 | National Center On Sleep Disorders |
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Question: Desperate for my toddler to sleep! Help!?My daughter is 2 1/2, and she is only sleeping 5 or 6 hours a night, and she wakes up 1 or 2 times a night. She also is incredibly overactive. i have tried all sorts of routines, cutting out tv, making sure shes not getting junk food, herbal teas, aromatherapy, every suggestion from every parent and doctor, even a movie once every night at bedtime. every single thing worked for one or two days. then it would never work again. I even took her to a sleep disorder center last month. they told me it was a discipline problem. i could see why they would think that, because i have become so desperate for sleep that recently I will turn on cartoons and dose off next to her. But it wasn't always like that. She has been this way her whole life. she's mostly well behaved, (other than a few typical things) and she has always been on the quick side of developement, doing things very early. And boy is this kid smart! shes every parents dream....but the sleep! I don't know what to do!
Answer: My brother was like this. He just naturally never needed as much sleep as other kids. Even today, he's 24, he works 2 full time jobs because he gets bored while the rest of the world sleeps.The up side is that he will have made his first million $$ by the time he is 30. Seriously.My parents had to take turns staying up with him. Until he was 6, then they left him to watch television by himself. He was banned from the kitchen and wasn't allowed to make more noise that the television set. I suggest you do something like that.If you are a single parent, or your partner can't stay up with her, set firm limits on where she can go while everyone is sleeping and how much noise she can make. Start now and be absolutely firm.If possible you can even sleep in your bed with her watching TV in there with some toys if she wants them. Lock her in with you and enjoy some much needed sleep while being certain she is safe.
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