doesn't sleep enough

amother

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 8:57 am

My 2.5 year old doesn't sleep enough. He has dropped his nap. I give him a bath most evenings and rub him with lotion. We have a nice bedtime routine with stories and songs. He is in bed, lights out, between 7:30 and 8. The thing is, I often hear him playing in the dark until after 9. And he STILL gets up before 6 every morning. He has blackout shades, and its anyway still dark out. He is not getting enough sleep and I can tell because on the occasions where he has slept enough, he speaks better and just in general functions better. He's not cranky, but he's not at his optimal functioning either, and I know he would be if he just slept enough. But I can't make him sleep, I can only get him into bed. What can help him fall asleep faster/stay asleep longer?

iamamother

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 11:25 am

wow I could have wrote this post!! my dc is a bit older but I have the same situation! he just doesnt get enough sleep!! diff is is that my dc get cranky! so consider yourself lucky! I will be keeping tabs on this post to see if anyone has good ideas!

Dolly Welsh

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 11:31 am

Something may be keeping him up.

Noise?

Light?

A sense that the house is not asleep? You might pretend that it is, until he goes to sleep. Lights low, low activity. Try not to walk around, wash clinking dishes, talk audibly, or open and close the fridge and the cabinets. Once he is asleep he probably won't wake up from those things.

Your routine may be too interesting and stimulating. I am not sure about the lotion. That is a lot of sensory stimulation. You want no stimulation.

He may be picking up your urgency that he sleep already. A child who thinks his parents want him to sleep so they can have the real party will stay up forever no matter how tired.

Or, he may need a brief nap in the day to get the daily sleep total he needs to be sharp. His personal pattern may not be to get it all at once in one long stretch. A short nap can go a very long way.

Lower your lights. Nightlights. Some go on by themselves when light is low. They are bright LEDs. Make sure any glittery LEDs are behind something to diffuse their glare. Light blocking shades or curtains might help.

Perhaps white noise, from a machine, or a table fountain.

sunlight

Thu, Jan 16 2014, 8:07 pm

notme wrote:

Maybe try putting him to bed 1/2 hr earlier and see if that makes a difference. It might be taking him longer to fall asleep because he is over tired.

I think notme is onto something. Sleep induces more sleep so as soon as you see him getting cranky, get him into bed. He may be onto his second wind at 7:30-8 and then its harder for him to unwind. Also there are certain kind of snacks that help them be full and sleepy. Don't remember what they are, though maybe you can google it.
You havent mentioned noise level at time of his trying to go to sleep. My toddler sleeps with sound machine, maybe yours needs one too. It took him though a couple weeks to sleep deeply with the noise so just prepared to wait it out.

Good luck!