4 year old does not like sleeping

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Permalink Reply by Bradi Nathan on January 5, 2010 at 10:21pm

I'd lose the naps. Neither of my kids napped at that age, unfortunately for me. Perhaps he'll be more apt to go to bed at night without a daytime nap. At night I would stick with the same mellow routine so that his body gets used to calming down. Perhaps a warm bath, book and cup of milk. Try playing some soothing music too.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Consolata on January 6, 2010 at 6:13pm

Thanx Bradi for the advice. We have an irregular routine "sort of". Unfortunately various factors could affect the exact timing of our bed time rituals; Work [No actual closing time] or traffic. I would still try though to stick to a somewhat regular bedtime routine when circumstances are in my control. And most importantly i would try to incorporate some calming music as you suggested.

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Permalink Reply by Susan Burg on January 15, 2010 at 8:52pm

I agree with Bradi. My daughter stoped napping around that age. She was also in daycare. The kids that wanted to nap got to nap. Those that didn't were taken outside to play. If he has alot of energy you might try putting him in Tee-Ball or some other athletically based program. He'll have fun, get to be around other kids, learn social skills and he'll probably fall asleep quicker and sleep better.

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Permalink Reply by Consolata on January 17, 2010 at 6:00pm

Hi Susan,
Thanks for the advice but he is already in in full-time school. I only have this issue during the holidays. But Thank-God school is back in session. During school periods, he wears himself out completely at school so sleep is not an issue then.
I will just focus on getting a manageable bedtime routine in place as well as incorporating some relaxing music as per Bradi's earlier advice.


Susan Burg said:

I agree with Bradi. My daughter stoped napping around that age. She was also in daycare. The kids that wanted to nap got to nap. Those that didn't were taken outside to play. If he has alot of energy you might try putting him in Tee-Ball or some other athletically based program. He'll have fun, get to be around other kids, learn social skills and he'll probably fall asleep quicker and sleep better.

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Permalink Reply by Kelly Gump on February 13, 2010 at 5:32pm

My boys both stopped napping at 2. At first I was worried, but when I realized they slept 12 hours at night (7:30-7:30) I realized the trade off was worth it. They were tired at bed time and got what they needed then. It may take a few days or weeks for him to adjust to a new schedule without naps and it may mean some rough afternoons but it should pay off in the end.

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Permalink Reply by Consolata on February 15, 2010 at 6:09pm

Thanks Kelly for the advice.
My major problem is getting a uniform sleeping arrangement in place. I close at all hours and have to negotiate through traffic daily, and the kids tend to get to be anytime between 8.30pm and 10pm.

My daughter drops off immediately but my son has been known to stay awake till 12am even with the lights off.
In the morning at time he gets up early but at other times he would be sleeping soundly until I wake him up for school.

By the way he hates afternoon naps and more often than not will not take them, but I have let that go completely.
I only push for naps when I know he did not get enough sleep at night.

I just need a synchronization of my work and family life to put a workable schedule in place. In the interim I make do with lights out and some music to get him to fall asleep.

I have taken heed of all the advice and experiences shared on the matter and will come back soon to let you know how we are doing.


Kelly Gump said:

My boys both stopped napping at 2. At first I was worried, but when I realized they slept 12 hours at night (7:30-7:30) I realized the trade off was worth it. They were tired at bed time and got what they needed then. It may take a few days or weeks for him to adjust to a new schedule without naps and it may mean some rough afternoons but it should pay off in the end.

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Permalink Reply by Katie Egloff on February 24, 2010 at 6:57pm

I had issues with my youngest daughter at that age but she needed her nap. It took us awahile to be able to get her to calm down but we stuck with a semi routine and she got used to it. I don't think the time that you start the routine matters (hey, life happens) as long as he can see what is coming next. If he is still unwilling to go to sleep at least convince him to stay in bed, tell him he doesn't have to go to sleep and can stay up ALL night (wink wink) let him read a book or play a hand held video game (leapster or vsmile) that is finally what got my now five year old to stay in bed ;)

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Permalink Reply by Consolata on February 25, 2010 at 4:25am

Hi Katie,

Thanks for the feedback. We have been making some headway lately. I hope we improve as time goes on.
If I get him to bed earlier he seems to find it easier to sleep.
I can't dare try giving him a game he will stay up all night.
Thanks for sharing your experience.

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Permalink Reply by Katie Egloff on February 25, 2010 at 10:18am

Awesome!! With Allie we knew that if we didn't get her to sleep by a certain time she was "past the point" meaning one of us had to lay with her to get her to go to sleep. We didn't give up completely and let her sleep with us all the time we just gave up for the night and would start fresh the next night. Luckily as we tried new ideas (like the handheld games, which put her out in 20 minutes) and as she got older she is now 5 1/2 and is going to bed much better although she stll has her moments. My husband and I have long said, if we would have had Allie first, we probably would have stopped having kids :)

Consolata said:

Hi Katie,

Thanks for the feedback. We have been making some headway lately. I hope we improve as time goes on.
If I get him to bed earlier he seems to find it easier to sleep.
I can't dare try giving him a game he will stay up all night.
Thanks for sharing your experience.

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Permalink Reply by Allison L. on April 28, 2010 at 11:31pm

I started out earlier. Kids that age don't know what time it is. I just pretended like it was late and would put him upstairs to wind down and watch his movies. He would be out in 30 mins. Then we would try and transfer him to his room. We have a priblem with him sleeping in his own room but we are trying to work on that issue now.

Good Luck:)

Katie Egloff said:

Awesome!! With Allie we knew that if we didn't get her to sleep by a certain time she was "past the point" meaning one of us had to lay with her to get her to go to sleep. We didn't give up completely and let her sleep with us all the time we just gave up for the night and would start fresh the next night. Luckily as we tried new ideas (like the handheld games, which put her out in 20 minutes) and as she got older she is now 5 1/2 and is going to bed much better although she stll has her moments. My husband and I have long said, if we would have had Allie first, we probably would have stopped having kids :) Consolata said:

Hi Katie,

Thanks for the feedback. We have been making some headway lately. I hope we improve as time goes on.
If I get him to bed earlier he seems to find it easier to sleep.
I can't dare try giving him a game he will stay up all night.
Thanks for sharing your experience.

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