Exhuasted 3 & 5 year olds...

[Rosehip]

I'm so sick of my kids being exhausted and then cranky & whiny. They generally go to bed by 8 or so. No matter what time I put them to bed, they are up no later than 6:30. And then they're beside themselves by midafternoon. They don't want to nap - but will if they fall asleep in the car. Of course, then they're not tired at bedtime, so they don't fall asleep right away, but are still up early, and the cycle repeats...

Frankly, I get annoyed, which I feel bad about, but it's just so stressful when they're cranky!

Does anyone have well-rested kids this age?

[mom2grrls]

I would still have the 3 y/o nap in the early afternoon by 1:00 or so. I would put them both in bed earlier if they are waking early. The No Cry Sleep Solution for preschoolers is a good place to start

[staceychev]

Definitely agree with Cathy about the earlier bedtime. My older DD (just turning five) has always slept better and longer when she goes to bed earlier. It seems counter-intuitive, but I've seen it work time and again with my kid, and children of friends and family IRL.

[LuxPerpetua]

For my dd early bedtimes are awful. We generally go to bed now at 10-11 pm and she wakes up between 9-10 the next day.

[peaceful_mama]

My kids used to be like this.

Then I bought BLACK OUT SHADES. Quite literally the BEST invention on the planet and I got 2--to make it wide enough for their window, for I know it was less than 10 bucks. THey are just paper shades and I've had to put tape to keep them stuck, but they work and they are *wonderful* and they have lasted about 3 months so far?

They now sometimes sleep as late as 10 AM...the same oldest DS who never in his life before, maybe *once* slept until 9, no matter what time he went to bed....

[LuxPerpetua]

Also, a white noise machine!

[sahmmie]

I agree about the black out shades or fabric, and white noise. I use both and they work wonders.

Also, my son use to be an early riser. He was up for the day by 5 am everday and it was driving me insane. I cured him of this by telling him that if he stayed in bed until 7:30 am he would not have to take a nap that day. This worked wonders for him and he gradually learned to sleep in later. At first he'd wake up at 5:30 or 6 like usual but he'd stay in bed and eventually he'd fall back to sleep. With time his internal clock shifted and he began to sleep until 7 most days. I know your kids don't nap anymore but maybe you could say, "If you get out of bed before 7:30 you will have to take a nap that day." Or start putting them down for naps again and tell them they can stop napping when they start sleeping later. It's amazing what kids will do when they have some incentive.

[Llyra]

I would try a 7:00 bedtime. Some kids just genuinely WON'T sleep late in the morning (like my kids!) and those kids really need to go to bed early to get enough sleep to function well. Overtired kids are misery to live with, plus it's not healthy for their development and learning. I would also try to institute a nap with the younger child, around 1 pm. My three year olds go to bed at 7:00, and usually fall asleep by 7:30. They get up between 6 and 7, no matter when I put them to bed, so the early bedtime is a must. People around here think I'm insane, especially this time of year when it's still full daylight at that time, but I have happy, well-behaved kids to show for it. They also nap, about an hour a day.

My five year old goes to bed at 7 during the school year, and 8 in the summer. She doesn't nap, but is able to sleep in a little bit if she has one or two late nights.

Consistency helps, too. If you always get them to bed at the same time, and the nap is expected every day, their little bio clocks get used to it, and it becomes easier for them to sleep at that time. When bedtimes are irregular, or naps happen only sometimes, it can really mess them up.

We also have blackout curtains and a fan for white noise. I think they help a lot.

[KatWozBlue]

I agree, its time to back up their bed time. Both my kids are up at 7, so my 3 year old is in bed by 6:45 (tonight was a very whiny day and she was in bed sleeping by 6:30) and my 6 year old follows at 7:30. I also incorporated an hour of quiet time in the afternoons, let them rest around 3 by listening to music, coloring, etc and they are much happier during the crazy hours between 4 and 7.

[elmh23]

My kids rarely sleep past 7 no matter what time they go to sleep. Last night they were up til about 11:45 and ds was STILL up at 6am. He also rarely naps unless we're in the car or he's just super exhausted.

We do quiet time every day after lunch. My 5-year-old goes and plays in her room while the 3-year-old either plays quietly in the living room (usually the baby is asleep in there so he really does have to be quiet!) or I put on a movie for him in my room and he rests on my bed. Sometimes he even falls asleep.

I think I'm going to look in to black out curtains for ds. His room gets full morning sun and the wide wooden blinds aren't cutting it.