making your child go to sleep

which is why there should be no power struggle, yes i understand children push their limits, which is why as the parents you should stand firm.... look i just gave some advice, she doesnt have to take it if she doesnt want.

 

bullshit.
Everything with a three yr old is a chance for a power struggle. Three yr olds are JUST testing their boundaries and yours over EVERYTHING.
The more you try force them to do- the more power struggles, it just isn't worth that sort of struggle over not laying down when they aren't tired IMO.
Encourage sleep,encourage winding down at the same time-you can't force it-
Ever heard the expression "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink"?

...well I guess you can force a child to submit to your every parental whim if you are willing to abuse them to get there

 

Do you have children???

 

im wondering that too....

 

ok look there is no need to attack me, I just gave my opinion, if you had actually read my post you might have noticed that I mentioned all of that also. But maybe thats why your child doesnt behave. And the title of this thread is "MAKING your child go to sleep" hmm wouldnt that insinuate force. And just because you let your child run all over you doesnt mean you should FORCE those parentling view on anyone else, which is what you are trying to do here. Anyway have fun with all your sleepless nights.

I hear sleep deprivation really sucks!

 

LOL, "thats why your child doesn't behave" "sleep deprivation really sucks"

- sleep deprivation is part of being a parent.

as is TEACHING and ENCOURAGING your child- not forcing them,thats also how you get a BEHAVED child.
If you aren't a parent you are in for a big ass bitch slap when you realize what is actually like.

 

i never said that i let my child run all over me, but that i have trouble getting him to stay in bed, and i never even attacked you, i seconded the question if you had children yourself. im not having sleepless nights, im having problems keeping the little one in bed, i dont think you are a parent, you dont understand.

 

gl... I think you mentioned above that routine in general is an issue in your household right now. Maybe there's a connection with that and your child having difficulty going to sleep?

 

I see you didnt answer my question.

 

yes, because my husband doesnt get home the same time every evening, and my son gets all excited to see daddy. and wants to take a bath with him, so then theres a problem with a certain time for bath.... and that he wants to play with daddy instead of settling down and putting up the toys and getting ready for bed.

 

i dont think she has any kids right now either

 

She sure peaced out quick.

 

Im glad your not my momma.

 

ahh. It makes more sense now. Do you know dad's work schedule in advance or is every night just different? what's the latest he comes home?

 

Niemiway - - You sound as though you have your “parenting head” screwed on exactly the right way. Good for you! I'd go a little lighter on the punishment though.

I was the full-time Mr. Mom to our 20 and 21 y.o. sons … did absolutely everything with little help while my wife was busy climbing the career ladder and bringing home the bacon. I think that I did a pretty good job; both are earning excellent grades in two upper tier colleges, have nice GFs, treat alcohol and other recreational drugs with respec, and are just good people.

 

I think that routine is also very important. Another thing is to not allow any television before bed (or in bed), it winds kids up. My son was awful, it would take me hours each night to get him to go to bed. He was exhausted, but just refused to lay down or would get right back up when I left the room. It sucks that your hubby comes home late and winds him up, but I still stick to my routine even if daddy is working late, it is for my sanity and my kids need sleep. I had finally had enough when his 6 month old sister was sleeping all night, but I was up all night with my 4 year old.

We do have a routine, where he gets a story and long bath before bed. I used to let him watch TV hoping it would keep him in bed. First thing I did was I took out his TV and put in a radio that plays lullabies all night (I let him go pick the CD). Then, I started taking his favorite toys every time he got out of bed. I placed the toys right up on the counter where he could see them, but not touch them. I told him that his toys were in time out for 4 days OR he could earn them back by going to bed and staying there until the sun came up in the morning. By 2 days later, he had earned his toys back and it has never been a problem again. I did that 1-1/2 years ago and now he sleeps like a dream. This was after struggling for 2 years with his sleep. I noticed that his behavior changed dramatically afterwards and he looked healthier (no dark circles under his eyes). The boy was exhausted from keeping himself awake all night.

Good luck, I don't know if this will work with a 3 year old, but it worked for us, so I thought I'd share. Luckily, I was blessed with a 2nd that LOVES to sleep LOL.

 

a couple of hours before it is time for my kids to go to bed, we play "harder" than usual. We run all over the place, I chase them around and tickle them like crazy, then they chase me and tickle me. We build blanket forts and crawl around in them, or jump on the funiture, or spin till we're dizzy. About a half hour before bedtime, we sit down and read books. After the story is over we will put one of their shows in the DVD player. If they don't pass out during the show, I will sing to them. Either I have a relaxing voice, or my sing is so bad they pass out so they don't have to hear it. If all else fails, get out the rubber mallet. Does your child still take naps? If so you might consider trying to skip it, or wake your child up after a short period of time. Just experiment until you find what works. On the really sleepless night we'll sit down and drink some sleepy time tea together. Valarian root is a natural sleep aid, and works great in the place of man made drugs. Hope it all works out for you

 

we've been having a much easier time. joey just wants to cuddle. kai loves to cuddle her, too. so, joey goes to sleep with kai. she'll get up in the middle of the night and come cuddle with me. i've been getting great sleep. she'll even tell me when it's nap time sometimes. she'll say "is time a cuddle," and we'll go upstairs and cuddle till she goes to sleep. it's awesome.

 

my hub doesnt know his schedule till the day before, so sometimes he comes home till midnight, and skys will want to stay up to see him. ive been working on getting him worn out, like hippylandscaper mentioned, just really running around lately. hes getting better.