My 3 year old daughter makes bedtime miserable for ME!?

Question

My daughter is 3 1/2 and up until now she's had a fairly good bedtime routine, books, brush teeth, read maybe a movie - then off to bed without complaints. The past 3 weeks or so she's fighting at every turn and gets up like ten times or more a night! She does not nap - if she does it's even worse! Her dad and I are about to pull our hair out. She's back there screaming for me- and I just can't respond because she will think she won! What's a mother to do!? I'm a student and need that bed time to study - but she's pushing it later and later and fighting harder and harder.....help!

Answer 1

Sit in her room with her until she goes to sleep tell her you wont sit in there with her unless she lays down and goes to sleep maybe she wants you in there she might be scared of something.

Answer 2

ouch

Answer 3

Lock her in her room so she can't get into things and possibly hurt herself. Seems mean, I know but wouldn't you rather her safe?

Answer 4

Let her stay up as late as she wants to.

Then wake her up EXTREMELY early.

She'll hate it after a week or so.

On second thought, tell her that every 10 minutes she stays up  past her bedtime, is 20 minutes earlier she has to wake up.

Answer 5

Maybe she's jealous! Of your studies, maybe she's acting out, her anxiety and some anger through fighting with you to go to bed; she may feel that you spend more time studying than you do now with her, you said for awile she had a routine bedtime correct? Was that before you needed to do somuch studying?She just may acting out her feelings against your books; if you show and tell her that you love her more than you can say, but mommy has to study for school, maybe if in the daytime if you give paper and a pencil and ask her to draw you a picture, maybe she'd stop acting out her anger for your books, and studying.Hope this helps! If everything was ok before,then you started needing to study more, she feels left out and you care more about the books now instead of her(of course) you don't but that's how she is feeling!Maybe if you spend time like maybe 1/2 hour doing something she likes to do, you'll show her you still do love her, and she is more important than your books, and you may see a difference.

Answer 6

Stay strong!! You are doing the right thing...routines help, but when she gets up, just put her back in bed, say 'bedtime' (like the other person mentioned), no emotion in your voice and let her work it out (i.e. cry, yell). It will get better...

you might also try a little behavior chart where she gets a sticker for staying in bed and the next day she get a treat of some kind..something she really likes, that you are willing to give her...

good luck...

Answer 7

try to start puttng her to bed earlier.  tell her that if she doesn't go to bed and be quiet then there will be no (tv, friends, you'll take all her toys away, think of somethiing really bad) and if she's smart she'll listen.  tell her that girls that don't go to bed when mommy and daddy tell them to (get punished, get treated like a baby and have to wear diapers and sleep in a crib, think of immature things) and that really should get her to stay...at least for a little while longer.  threaten to put her up for adoption, my mom used to do that and i did whatever she wanted.  tell her no stories, no movies,n none of that stuff unless she starts listening to you and going to sleep

Answer 8

im a single dad and found out warm milk works well

Answer 9

haha a friend of mine has a lock on the outside of the door... because her two year old will get up and walk out whenever he wants...

Answer 10

My cousin used super nanny's technique.  Put baby in bed.  When she gets up, put her back in bed and tell her, "It's bedtime."  That's ALL you tell her.  the next time she gets up, do NOT make eye contact, put her back in bed and walk away.  Continue to do that until she gets the hint.