bec05
27-11-2006, 09:42
Hi - now I know this is nothing new - a toddler who resists all efforts to put her to bed - but I just wondered if anyone had any good suggestions for us as we're all going crazy!! Our daughter (who has never been a great sleeper) is now only having 1 sleep a day (usually late morning) and starts the day at 5 or earlier so we try to get her in bed at a decent time (around 7) but she resists EVERY naptime and EVERY bedtime - it usually takes at least 40 minutes and often more than an hour to get her to sleep, even when she's really tired. We have a consistent bedtime routine (dinner, bath, quiet play, music, books, breast) but then she gets in the cot and starts playing, throwing the teddies on the floor, laughing, talking, or standing up and yelling for me to pick her up and take her out again. It doesn't seem to matter how tired she is, she just doesn't want to go to sleep! The same happens for the day naps. A couple of times I have given up and said 'ok, maybe you're just not tired enough, so we'll go somewhere and you can sleep later' and then she's asleep within 1 second in the car. Other times I have got so angry and fed up with lying by her cot for so long that I've walked out to have a breather but then she screams hysterically until I return. I worry about my 'inconsistency' but am also totally opposed to 'cry it out' approaches because it seems more about breaking their will than anything else. And yes she CAN and does go to sleep by herself (without breast or bottle or rocking or anything - just my company) - she just doesn't want to. Help!