he's not that sleepy. This is good for him and he's learning to entertain himself and wind down until he is tired enough to fall asleep. Consider yourself lucky that he's not crying!! He's probably going through a phase where he just doesn't need as much sleep. When another growth spurt comes along, you'll probably see it change. It's important to keep him on his regular schedule/routine. However, if he does start fussing or crying at bedtime and can't seem to fall asleep, it may be a sign that he's outgrowing his nap. Shortening his nap might help, but for my kids it seemed like I had to do away with it completely and just have quiet time during that time of day. Being that your son is only 2, he's probably not at that point yet, so don't fret! My girls were all about 3 - 4 when that happened. Anyway, enjoy your downtime and don't feel guilty....we do enough of that already!!

My boys are 19 months and almost 3 and their bedtimes are 9pm and they take 2-3 hour naps. Is there a reason you want him to go to bed earlier??

When my kids did this it was a sure sign they were ready to give up the nap. Or at least shorten it. Try waking him up after an hour. And then get out and do something in the afternoon to burn off some energy... even though it's cold there are indoor places to go play like the children's museum, mall, ben & ari's, play-a-lot, recreation unlimited, chuck e cheese, etc. Or just run around inside your house... we build obstical courses in our basement. We also have a small trampoline with handle (from lillianvernon.com) and my 2 year old spends literally hours each day jumping on it.

If waking early from a nap doesn't work, then it may just be time to give up on the nap. If you do this, you'll have a cranky kid by dinnertime for a week or so until they adjust. You might also have to move bedtime 30-60 minutes earlier. My 2.5 year old is currently going through this... she'll nap once every 2-3 days. On days she naps, she won't fall asleep until 9pm (happily playing in her crib for an hour). On days she doens't nap, she's sound asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow at 7:30. We moved her bedtime from 8pm to 7:30pm. My 5 year old did the same thing when he was 2.5 and was done with naps completely a few months before he turned 3. Some kids just give up naps earlier than others.

Or just keep doing what you're doing. There's nothing wrong with your child spending an hour 'reading', singing, playing quietly, etc in his bed in the evening. I used to do that when I was a kid. My kids do it, too. My 5 year old stays up an extra 30 minutes after we leave his room so he can read and play quietly in bed then turns off the light and goes to sleep. I think it's the habit he started when he was 2. :-)

Our son went through the same stage. We still wanted him to take an afternoon nap (so I can have some quiet time), so we have gradually moved his bedtime from 8 to 9:30 - sometimes 10. He still gets up at 8 a.m. He'll take a 1-2 hour nap as long as I wait until after 2 to put him down. If he doesn't take a nap, we put him to bed around 8 or 8:30 and he's out in minutes.

We've gotten him so he will play quietly in his room for an hour or so before bed so we still have our down time after putting our daughter to bed. He has computer games he can play, a leap pad, magna-doodle, books, etc. that keep him occupied and don't require our constant attention. It took some training (telling him he CAN play alone quietly and giving suggestions), but now it is working, and the training was well worth it.

But hey, as long as he's happy, you could keep doing what you're doing!

Oh my god, that is so cute! At least he's not screaming for an hour, just keeping himself busy.

I'd say, unless he's showing signs of exhaustion during the day, I wouldn't worry to much. You are probably right, once he can get outside and playing harder, he might go back to sleeping longer. Can you take him places to play? The mall play scape, open kiddie gyms, etc...? Getting more exercise might be the key.

maybe he's getting enough sleep.
sometimes it takes ME an hour to get to sleep!
if he's happy, don't worry.

Hi. I'm a stay at home mother of four. All children are different and just as you like time to yourself to unwind, your 2 year old may enjoy the same thing. My second is a boy and he does not require as much sleep as the other three. He is 11 years old now, but when he was 2 and 3 years old, he would go to bed at 8:00p but not sleep until 9 or 9:30p. I did worry he wasn't getting his sleep but he wasn't crabby or unbearable during the day. He is still on the same sleep schedule today. It didn't matter what the day brought, busy or not, he sleeps and wakes up the same time. Oh, he wakes every morning at 6:25am. good luck!! Your 2year old is a self-soother and that is good since you have another little one.

C.,

Our 2.5 year old is the same way sometimes. We put him to bed by 8 and sometimes he will sit in bed and "read" books or play with his stuffed animals. Not for as long as your son, but some nights it will be for about 30 minutes or so.

Since your little guy is content and not calling for you or crying, he just may enjoy some alone time. I used to be the same way, I would sit in bed and read for about an hour before going to sleep.

I think what you're doing is the right thing!
Even if you put him to bed earlier, he'd prob still take that long to go to sleep. Perhaps you might try that, tho.
A friend had the same situation. Their DD would spend an hour talking to herself before falling asleep. they tried putting her to bed earlier and later, and still, she took an hour to fall asleep. so they just left it as it was.
IMO, if the child appears to be well rested, and isn't crying about it, then you're doing the right thing. at least he's not upset, and he's winding down, not up running around the house.