kids staying up too late

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by melissa8, Nov 23, 2011.

  1. melissa8

    melissa8 Member

    My nearly 2 year old twins and their 3 year old sister are complete night owls. It seems to be getting worse and worse. They used to stay up until 10:00-10:30 and people thought it odd. Right now it is midnight, and there is still one up, the same one that stayed up until 1:30 last night. Cry it out doesn't work because they can now crawl out of their cribs. Also, they sometimes cry out at night around 3-4 AM. Also going through a temper tantrum phase. One of the girls will just throw herself on the ground and scream until she gets what she wants. I try not to give in, but if we are out in public people stare at me so much that I tend to break down and give her what she wants. Any suggestions for either problem would be helpful.
     
  2. rrodman

    rrodman Well-Known Member

    The second half is easier. Don't give in even in public. Just grab her and leave. Giving in teaches her that a tantrum is the way to get what she wants. My policy is that screaming or tantruming equals a time out. I don't listen to why the person is screaming.

    On the first, when do they get up? I'd wake them up at 6:00 every day until the night sleep gets under control. Also, what are they doing with naps? You may need to cut them.
     
  3. cheezewhiz24

    cheezewhiz24 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    Rachael's right. Vow you won't give in again and don't do it. I have absolutely no problem with a kid having a meltdown. I have a huge problem with a parent catering to a tantrum. It doesn't deal with the problem and teaches the kid it's ok to do it again. Where I differ is if leaving is what the kid wants, we don't leave. You can go sit until you calm down then we resume what we are doing and we will leave when it's appropriate (the grocery store is a good example).

    As to the sleep crib tents are working for us. Has CIO ever worked for you? Are your kids yawning or rubbing their eyes through the day?
     
  4. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    Really depends at what time they give up, if they still nap etc... Before we gave up naps they were up way too late, always up by 7.30am though. But yeah... if they crawl out of cribs, switch them to toddler beds, or use a crib tent. Letting them climb out is just not safe. Then remove everything from their room, close the door (or put a gate or something), and just leave them in there crying until they fall asleep. Chances are, if you switch to toddler beds, they won't cry anyway... will just go wild for a while until they fall asleep on the floor. Which for me is totally fine! But yes, either way you need to make sure that their room is totally safe, so it's ok for them to be in there awake for a while...

    About the public tantrums, I just totally ignore them... I'm not leaving either. I'm there for a reason, and usually if they complain is because they don't want to be there anyway. But so far we've had only a couple meltdowns (both times because they wanted to walk in the grocery store, but didn't listen so ended up back in the cart.. it was over a year ago though). I never ever give in to tantrums. If they ask nicely, I might consider it though.
     
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