Son not wanting to sleep at night

jtajlj

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My soon to be Step-Son has had no problems with sleeping through the night the last 20 months.

heres a break down of his daily schedule

6:00AM wakes up on own (like an alarm clock), eats breakfast, gets a bath and changed
7:00AM leaves for babysitters so mom can go to class (Mon, Tues, Thurs only on Wed and Fri her classes are so late he stays home with Grandparent)
8:00AM Nap without sippy cup 1.5 hours
10:00 - 11:00 Play Time
11:00 - 11:30 Lunch
11:30 - 1:45 play time
1:45 - 3:00 Nap Time
3:00 - Mom picks up from babysitters
4:00 - 5:00 Dinner
5:00 - 7:00 Play Time
7:00 -Bath
8:00 - Bed Time

this is the same schedule he has been on for all most 2 years over the last several days it hasn't changed other then the fact that now when we lay him down at 8:00 which he usually still stays up till 9ish he is crying and wanting food, tv, youtube trains (he loves train whistles) wont take his sippy cup, wants to be held by everyone in the house last night and tonight he finally went to sleep around 10:20 and he has been waking up at 1 or 2 in the morning staying up till 4 going back to bed and getting back up between 5:30 and 6.

Any one have any suggestions?
 
My soon to be Step-Son has had no problems with sleeping through the night the last 20 months.

heres a break down of his daily schedule

6:00AM wakes up on own (like an alarm clock), eats breakfast, gets a bath and changed
7:00AM leaves for babysitters so mom can go to class (Mon, Tues, Thurs only on Wed and Fri her classes are so late he stays home with Grandparent)
8:00AM Nap without sippy cup 1.5 hours
10:00 - 11:00 Play Time
11:00 - 11:30 Lunch
11:30 - 1:45 play time
1:45 - 3:00 Nap Time
3:00 - Mom picks up from babysitters
4:00 - 5:00 Dinner
5:00 - 7:00 Play Time
7:00 -Bath
8:00 - Bed Time

this is the same schedule he has been on for all most 2 years over the last several days it hasn't changed other then the fact that now when we lay him down at 8:00 which he usually still stays up till 9ish he is crying and wanting food, tv, youtube trains (he loves train whistles) wont take his sippy cup, wants to be held by everyone in the house last night and tonight he finally went to sleep around 10:20 and he has been waking up at 1 or 2 in the morning staying up till 4 going back to bed and getting back up between 5:30 and 6.

Any one have any suggestions?

Learn to live through the normal development of the child. At age four it will be smarter and even more able at putting of bedtime.

That is what little kids are like.
 
Don't give in. Stick with the schedule. Giving him attention will just tell him that he is in control. Think about shortening the naps a bit and see if that will help. While children do require a large amount of sleep some need less than others just like with adults. Its a frusturating time but he is just testing his limits. If he come out of his room just put him back in. Don't talk to him or give him attention. He doesn't NEED a drink he doesn't NEED to be held. He definatley doesn't NEED youtube videos (in the middle of the night). It can be exhausting and monotonous to keep hauling him back to bed but he will eventually understand. Then make sure when he is awake he is getting the attention and activities he craves. And welcome to life with a toddler! Never a dull moment!
 
No offense or anything, I find it fascinating that it is you asking for help when it isn't the mother doing it.
 
Seems to me this is such a very rigid schedule....the child is almost into the "terrible 2's"...more active, needing less sleep.
Having a "night light" works for some...watch out for caffeine in what the child drinks...and personally, I do not believe in letting a child cry and cry for longer than a few minutes. "Soothing" lullabye music helps if the child is not deaf also....plus the fact is, the child may be having little nightmares for some reason.....
 
My soon to be Step-Son has had no problems with sleeping through the night the last 20 months.

heres a break down of his daily schedule

6:00AM wakes up on own (like an alarm clock), eats breakfast, gets a bath and changed
7:00AM leaves for babysitters so mom can go to class (Mon, Tues, Thurs only on Wed and Fri her classes are so late he stays home with Grandparent)
8:00AM Nap without sippy cup 1.5 hours
10:00 - 11:00 Play Time
11:00 - 11:30 Lunch
11:30 - 1:45 play time
1:45 - 3:00 Nap Time
3:00 - Mom picks up from babysitters
4:00 - 5:00 Dinner
5:00 - 7:00 Play Time
7:00 -Bath
8:00 - Bed Time

this is the same schedule he has been on for all most 2 years over the last several days it hasn't changed other then the fact that now when we lay him down at 8:00 which he usually still stays up till 9ish he is crying and wanting food, tv, youtube trains (he loves train whistles) wont take his sippy cup, wants to be held by everyone in the house last night and tonight he finally went to sleep around 10:20 and he has been waking up at 1 or 2 in the morning staying up till 4 going back to bed and getting back up between 5:30 and 6.

Any one have any suggestions?

I found a problem.

he wants his real mommy.
 
When my kids were old enough to climb out of the crib, I left the crib railing down (until we moved them to a bed) and then told them they could come into my room and sleep on some blankets I would leave on the floor for them. My oldest would just come in and go to sleep on the floor, my youngest would wake me up and I'd have to "tuck her in".
 
Why do you gotta be an asshole?

Your mommie (or anyone else) didn't hug you enough?

:-P

I get enough
nutkick.gif
from Jessie :(
 
I know in my case, it was easy with my son. He was a very good toddler and had no problems for the most part. He did suffer from nightmares every so often, and would go to Grandma's room since mom (me) couldn't hear him. Grandma (my mother) would calm him down and he would sleep in her room or go back to his room.

My daughter suffered for 4 years with night terrors. We had battles from the time she was 18 months until she was 3 or 4. We still had some problems until she was 7 or 8, but that's due to bad habits learned. (TV to sleep by) What we found that would help after the night terrors were gone, was I would tape myself reading her bedtime stories on cassette. She would play that tape every night and fall asleep to that. To this day, at 16, she still has to play music for her to be able to fall asleep. If she wakes during the night and can't go back to sleep, she will pace the kitchen while wearing her ear buds and MP3 player, then come back to bed after an hour or so.
 
My son put us through the same thing when he was 3 but we stuck with the schedule. We had to keep picking him up and putting him back to his bed after getting out to come downstairs. Now, at 5 years old, with us letting him know 5 mins before it is time for bed, he doesnt give us any problems. Sometimes, he goes right to sleep when he is in bed...sometimes, he stays awake and plays with his toys until he falls asleep. As long as he stays in his bed and understands the routine, all is good. It takes time but showing firmness pays off in the long run. Good luck!
 
Several thoughts:

Does he have a special comfy? Sounds like he's having a hard time soothing himself. If you could teach him to soothe himself with a comfy it might help. Maybe get him a special stuffed animal or blanket for this purpose? Something that is fuzzy or like satin is a good choice. Whatever material your child respond to well.

Do you have a bed time ritual? Reading is a big part of our bedtime ritual. It helps the kids relax. You might consider different soothing things for your ritual.

Is the child reaching a developmental milestone? My kids would always have sleep issues right before a big development milestone. If your child suddenly has a new skill after sleep issues, this may be what's happening. You may find that he suddenly has a huge leap in vocabulary or motor skills. Yea!

Good luck! It'll get easier, I promise.
 
How old is he ???

Did I read this correctly in hi schedule ... he gets TWO baths a day? One first thing in the morning and one right before bed?

If this is true - there's 2 (or three) issues with that which could be contributing to the issue:

1) Children simply do not NEED two baths a day ... it's very drying on their skin (even if you slather them with lotion post-bath and even if you don't use soap) . Unfortunately, parent's/caregivers (influenced by ads by "Johnsons&Johnsons" I'm sure) often think that in order to get clean a child needs to use soap (at every bath etc)- this is simply not true. Infants and young children don't really sweat (unless they have a medical condition) and as such, simply letting them sit and play in the bath for a while, while using a hand held shower to rinse their upper body or a plastic cup to pour water over them etc, then "washing" them by wiping well with a soft cloth and warm water is really all that is needed, most of the time. Once they are out of the tub, it's very important to make sure they get a hypoallergenic gentle lotion applied to their entire body (minus hair and genitals of course) to help lock in moisture etc.


2) While every kid is unique - personally,The nap times and lengths might be contributing to the night time issues - you say he's been on that schedule for 20moths ? It's likely he really doesn't NEED that much nap time anymore (especially in the afternoon).
My 15month old niece has a morning nap that is between 1hour and 90mins and IF she has an afternoon nap it's typically an hour or less - and we make sure that she's awake before 3pm so that by bed time she's really ready for a good, long sleep. I'd recommend seeing if they can move up the afternoon nap and make it shorter so start the nap at 1:30 and end it at 2:30 at the latest... that way there's more time between the nap and bed.


MOST importantly
3) If someone's bathing this child when they wake up and get dressed to START the day, and then is bathed and then dressed (in PJs) to END the day ... there's a major mixed message being sent to this kid as far as routine goes. Typically, it's a much better idea to bath a child at NIGHT only - as part of a larger "bed time routine" . The reason having a consistant unique "bed time routine" is so important is that it is how infants and children shift from "it's day:it's time we play, we nap, we play again" to "it's night: it's time to slowly relax, and sleep for the night" mode. Right now his schedule doesn't make a bid enough shift to cue him and his body on what's suppose to happen.

Ideally, you want to have it so he has a specific and unique "wake up" routine, then daytime routine and then a specific night routine.

You might have something that looks like this:

6:00AM - wake up, diaper change, get dressed, have breakfast. (NO BATH)
7:00AM - leaves for babysitters etc
9:00AM - nap 1 hour
10:00 - 11:00 Play Time
11:00 - 11:30 Lunch
11:30 - 12:30 independent play time
12:30 - 1:15 reading time with caregiver (or other "quite time" educational activity)
1:15 - 2:15 Nap Time
2:15 - 2:30 small snack (fruit, veggies or meat/protein)
2:30 - 3:00 active play time
3:00 - 4:00 Mom picks up from babysitters
4:00 - 5:00 Play time (specifically with mom for at least the first 20mins)
5:00 - 6:00 Dinner
6:00 - 7:00 Play Time
7:00 - 7:45 Bath time, get dressed for bed, brush teeth etc
7:45 - 8:00 "good-night story-time" with mom (&who ever else wants to be there)
8:00 - Bed Time


You'll note some really important time shifts I've made, and specifics I've added beside various play times, etc. These might sound like they "don't really matter", but they DO. They form a specific routine that happens that allow everyone to transition from morning, into day then into night.
Also, pushing back the evening meal might be odd at first, however it does two important things ... it creates specific "mom and son play time" first thing when they got home so that they actaully spend some TIME together. Eating later means that he's also not going to wake up hungry in the middle of the night - kids burn calories FAST and expecting a child to go more than 14 hours between meals (possibly without food at all) is not a great idea and pretty much sets up a situation where the child is (legitimately) waking up hungry in the middle of the night.

Having a solid bed time routine ... such as:
PART ONE:
eating dinner, quiet play/colouring/playing blocks etc (nothing too high energy as this is "wind down time"), then bath time, brush teeth, get changed and ready for bed (I'd recommend doing all the diapering and putting on PJs in the BATHROOM (so that when you enter the bedroom it can transition into "part two" which is when you go from "light, active etc time" TO "dim, quiet, gentle, etc time"_

PART TWO:
In the bedroom - if they're in a bed, then lay/sit in bed together...if they're in a crib then in a comfy chair or sitting on the floor on some big cushions or a foam sheet/mattress etc.

Have "quiet talking time" if they're old enough to tell you what they did today, then ask them what they did, what their favourite things where, discuss what will happen tomorrow etc. If they're pre-verbal then you can recount parts of the day for them (what they would have done etc) as well as tell them about any family members etc ... basically this is "connecting time" - just make sure it's quiet, relaxed, restful ... not jumpy, etc.
This is NOT the time to discipline etc them about something they might have done "wrong" or "bad" during the day (that just creates anxiety) however it IS the time to offer praise for things that they have done well/"good" (good listener, good helper, etc - try to name specific things even if it's "you ate dinner so well" or "you did a great job of sharing today, I'm very proud of you" etc).
Once you've had some sharing/talking time, then it's a great time to read a story (or a few short books) together... For short books (board books, 5page books etc) then I usually pick 2 or 3 books to read together. Ideally the child is actually starting to fall asleep while you're reading the last book (part of a longer story) - so if you read a religious story nightly and say prayers as part of the routine then I'd actually recommend doing that as a transition from "talk and sharing time" to "story reading time" and then once that's done read any other stories etc.

Doing this creates not only a routine that makes sense to the adult AND the child (which means if a babysitter ever puts them down if they follow that "routine" it should work quite well, instead of dissolving into chaos) it also give the child and the parent(s) some quality time together - which is very important for everyone.


I hope that helps some ?

Every child is different ...however having looked after a LOT of children, as well as being one of the primary caregivers for my niece, there are a lot of things that tend to work for almost all kids, the above being those "things".

I mentioned in another thread - that I really honestly think that you and the boy's mum would greatly benefit from taking a parenting class together. The classes aren't for "bad parents" - they SHOULD be for EVERY parent! There are soooo many things that you need to know when raising children and having additional resources and supports is critical. Taking parenting classes not only teaches coping techniques, and how to manage developmental advancements but also important skills like how to tell if your child is really sick (when to go to the dr, when to go to emergency, when to call 911 - and sometimes it's not nearly as "easy to know" as you'd think) also things like first aid, CPR, info on how to give medications properly, how to make sure your home is safe, all types of VERY valuable information that even the best parents can learn from. It also allows you to meet other parents in the area who you might be able to look to for ideas, play dates, peer support, info on good docs/good schools/various programs available etc.
 
I know in my case, it was easy with my son. He was a very good toddler and had no problems for the most part. He did suffer from nightmares every so often, and would go to Grandma's room since mom (me) couldn't hear him. Grandma (my mother) would calm him down and he would sleep in her room or go back to his room.

My daughter suffered for 4 years with night terrors. We had battles from the time she was 18 months until she was 3 or 4. We still had some problems until she was 7 or 8, but that's due to bad habits learned. (TV to sleep by) What we found that would help after the night terrors were gone, was I would tape myself reading her bedtime stories on cassette. She would play that tape every night and fall asleep to that. To this day, at 16, she still has to play music for her to be able to fall asleep. If she wakes during the night and can't go back to sleep, she will pace the kitchen while wearing her ear buds and MP3 player, then come back to bed after an hour or so.

Speaking of night terrors, we found taking our girls to the bathroom helped. Remember, with night terrors, touch them as little as possible. They are not awake though they may seem to be. We would just lead them to the toilet, help them on it and then when they were done, we take them back to their bed and they'd go right back to sleep. My theory is their body is trying to wake them up to go to the bathroom, but they're in a deep sleep and the "terrors" is the way they react to it. Haven't you ever dreamt of "going to the bathroom" and then waking up finding that you do need to go?
 
Ok

No he only gets one bath a day and that is right before bed. We also read to him we have switched off with mom and me both reading to him so he should be used to having one of us read to him this is a nightly thing.

He uses an afgan as a comfy we have several and he usually picks the one he wants to take to bed with him

He has been on a Antibiotic and liquid Zertec by Doctors orders to clear up some eczema this is perscribed once in the morning and once before bed.

After speaking with the Doctor Zertec can make a child hyper and confused. We tried last night with just the Antibiotic.

Even though Mom is out of town with school he was able to fall asleep and sleep through the night seems like the Zertec was the issue.
 
Don't give in. Stick with the schedule. Giving him attention will just tell him that he is in control. Think about shortening the naps a bit and see if that will help. While children do require a large amount of sleep some need less than others just like with adults. Its a frusturating time but he is just testing his limits. If he come out of his room just put him back in. Don't talk to him or give him attention. He doesn't NEED a drink he doesn't NEED to be held. He definatley doesn't NEED youtube videos (in the middle of the night). It can be exhausting and monotonous to keep hauling him back to bed but he will eventually understand. Then make sure when he is awake he is getting the attention and activities he craves. And welcome to life with a toddler! Never a dull moment!
I agree.

As kids get older, their recommended nap times may need to be shortened.

I have nephews who don't take naps unless it's on Sunday after church.

Taking too many naps may lead to restlessness later at night. Even adults have that problem if they take too many naps. :)
 
Why do you gotta be an asshole?

Your mommie (or anyone else) didn't hug you enough?

:-P

Hate to say it, but I agree with Jiro. The OP also said in another thread that they live with the maternal grandparents. Seems this guy is trying to assert himself when he really doesn't have a right to (Mom and this guy aren't married). Maybe the child does want/need his Mother? I'd go with that before I would anything else; especially if the kid is seeing the sitter or Grandma the majority of the day.
 
No offense or anything, I find it fascinating that it is you asking for help when it isn't the mother doing it.

I'm with you. I find myself asking the same thing. Where's the MOM in all this? She's the biological parent to this child.
 
Speaking of night terrors, we found taking our girls to the bathroom helped. Remember, with night terrors, touch them as little as possible. They are not awake though they may seem to be. We would just lead them to the toilet, help them on it and then when they were done, we take them back to their bed and they'd go right back to sleep. My theory is their body is trying to wake them up to go to the bathroom, but they're in a deep sleep and the "terrors" is the way they react to it. Haven't you ever dreamt of "going to the bathroom" and then waking up finding that you do need to go?

We were told by the pediatrician to hug her and give her comfort. She was still not potty trained at that point. We had struggles with that and she was 5 before being fully trained. There were underlying issues and the medical community was behind us all the way. I would make sure that she was clean and dry and just hold her through the terror. It would take half and hour to an hour to get her quiet again.
 
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