3yo Sleep Issues
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Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: Toddler Times
Forum Description: Is bubs growing up and getting into everything? How do you train them to use the potty? When do you start feeding solids? Share your tips and advice here!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=39792
Printed Date: 09 August 2025 at 1:19pm
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Topic: 3yo Sleep Issues
Posted By: gypsynita
Subject: 3yo Sleep Issues
Date Posted: 04 July 2011 at 2:33pm
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My (nearly) 3yo is having some major sleep problems that I just can't figure out. He was in a good routine - in bed by 7/7.30pm and usually sleeping through until 6/6.30am.
Now all of a sudden we put him down at his usual time and he just refuses to go to sleep until around 9-10pm. He's not unhappy, just stalling big time and keeps coming out. He'll go to the toilet 2 or 3 times or calls for you, just to show you a toy he's playing with. By 10pm he puts himself back into bed and goes to sleep, but will be up at 4 or 5am crawling into our bed (where he just tosses and turns and doesn't sleep). So even on a "good" night he's only getting around 8 hours sleep !! I'm sure that's not enough for a VERY active toddler! He has one day nap of 1-2 hours, and I've thought about dropping this but he really seems to need it... Anyone got any ideas?? We're at our wits end with this one...  ------------- Anita Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10) http://lilypie.com"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: freckle
Date Posted: 04 July 2011 at 3:06pm
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my 3 year old went through the same thing, unfortunately we had to drop the day sleep. She still has one very occasionally when needed but if she has one every day she is up every night. At first she did struggle and was really tired by bed time, but now she's use to it and we're back to early to bed and up about 6.30-7.00 in the morning... ------------- mum to 3 lovely girls :D |
Posted By: gypsynita
Date Posted: 04 July 2011 at 3:22pm
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thanks freckle - that's what i was afraid of lol!
how long did it take to adjust the schedule, and how did you get her to drop the day sleep? Cian will just take himself off to bed if he's tired... ------------- Anita Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10) http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: freckle
Date Posted: 04 July 2011 at 3:29pm
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Haha yeah I was very reluctant to stop the day sleeps too! It probably took a couple of weeks, and for a while she had to go to bed a bit earlier at night. It was really just a matter of keeping her occupied during the day so she didn't sit down and crash out... although if she is really tired I let her have a short sleep/quiet rest... For the first while she would have a nap every 3 or so days to kinda catch up a bit ------------- mum to 3 lovely girls :D |
Posted By: crafty1
Date Posted: 04 July 2011 at 7:46pm
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We found that having a day sleep roughly every second day works ok. If he's sick he'll have one every day and go down at 7 no bother. Some times it suits us to have him up later at night if we are going out or having friends over.
I also found that he went through a stage of the late bedtime with a day sleep but now has a day sleep again most days (just started preschool) and still goes down ok at about 7.30-8. Without the day sleep he is soooooo grumpy from 3-5pm. I flip flop as to which is worse- afternoon grump or up later at night. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: Troods
Date Posted: 04 July 2011 at 8:12pm
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We are going through similar issues with our 3yo at the moment too. Especially since she started kindy this term, 2 days a week, from 8:45 to 2:45 so a long day for her. I'm trying to gradually stop her day sleeps, and some days she manages fine, but others she does get rather fragile towards evening especially on her kindy days. Some days she does have to have a sleep to catch up, but I think she's started getting used to it now because the last few nights she's gone to sleep earlier no problem, and waking up at a more reasonable time in the morning. ------------- 
 Missed MC July 2011
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Posted By: pudgy
Date Posted: 04 July 2011 at 9:21pm
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We had to drop day sleeps as well. It was tough for tne first week and improved after that. She does still need one once a week or so but now she goes to bed sooooooo much easier. I found going for a walk or to the park whe they start getting frazzled in the afternoons helps too. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: gypsynita
Date Posted: 06 July 2011 at 1:13pm
Thanks for your responses  I was all set to get daycare to drop his day sleep (he's there tuesday and wednesday) but then he got a stomach bug so has been at home, and sleeping a lot!
Next week...  ------------- Anita Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10) http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Kate08
Date Posted: 10 July 2011 at 2:24pm
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I found it was better to leave the daycare naps in place to start with. When my daughter started staying up late at 2 and a half, I found that dropping naps at home was ok, as we could have quiet time and quiet activities when she wasn't coping. At daycare she still has the odd nap, as it's so much more full on.
When I asked them to stop giving her a nap, she was so overtired by midafternoon her behaviour deteriorated and then the evening was just hellish. She often was too tired to eat her dinner and we just had tantrums and so on! Complete nightmare. That was our experience anyway, and she is pretty temperamental, your laddie may well cope a lot better!! |
Posted By: gypsynita
Date Posted: 14 July 2011 at 9:23pm
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good to know Kate... Cian is definitely temperamental as well so won't be risking MORE tanties!! It's a good point about them being busier at daycare, usually by the time he gets home he's pretty worn out and just wants to sit and chill out quietly. ------------- Anita Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10) http://lilypie.com">
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