HELP how to change my 2 year olds sleeping schedule

As a side note, milk is a bad idea at bedtime..he can end up with milk teeth (decay). Sorry, it's the mom in me.

As a side note, milk is a bad idea at bedtime..he can end up with milk teeth (decay). Sorry, it's the mom in me.

Milk is only a bad idea if you leave them with the bottle and you don't brush their teeth. During our evening routine we read stories and cuddle while he eats apple sauce and cottage cheese (he sleeps better on a fuller tummy) and drinks milk, then we brush teeth, then we turn out the lights.

Is he watching TV right before bed? That can rev him up and make sleep hard.

Does he have a lot of sugar during the day?

Our kids (5 and 1) have dinner at 6:30, bath at 7, story and bedtime at 7:30. Granted, they're up around 6, but their early bedtime is crucial to my sanity and for my husband and I to get some time together in the evening.

I would wake your son up by 7 and force set meal times and nap time for a bit (breakfast at 8, lunch at 11:30, nap from 12-3, dinner at 6:30, bed at 7:30 was my son's schedule at that age). It should make bedtime much earlier. Also, at 2, in a typically developing child, I would have him cry it out if he's waking in the middle of the night for hours at a time.

Good luck! Sleep trouble is the worst.

Stop giving him milk at midnight. He is 2, not an infant. Assuming he is being properly nourished during the day, he does not need food or drink in the middle of the night. He is training you. It needz to be the other way around.

I disagree with this - in my experience young children can wake up hungry and at the end of the day if takes a drink from a sippy cup to lull him back to sleep so be it. In regards to the milk/teeth debate, yes young children should not be put to bed with a bottle of milk but a cup never hurt anyone as long as teeth are kept brushed mornings & night.

Wake him up at 8 every morning. Get out of the house, go for a walk, a playgroup, the park whatever.

Afternoon nap: at this age some kids start dropping it. Dont let him sleep for a few hours

bedtime routine. dinner, bath, bed, same time, 8ish.. Or whatever works for you. Once in bed you dont leave the bed/cot, Its bed time until you wake up, not lets get mummy for lols when I am bored.

what happens when he wakes up at midnight? he cries and you come and give him milk. In toddler eyes this is party time. Check he is ok, nappy etc and then go to bed, no extra mummy cuddle time and milk. Also milk and juice before going to bed contributes to tooth decay.

If you are knackered it will be as hard on you as it is on him, but the idea is to learn that during the day you do thinks and at night you sleep, and mummy sleeps too, cheers.

My 3 yo is an amazing sleeper. I think it depends on the kid. But a book that helped us out was "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weisbluth.

It may sound contrary, but perhaps she needs to go to bed sooner, or also nap during the day. (Sleep begets sleep).

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0449004023

my 2 year old son stays up so late!! ill put him to bed at 9pm... and he ALWAYS wakes up at 12am and falls asleep at 2 am!!! and he loves waking up at 11 am the next day.. yesterday i didnt even put him down for a nap and HE STILL WOKE UP AT 12AM!!!

so this morning i woke him up at 9am because my 3 year old daughtergoes to sleep early and wakes up early... so i woke up early as well and got him up.. meaning him n i only got 6 hours of sleep.... ahhh.. im not letting him take a nap today... i hope he sleep through the night!!

is this how to change a 2 year olds sleeping schedule.. by the way whenever i let him take a nap even if he woke up early he still goes to sleep very late..... its so annoying help

I'm too impatient to read the other posts but here is my two cents:

First of all, letting him sleep in until 11am is just setting him up for a screwey schedule. What do you do? Breakfast at noon, lunch at 4? Dinner at 8? Most normal adults wouldn't function well under that schedule. Put him to bed at 8. Wake him up at 7 or 8 am. I'm not trying to sound mean, but you're the adult you need to set his routine. Yes, it will be difficult for the first couple weeks but don't just give in and let him do what he wants. Try getting your whole family on the same sleep schedule. And yes, giving him a nap during the day may take away from his sleep at night but a toddler needs 11-13 hours of sleep per DAY!

Glad he slept last night.

You really need to wake him up early. My kids (5 & 2) are in bed between 8:00 and 8:30 and are up at 6:30 every morning.

There is no need to give your 2 year old milk. It may be part of the problem: he created a habit of "needing" milk in the middle of the night. He may have a cup of milk before going to bed, and before brushing teeth. If he wakes up thirsty, offer some water.

my 2 year old son stays up so late!! ill put him to bed at 9pm... and he ALWAYS wakes up at 12am and falls asleep at 2 am!!! and he loves waking up at 11 am the next day.. yesterday i didnt even put him down for a nap and HE STILL WOKE UP AT 12AM!!!

so this morning i woke him up at 9am because my 3 year old daughtergoes to sleep early and wakes up early... so i woke up early as well and got him up.. meaning him n i only got 6 hours of sleep.... ahhh.. im not letting him take a nap today... i hope he sleep through the night!!

is this how to change a 2 year olds sleeping schedule.. by the way whenever i let him take a nap even if he woke up early he still goes to sleep very late..... its so annoying help

If he's happy and just entertaining himself in his room then what's the problem? If he wants you to come play with him at midnight then obviously that can't be happening. Start getting him up earlier and letting him cry it out at midnight. He's old enough now that he can consciously adapt a little bit. It's not like he's a baby anymore and doesn't understand.

well if he was quietly playing i wouldnt be asking u guys lol.. he is very loud and cries and cries till i get him out.... or give him milk.. if i try to ugnore him he cries louder till i come... he can cry up to an hour and after an hour i surrender because how can i sleep with a screaming baby? plus he wakes up his sister so i try 2 get to him as fast as i can but he will cry till i get 2 him.. he just likes to play... idk.... he is a night owl like me lol....

I hate to say it, but let him cry. If you don't get him into a good sleep routine you are going to be miserable and so will he, ie you both will be exhausted. Children his age should be sleeping throughout the night and be getting 12-14 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night.

Like everyone else has said, routine, routine, routine. Turn bedtime into the 4 Bs; bath, brush teeth, bedtime story, bed.

Have him nap earlier and for a shorter amount of time. After food and a nap, take him to a playground (or a McDonalds if you can handle the temptation) and have him run around in the play equipment for a hour. Cut him off from anything sugary after dinner. Only have water after bedtime (keeps from midnight potty runs). Be consistant and don't let your frustration show. Remove play temptations from his room (TVs, game systems, noisy toys). Keep the lights off when he wakes up to lower stimulation levels. Put on blue nightlights (there is a flat blue receptical nightlight at Walmart that lets off just a little ambiant light). Get him up on a schedule, don't let him sleep in. My kids only needed about 1 1/2 hours of nap max in the afternoon at 2 PM.

In additon, my daughter was hard to keep down so I kept away all the noisy toys and no TV after dinner. She played with her kitchen, building blocks, and dolls after dinner or we would color.

Good luck!