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Pre-School and Daycare
DD (3) wont go to sleep at night.. Please HELP (xp Toddler 24+)
DD has always been difficult to go to bed (since she was an infant). We had FINALLY gone about the last 3 months in a routine where she would get in bed around 8pm and if she wasnt tired she would stay up and read or play in her doll house.
We had DS about 3 1/2 weeks ago and my mom stayed with us for two weeks (in the same room as DD - DD was in a trundle bed next to my mom). Since my mom left a week ago we have regressed back to about a year ago where DD is SCREAMING for an hour before bed each night. She used to just scream in her room, now she is running out of the room getting so worked up she starts gagging and hyperventilating.
DH and I are beside ourselves - we have tried not going in the room (the crying just gets more like a hyperventilating anxiety attack)... we have tried going in every few minutes (like when you ferberize a baby). We just dont know what to do... any advice?
(XP Toddler 24+)
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Re: DD (3) wont go to sleep at night.. Please HELP (xp Toddler 24+)
Do you have a bedtime routine? Like, take a bath, brush teeth, read a story, lay down. Same routine every night so she knows what to expect.
If you all ready have that, you could try something like this: http://prudentbaby.com/2010/12/baby-kid/the-tape-trick-2/
Basically, she put 3 pieces of tape on the floor. She puts her daughter to bed with the door open and every time she gets out of her room, she moves the door to the next piece, until the door is closed. The daughter wants the door open, so she stays in her room. When she runs out, just grab her and out her back in her bed and say, "DD, it is bed time now, we don't get out of our beds and run around at bedtime. If you're not sleepy, then you can play but I need you to stay in your room."
Kids sometimes get so worked up that they can't go to sleep no matter how tired they are. So it's important to calm her down but not back off making her stay in her bed/room.
What did you do last time to get it to stop?
In our house whenever Grandma and Grandpa (either my parents or ILs!) come to visit, it usually takes a couple days for us to get back into our typical routines. When Grandma and Grandpa are helping with bedtime, it somehow always happens later, they rush up every time she cries, she gets extra books - she's pretty much got them wrapped around her fingers and gets whatever she wants. We kind of have to do mini-sleep training after each visit so that she remembers that screaming doesn't work with mommy and daddy. I'm guessing since the visit was longer, it might have something to do with that.
I think you have to stand your ground. She's 3, and I don't think you have to go in every couple of minutes like you would with a baby who is being ferberized. She wants attention and will continue to scream till she gets it. She has to retrain herself to realize that you won't come in.