Kids Not Getting Enough Sleep... Darn Daylight Savings!

Congratulations on the great husband and father that helps at home. Wow!!! (just a little jealous)

Anyway, the only thing I could suggest would be to make them go back and lay down. Don't ask, don't beg, don't request it...when they wake up at 6:30 tell them it is not time to be awake and they will lay back down until mommy comes and gets them. Period.

My little one started wanting to get up around 6 am for awhile and when she did I marched her little self right back to her room and explained that mommy was tired, it was not time to be awake....even Mr Sunshine was still sleeping...so she had to lay back down. Period.

Maybe my girls are just easy but I don't give them an option and it has worked for me.

Good luck!!! Sleep is such a wonderful thing.

I would put them to bed earlier for sure! But you will have to catch them before they get overtired and then get too hyper to go to sleep. try starting a half an hour earlier than their normal bedtime at first. Maybe after dinner, give them a bath, then pj's, then in their bedroom and read a book or whatever you do, then tucked in bed, lights out. My kids also get up at the same time in the morning no matter what time they go to bed. So I had to put them to bed earlier. My daughter who is in kindergarten goes to bed at 7pm, and it is so nice, and she is a much better child.

Exercise!!
My godson is 5 and he used to be impossible to get to bed. His parents would get into screaming fights with him about it.
I took a different route with him and it worked like a dream. About and hour after dinner (about 2-3 hours before bedtime) we would go outside and I would have him run around the house as fast as he could, as many times as he could in half an hour. (He usually was tuckered out in about 15 min.) After that it is bath and then a book read by a soft light lamp. (No TV!!! The light changes cause endorphin boosts.) He crashes and sleeps like the dead for at least 8-10 hours. The "sleeps like the dead" has been a great help now that he shares a room with his baby sister who is about a year old.

Good Luck!!!

K~

My kids always slept better when they had regular physical activity. A trip to the park always did it!

I have a 5 year old son who is just like yours. As much as I hated to do so, I pushed his bedtime back to 7:30. He will get up at the same time each morning no matter what time I put him down for the most part, so I figure this is a way to sneak a little extra into his night. Also, we have a wave machine in his room that gives him white noise. It has actually helped him sleep better as he has gotten past his preschool years.

I feel your pain! Good luck!
A.

Hi A., I have definitely had my fair share of the sleep challenges too. Hang in there! I still have my 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son take naps everyday and they are in the same room for now, although my daughter sometimes tries to fight her naps (not because she is not tired but because she is having a power struggle). In the end, they are in much better moods through the evening if they get their naps and they still go to bed on time at 8 (and I get my much needed break in the middle of the day to get some things done). I think exercise is the best way to wear them out. I notice if there isn't much activity going on before lunch, it is usually harder to get my daughter to sleep for her nap. I have them nap usually from 1 to 3 and somtimes if we are ready, they start their nap at 12:30, surprisingly it is sometimes easier if we try the earlier nap time. And then, of course a night-time bed routine to get them in the groove of settling down and going to sleep at night. Even starting off with a simple puzzle is nice, it gets them to settle down quite a bit. Evenings are much nicer when the kiddos aren't screaming from exhaustion. Sounds like you are already on the right track. Take care and enjoy your sleep!

My 2 1/2 year old had a tough time after daylights savings time. She also lately wants to start skipping her nap, though she definitely still needs it. So we started putting her to bed at 7, and she will sleep until 6:30 or 7am. So she's getting 12 hours again. Her bedtime had always been 8ish in the past. So now we have couple time after 7, not the worst thing in the world! Sleep is supposedly addictive. The more they get the more they want. So perhaps trying an earlier bedtime, and sticking to it for a few days, would help.

Hi A.,
With my kids, the later I put them to bed, the earlier they wake up. I know it makes no sense, but I know that a lot of kids are like this. My suggestion is to put them to bed at 7:30. After daylight savings kicked in my kids won't go to sleep right away, but they are at least in bed & they do fall asleep after about 20-30 minutes.

did you try putting them to bed earlier so they sleep 7 to 7?
J.

If they're cranky at dinnertime, set them on the frontroom floor in front of their favorite movie and tell them just to rest while mommy makes dinner. Tell them if they get up, you're putting them to bed. You can always wake them up when dinner is ready. They will probably fall asleep in front of t.v. At least the rest will be good for both of them. By the way, having the house too quiet is not good. They should be use to noises so when they're older they can sleep thru phone calls, car horns, clanging of pots and pans, etc. Dial it up a little so other sounds don't frighten them.

Well Alica I know exactly what your talking about! The same thing happen to me I have 3 girls 4, 2 & 9 months. So when one wakes up all of them wake up then when they do go back to sleep you can't sleep. What I did wasn't so easy because of the kids lacking there sleep they we not in the best of there moods but you just have to be patient. Friday night I kept my 2 & 4 yr olds up till 10p that's pretty late then Saturday by Sunday they were tired out. They were in bed by 8p & by Monday we were back on track. :) Another thing don't let them nap close to bed time & when if they do nap make sure its not too long. This is just a trick to get them back into the groove.

I would recommend you pick up the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. I call this my sleep bible and have used it with my dd (almost 3) since she was born. I would say, according to the book, to continue trying to put them to bed earlier based on their sleep requirements. At 2, your dd should really be getting 12-14 hours of sleep a night and, if she's getting up at 6:30 with no nap, she is overtired. Just a suggestion.
I also use blackout shades and a white noise machine--that way you don't have to be so quiet.
We always have problems with the time change too, good luck!

Hi,

I would definitely persist with the earlier bedtime. Maybe you could try a quick bath or shower every night before bed. That usually relaxes them pretty good. Turn down the lights before that, and read them one story and put them in bed by 7:30. Try that for a week or so.

Good luck. Its tough when they don't sleep well. Been there!!! :)

Aarti.

I highly recommend Dr Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". Basically the message is SLEEP BEGETS SLEEP. Put you children to bed EARLIER, not later. Believe me - this works! I have a 2.5 yr old son and a 3 wk old daughter. Early to bed works wonders for my clever, active, independent, and often stubborn son and I will use Dr. W's method with my daughter when she is a bit older. Stay commited to this and your kids will get the precious sleep they NEED! Good luck!

I "tricked" my 6 and 3 year old to sleep later by not turning the heat back up until they wake up. Before, it seemed that when they heard the heat kick on in the morning, they decided it was time to get up. Keeping it cooler helped them stay in bed a little later for me.