screaming and crying when dressing or bed time

liabella22

my daughter is just 3 and about three months ago she started screaming and crying instead of talking when I try to get her dressed or ready for bed.  She had been going along with the routine just fine and her older sister 4.5 years is going along as usual but these fits are wearing me out.  She has been potty training at her will and not there yet but we have not pressured her.  She even wakes up to scream and will stay up for hours crying.  This has been a big switch for even her particular personality and her pediatrician assures me she is healthy.  How do I help her to stop crying and screaming?

Veittobe

I don't have any real advice but I can tell you I've been there very, very recently and it has now gone as fast as it came on.  My DD hit a phase of about a months worth of screaming at the top of her lungs when it became bedtime.  Previously she had been a good sleeper.  She would cry and cry - and going into her room to try to calm her only made her scream louder and longer.  She would at times wake up in the middle of the night and cry out and then wake up in the morning crying again.  It was unnerving!  We didn't know how to help her.  We did everything we could - gave her books to read in bed, teddy bears to read books too or to snuggle, turned on music, turned on/off lights etc etc.  We just kept talking to her and reassuring her that Mommy and Daddy were right here and there was no need to be scared.  Eventually she cried less and now the past 3 nights she has gone to bed without crying.  I don't know if any of that did the trick or if it was just coincidence.  But the point of my writing is - I can empathize.  Hang in there.  Keep trying various things until you find what clicks for your daughter - or it passes on its own.   Good luck!!