How do I get my 2 year old son to go to bed earlier?

Question

My son will fight his sleep in any way possible! we lay down early but he fight until it is very late! I have figured out how to help that problem but now i am faced with the problem of him going to bed at such a late time! he doesnt fight as much but now he is in the habit of staying up so late. it hard to get him in the groove of early bed time! I would like for him to go to bed about 7 or 8! He now goes to bed about 11 or 12 and wakes up in the morning about 10 or 11! how do I get him to go to bed and wake up early?

Answer 1

why don't you try to keep him up during the day, no daytime naps, i know at first it may be a task to do so, but if you really want him to go to bed early try to keep him up during the day without his daytime naps, and also try to give him a warm chamomile bath in the night right before you want him to get to bed and he'll fall fast asleep, i did the same thing for my son, he used to give me a hard time to get to sleep at night, i tried everything i can think of and as soon as i kept him up during the day, he would fall asleep very very early in the night, and that did the trick, so i wish you all the best in getting him to fall asleep early, just try it and see.GL.

Answer 2

First, keep the closck away from him so he isnt aware of them and the time.  Second, get darkening blinds for his room.  7 pm its still light out this time fo year.

Each day go to bed a little earlier.  give him a bath before bed in warm water.  Johnsons sells a bathtime wash too that supposed to relax them.  Read him a store or watch a little tv and say goodnight!  Every day you get about 5-10 mions earley and see how it goes.  Eventually he'll ge there.

Also, wake him earlier, dont let him sleep in.  He'll be tired and ready for bed earlier.

Answer 3

1. No "fruit" juice (packed with corn syrup)

2. Lots of exercise during the day.

3. Problem Solved

Answer 4

Have a similar problem with our 2-year old.  We originally let her stay up late because her dad left late in the morning and worked until 9, so this gave the two of them more time in the evening.  But she's a happier camper in the morning and I want to be able to put her to bed and still have some time for myself, husband or older kids in the evening.

We began by waking her up artificially early, just by an hour.  I kept her very busy (she doesn't go to day care) at home, doing new stuff, going places, etc. Naptime then, was an hour earlier, and bed time an hour earlier.  We moved the morning routine up another hour a week after than and are now getting her to bed around 9 and she sleeps until 8:30 a.m. now.  After watching her natural rhythms for a couple weeks this is what we came up with.  I actually had been feeling like her schedule was non-existent and erratic at best, but after paying attention, I noticed that she was ripe and ready for naptime 5 hours after waking up in the a.m., and that she was showing obvious signs of needing to go to bed roughly 6 hours after waking up from her nap.  And it didn't matter if she had a 1-hour nap or a 3-hour nap, six hours and she was ready for bed. (She is a VERY active little girl, not very inclined to need much sleep it seems.)

Answer 5

consistency is the key.  Don't let him sleep until 10 or 11 wake him up at 7 or 8.  Keep him active during the day and keep his napping to a minimum.  Start a bedtime routine starting around an 1 hour before your desired bedtime.  Have a bath read stories and then cuddle for a couple of minutes.  I have found that laying down with your child can really disrupt the going to sleep process.  What you should be shooting for is him going to sleep by himself it will help when he gets older.  It won't be easy for about a week or so.   I would also recommend talking to him about the new schedule.  give him a 10 minute warning before you start the bedtime.  Then while you are reading remind him he will be going to sleep after the book.   If you stay consistant things will start to change for the better.  My sons go to be at 8 during the week and have been doing this forever ( they are 9 and 4 and my youngest has been on this schedule since he was able to sleep through the night).  Kids need boundries and consistency trust me you will see lots change once you get this under control.  Good luck!

Answer 6

Start by making bedtime half an hour earlier than the night before -- stay at say 10:30 for a few days. Then change it to 10 for a few days. Keep doing this until you get him to 8 oclock. Personally I think 7 pm is too early esp. in the summer time when families do a lot outdoors in the evening.

You may want to adjust any time he spends napping in the day time. Try to keep the napping early in the day.

Answer 7

Start by waking him early after he has gone to bed at 10 or 11. Don't let him take more than an hour nap each day. Eventually his sleeping patterns should change. My kids stayed up late when they were little. But when my oldest was 3 year old went to pre school we had to start waking him up a 7. After a week of waking him up at 7, he started to go to bed earlier without fussing.

Answer 8

if he is taking naps, cut those out. and also, if he sleeps in later, wake him up early. i know its peaceful when my 2 1/2 year old sleeps in later than me, but id rather get him to bed earlier so that i can enjoy my nights.

Answer 9

I would say do it gradually:

1st week - wake him up at 9 or 10

then bedtime at 10pm

2nd week - wake him up at 8 and then bedtime at 9pm

3rd week - wake him up at 7 or 8 and then to bed at 7:30 - 8pm.

good luck if you do it gradual he may not notice too much.  But I think he will have to be deprived of a little sleep first to oblige to an earlier bedtime.  I had this problem with my oldest son.

Answer 10

There are many reasons why your son may be doing this.  Is he taking a nap during the day?  If he is, then make sure it is earlier in the day, and maybe not for so long.  Start by waking him up by 8 in the morning, putting him for a nap after lunch time, then to bed at 8.  Make sure you don't give him anything to drink a few hours prior to going to sleep.  No caffeine, sugar, etc.  Also, make sure he thinks that you are going to bed, even if you are not.  Turn off all the lights.  

I hope I have helped a little.  Good luck!