How do other parents avoid the night stalling

Question

My 4yo daughter is always wanting one more kiss, one more drink or says there are monsters under the bed. We have been pre-emting this behaviour but now we are at the one more butterfly kiss,one more eskimo and I love you too stage, while cute I was just wondering what your kids do at night to stall bedtimes?

Answer 1

well when i was babysitting it was "one more story" "i need to pee" "i'm thirsty" but sounds like you are doing what you should, being consistent... you need to do so even when their behavior is cute... your darling little daughter is playing you :)

Answer 2

Lol, yes our older 2 do this too. "I'm hungry, I'm hot, I didn't get a kiss." We put them to bed, give them a drink bottle to take with them, and they are allowed to get up to g to the toilet. However if they come out of their rooms they get a warning, one more time and they will loose a privelige for the next day (no computer time etc.) This works really well, we rarely have to give them warnings.

Sounds a bit harsh of us probably, but with school and pre-school the following day, they really need their sleep!

Answer 3

lol..sounds like a typical kid thing...my eldest was shocking at it..just one more drink..one more trip to the loo..one more something, anything to keep her from going to bed :P It got so bad, we would find her in the hallways alseep because she had got out of bed to watch TV from where we couldnt see her lol..so I locked up her room, toys and all in it, and told her that was it. It was no longer her room..her toys..her bed. She didnt want to sleep in her bed, so I was giving it away, she didnt want to sleep with her favorite ernie doll..yup he was going to..the tears started..the tantrums followed..but that night..after she was told it was her last chance to keep her cinderella bed..she went to bed..and stayed put lol...we had very few hassles after that :P

Answer 4

It's time to say no. Do every thing you can before she goes to bed, the story, teeth, kisses, hugs and a drink of water in a no-spill bottle to keep. The only thing she should be getting up for is the toilet and that should be perhaps only once every couple of days. Mostly they go to bed and stay in bed.

On the rare occasions Dil won't stay in bed (his thing is traipsing to the toilet 10 times in a row, knowing he is allowed to get up to go toilet), we tell him he can't sleep because he's obviously too tired from watching TV that day, and if he doesn't stay in bed, he won't be able to watch it at all tomorrow.

He probably hasn't watched that much TV that day and he probably won't watch much the next day either; we are not anti-tv, he's just an active kid who would rather be playing outside - but for some reason, the threat of having it taken away is mightier than the sword.

Answer 5

With my six yr old, it is always, "Mummy, can I just say one more thing? " And she will not go to sleep till she says what she has to say!  

Answer 6

lol. hoping you get some helpful answers as my 4 year old daughter is exactly the same, "cup of water", "another hug", "my foot is itchy", "i want a different toy to sleep with" etc - have heard them all.

I allow it to a point and then I clearly tell her no more and it is bedtime. It usually works but I feel a bit harsh so hoping you get some good answers to help me too!

Answer 7

We put on some quiet music in the bedroom and leave the light on so they can listen to the music and read a book, look at a toy etc. My youngest,3, still calls us in now and then but I just tell her it's bed time, stay in bed with your toy/book, listen to the music and I'll be back in a minute to kiss you goodnight. I keep extending the 'minute'  to up to 10-15min until she is asleep. I usually only have to go in 3 times a night. I did this with my older two and they now go to sleep without any problems. In fact, they tell me they're going to bed at 7:30-8pm and set themselves up with the routine. It will take a few nights to settle in to, but it has worked for me for nearlly 13 years.