What is/was your bed-time routine w/your 2-3 year old?

ChelleM

I'm curious what others do to get their 2 year old to sleep.  Our DD is getting harder and harder at night.  Obviously, it can get tougher at this age.  But, we have an infant and we're just exhausted - and the two share a room which is even more complicated.

After bath, pjs and teeth we read two books and sing some songs and rock her.  yes, we still rock her but she likes it.  And, I'm reluctant to give it up b/c it's bonding/snuggily time and once we stop that's it - the stage will be done with.

Anyway, it's the rocking/reading/singing part that she's drawing out and it's taking so much time to get her to sleep now.

janinekrause

They start testing limits sometimes with bedtime at this age- at least mine did. You need to just give her the scoop again before- we will read 2 books and sing 2 songs, etc. Then when she whines, cries, say we agreed that this was what we were going to do. And you need to walk out. She might cry for a day or two but will get over it fast.

Good luck!

ryeryemama

Every night at 7 my 2 year old son watches Sprout, which he LOVES. At about 730 he takes a bath and gets in his jammies. When they brush their teeth on the show he does the same, and then at 845 everynight they go to sleep, and so does he.  He picks up his puppy and goes right to bed. 

MaxandRuby

My boys (3 and 22mos) have pretty much the same routine and most of it happens at the same time. It is very simple and nothing special. 7pm - start picking up toys; 7:15pm (or whenever done with toys) - snack; after snack we brush teeth and get into PJs; after that we read (3yr old gets 1 or 2 longer books and we talk about his day, 22mos old gets 3-4 short books with some extra cuddling); then they are put in bed.

We may start the routine a little later depending on what is going on but our goal is that the 22mos old is in bed by 8:15pm and 3yr old in bed by 8:30pm. Typically DH and I each put a boy down which is why most things happen concurrently.

VTbride05

We don't always give a bath, but either a bath or a wipe down, potty, teeth, a few chapters of a book, one made up story and kiss goodnight. DS likes to stall (for about 6 months) and sometimes it's drawn out.

We have taken the time to start the routine earlier and give him an extra 5-10 minutes to stall. I have read that this is the time of night that children process the day and the often want to talk about their day, or what to expect the next day. Plus DH only gets 2 hours with the kids at night, so I hate to cut it short and end the night on a sour note ("GO TO BED").

Try to give a little extra time when you can but set clear expectations such as "after this story we will have one more hug and then it's lights out". 

GL!

KathrynMD

We normally watch a show from 7-730 and kiss Daddy; upstairs and DD takes off her shorts and underwear BY.HERSELF (tyvm) and I help with her shirt, then potty, brush teeth (this part is not always smooth) and then we go in her room put on PJs and pull up, DD picks 2 books and then she turns off her light, we do hugs and kisses and then she lays down in her bed and I tuck her and her baby in and we sing the same 3 songs and then we do another kiss and then I leave. I thought I would miss rocking but the grabbing me for a fierce kiss and "I love you Mommy" is pretty darn good AND doesn't hurt my back!

PandaMom06

DD just turned 2 and has been trying to draw bedtime out. The past couple weeks I've just started walking out of the room. She tries to not give Daddy hugs and kisses because in the beginning we would keep trying or wait until she was ready. We then realized that if I told her "Ok we're going to bed anyways" she would do it. Then once in bed I sing to her. She asks several times for the songs over again. I started singing them a few times and then telling her "Ok one more time." Of course she asks for more but I tell her "No, we agreed on one more. It's time to go night night." I tell her I love her, turn off the light, and leave the room. She hasn't cried for more than a couple minutes after leaving. It's definately getting better.

sherpa

I rocked my son until he was around 18 months, I loved rocking him but quickly found he was super cuddly and much more affectionate when we stopped rocking. So don't think that when you stop rocking your losing out on boding/snuggly time. Now all three of us get to snuggle down on the floor and read together. As far as our routine goes we have a bath then we brush and get jammies on. We talk about the good and bad of the day and what plans if any we have tomorrow. Then we pick out a book and read it as a family. We use to sing but DS doesn't like us singing unless we're on walks or in the car. LOL He's finicky.

mrsseguin

DS gets a bath (every other night), jammies and gets to watch a 15 minute tv show.  We let him know he's going to bed after the show is over.  He shuts off the tv, he gets a small sippy with milk, then goes to bed. 

When I put him to bed I tuck him in, spend about 5 minutes just talking and playing with his hair, or read a short book.  Give him a kiss and leave the room.  When DH puts him to bed, he lays with DS till he falls asleep.  I don't really like that DH lays with him, but he likes it and puts DS to bed about 5 nights a week.  

DS doesn't get up...if he does we put a gait up at the door.  He's just learned over time that he has to stay in bed and not get up.  Naps are the same way as bedtime (the way I do it) cause I'm home during the day with him.  It's easy and takes 5 minutes.  

KathrynMD

fredalina:

Ah, yes, the refusal to hug/kiss Daddy. It's only an issue for us on weekends since he works evenings, but it made weekend bedtime kkind of miserable for a while. I started saying, "You will be sad if you don't give daddy a hug because he has to go downstairs now, and I don't want you to be sad." Instant hugs! 

We have this issue too - sometimes in the mornings too.  I'm going to try your method.

pensparade

We do pj's and a sippy cup of milk. We either sit on the floor against her bed or I will lay in bed with her and we read books. Lots and lots of books.