Toddler - Sleeping problem

Vinothini · Dec 21, 2009

Hi All,

Am working mother of 2.3yrs old boy. I return home at 9.30pm after work. My son will be feeling half sleep when i go home. After i have my dinner, he starts playing like anything and become brisk as if he got up in the morning and plays till 12am or sometimes even 1am. Am really feeling tired, after a whole day of work and travel. I understand that he needs me.
But if he sleeps atleast at 11pm and gets up at 7am we will have time both at night and morning. My mother-in-law doesnt want me to scold or beat him and asks me to leave him with her. But i feel lonely if he is not there and i dont get proper sleep. So i tried to play as much time as he wants and i dont want my mother-in-law to get in the picture. He used to sleep during day time in craddle in downstairs. My bed room is in upstairs. So every time i take him to upstairs he will play for sometime again he wants to go down, play or sleep in craddle. He was not like this before. He used to sleep with me. We used to play puzzles and read books. Am doing the same activites now. My mother-in-law used to ask whether you want to go up or sleep here itself. I feel this has changed his mind. Please suggest me some tips to make him sleep with me and atleast by 12am. I tried giving him a warm bath and warm milk before bed. It worked very rarely for me. The one reason i understand is he wants to spend time with me which am ready. But 1am is very tough for me.

dgjo · Dec 21, 2009

Hi all,

My daughter is 22 months old. and she is also creating same problem. she is so active after 9 pm. sometimes she will start crying for no reason in night if she is not sleeping.

Till now we have not got any complaints from neighbours, but soon i am expecting. If it is India, atleast we can speak to neighbours and make them understand. But I dunno how things will go here in Germany.

I dunno what is wrong. I want her to sleep early.

Suggestions please....

asha_karthik · Dec 21, 2009

Vino.. i sure hear you esp when its about handling parenting and PILs together. i was facing something like this about 10-12 months back.

9:30pm is too early to get started off with any activity for children. is there a way you can come back after work a little earlier. i know its easier said. see if you can try.
Can you try changing your activities for sometime now? i dont see a problem playing puzzles or reading books just before sleep time. but maybe he is used to that routine of playing for long hours and then sleeping now, so he wouldn't change unless you introduce some other activities, and this time, let them be something like singing rhymes, listening to music, just talking about his school/friends/the day/your work. you can do this talking lying down in the bed with the lights switched off. how about taking your food upstairs and having it with your son playing around? (i have done this and it worked to the better). check if they work.

Aadhusmom · Dec 21, 2009

How many hours does he sleep in the day? Maybe you could cut down on daytime naps? The other thing of course is that kids this age will often become hyperactive if they are over-tired. Could this be the case? What is his total sleep duration? If its a case of not having enough sleep then you might need to find a way of coming home early or maybe let him sleep with MIL and you spend time with him in the mornings before you leave for work.

Vanathi.

Vinothini · Dec 22, 2009

Thanks asha & adhusmom. During daytime he used to sleep for 2.5hrs while am at work. While am at home during weekend he sometimes may not sleep at day time and even then he wants to play late night. May be as you said i will try to come home early from work. Also if i sing rhymes he will get excited and sits on the bed. When i sing pleasant rhymes so that he will feel sleepy, he will ask me to sing louder. I dont get the chance of lying and talking to him at night as he will not allow me to switch off light. May be he is tired and so becomes hyper active. The one solution i see now is to come home early. Thank you so much for your advise.