Nearly 4 year old's sleep...or lack of it!

[missyeovil]

I am at my wit's end now with my almost 4 year old's sleep...

She has always been a bit rubbish but from about 1 year to 3 years she was reasonable...she still woke up at least once most nights but was usually okay to get back off.

But since maybe the beginning of this year (?) she's been waking 2, 3 maybe more times in a night! And then to top it off she wants to get up at half 5 and wake the whole house up then too. We just don't know what to do anymore!

On an average night she will wake up at 12, 3 and then 5/5.30 when she will try and get everyone up for the day. We have a gro clock which says she cannot get up until 6.30 because apart from us being totally shattered due to her night wakings her 2 year old brother is really suffering! He has had to go for a nap today at 9.30am despite dropping his nap months ago because it has been getting so bad.

When she wakes there is no knowing how long it will take to get her back to sleep. Sometimes it will be 5 mins, sometimes 3 hours!!

I just don't know what to do anymore! We have tried so many things...reward charts, leaving her, sitting with her, talking to her in the day about it, late to bed, early to bed, no amount of fresh air and exercise seems to make a difference, what she eats/drinks in the hours leading up bedtime makes no difference either. She has had the same bedtime routine since she was tiny.

I am losing the plot with tiredness! Please help!!x

 

[Eryinera]

We used to let my son have a torch and be able to read a book if he woke up. Something that kept him quiet in his room then he would quickly drop off *after the novelty wore off of something different* s

 

[BunnyN]

I was thinking something similar. Ideally you want to stop her waking up or find away of keeping her in night routine and getting back to sleep quickly. But honestly if that is just not happening I would go for anything that keeps her quiet enough for others to sleep. DD usually wakes early to go pee, or for no particular reason. OH takes her then they go to the living room and watch TV. Usually they both go back to sleep within an hr. If she falls asleep before him or he wakes up again he takes her back to bed. Sometimes they just stay there until its time to get up. I do think its a bit of a bad habit but it is the only way we have found that everyone gets enough sleep to function.

 

[JD.Deedee]

Just explain it's night time and if she doesn't want to sleep she can play quietly in her room. Did it for me when I was a child.

 

[Rooster30]

Is there a favourite bedtime cuddly friend you could threaten to take away if she doesn't sleep?

 

[missyeovil]

Thanks for the ideas ladies x

 

[Wilson28]

Hello stranger how are you...have you heard about the no cry sleep solution book? Xx