What time is bedtime for your 3yo?
I think DD1 needs more sleep than she's getting, but every time I try to move her bedtime earlier it lasts a week at most and then ends up getting pushed later again. Right now she goes to bed between 7:45-8 PM and wakes on her own between 6:30-6:45 AM.
ETA: She still naps for about 2 hours most days. Taking that away isn't an option, she still needs it.
Re: Bedtime for 3yo?
We installed black out curtains last fall when she was having trouble falling asleep. They have helped a lot.
Since it seems she is getting enough sleep for her age, maybe bedtime isn't the issue. She just seems so over tired- the first hour after she wakes is just tantrum and tantrum. She eats breakfast right away, so hunger shouldn't be the issue, either. I know tantrums are totally normal for a 3yo, I am just so frustrated with starting our day off like that.
DD1 Feb 2010
DD2 Sept 2011
Bedtime is 8:00 and she's usually up by 6:30. She also still naps for 2ish hours. So pretty much the same schedule as yours.
When she actually goes to sleep at 8:00, I think this is enough sleep. If I were you, I wouldn't even try to adjust your current schedule.
Lately my daughter has had trouble going to sleep (I blame the time change and that fact that it is still very light at 8:00). She hasn't been falling asleep until 9:00 or even later. Ugh. I know she's tired, but I can't get her into bed any earlier and doubt she would fall asleep earlier even if she was in bed. It's frustrating.
My oldest went through difficulties earlier this year and we figured out he was a little sad that he did not get enough time to play with his brothers before school, so we made changes to our morning routine to give him extra time in the morning.
Yes. The first hour she is awake in the morning is just one long, epic tantrum. Same thing when she wakes from nap, it's like she just hasn't slept long enough. Throughout the day it's better, but she will still melt down over the littlest things. I don't think it's hunger, she eats a small snack or meal every few hours and breakfast first thing when she wakes up.
I taught preschool, know it's normal for a 3yo to tantrum, I know it's normal for them to be completely irrational, but this just seems excessive to me. She's been a high drama kid since we hit the toddler stage, so maybe she's just not a morning person and is expressing it with her inner diva.
DD1 Feb 2010
DD2 Sept 2011
DD just turned 4 and for the most part she's on the exact same schedule and has been for a year or more. Naps are hit or miss though, although typically she still needs them. If she skips her nap, we typically put her to bed a little earlier.
Charlotte Ella 07.16.10
Emmeline Grace 03.27.13
I've read that night sleep is more important than day sleep
my dd sleeps 7-7
and, when she's not under the weather, I don't let her sleep more than 30-45 minutes during the day. Then she has a little refresh nap, but is tired enough for bedtime
Nothing really to add except we are going through the same thing. She started becoming a handful around 11 months and has never really stopped. These days it's nothing for her to have tantrum after tantrum the entire morning before being dropped off at daycare. It's exhausting! I know (or at least I hope) this head-strong personality will serve her well when she is an adult, but it definitely takes its toll on me!
Both my girls (3.5 yo and 21 month old) go to bed between 8:15 and 8:30 and get up between 6:30 and 7:00.
DD1 naps for about 1.5 hours a day.