Does anyone have any magic tricks to get my son to go to asleep already?
It’s not typical but this past week he has been fighting his naps. He’s rubbing his eyes and they are all red but he insists on pointing and gesturing to everything in his bedroom instead of laying his head down! By the time he gets to sleep it’s late, he wakes up late then he’s not tired when bedtime comes.
I’ll take anything you got…magic spells, tricks, whatever.
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Have you tried the sleep game?
Lay down with him and you both close your eyes. First one asleep, wins a treat after naptime.
Or you can tell him his eyes are tired and need a rest, even if the rest of him doesn’t and try talking him into "resting his eyes". I’ve scored many a nap that way, as they usually fall asleep in a couple of minutes.
Try putting on some soothing music? Raffi and Baby Beluga was a favorite of my son’s for many years.
LOL! Each toddler and child is different. When my daughter was a toddler and started to react this way towards her naps, I simply took the naps away from her daily routine. She immediately adjusted to those changes and she was sleeping safe and sound at 8:00 p.m.
I do warm milk. When it’s warmed it releases that same chemical… I forget what it’s called, like in turkey dinner. Knocks’em right out.
when they go from two naps to one, and when they go from one to zero are nasty times because for a time, that additional nap is too much but without it they’re overtired later.
have you r tried giving him something for comfort like a glow worm..night light .. a certain blanket ..the T.V on while he falls asleep.. try to find out what it is that makes him comfortable.. Try giving him a bath in the lavender bedtime bath ..giving him warm milk and rocking him..massaging him before putting him to bed..reading to him .. don’t give him a nap during the day.. make sure hes not eating any kind of sweets!!!
Read books in a boring, soothing voice. Or you tell a story, and you only read./stay if their eyes are closed.
I was in your position, and finally started reading adult level books to him. It worked like a charm.
Instead of reading children’s bedtime stories, which might interest him and prompt questions and wanting to hear clear to the end…I tried reading biographies, magazine articles, novels, anything a grown-up would be interested in.
Works like a charm on my 8 year old. Five minutes of reading about great vacation spots in Italy…that boy is OUT.
good luck
benedryl or codeine cough syrup the best trick in the book
We rock and read like 3 books with his me-me (sock monkey) and blanket. Then, I rock Ian and sing the same song over and over and over (at first he sings along) then when the eyes get droopy I start humming the song. Used to do the wheels on the bus, then you are my sunshine, now we do our abcs over and over and over) When he’s really worn down I put him in his bed and sit beside it humming and I rub his head. Ian has gone through phases though. He just started this phase of fighting naps because we moved him from his crib to his big boy toddler bed. Now he thinks he can get up and move around whenever he wants and we are having to reteach him how to soothe himself to sleep.
rubber biscuit? a Bow-wow-wow
tickle, trace around his eyes forehead cheeks in a figure 8 pattern..its called sunglasses. We put babies to sleep in daycare this way…works like a charm
put kids drowsy cough medicine – just a normal dose in a cup of warm water and tell them its special juice to make them stronger ZZZzzzzz!x
Anesthesia?
Sing to him
play a game where you kind of play eyespy with him and give little prizes like mcdonalds toys, and say he can only get the prizes if he keeps his head down.
good luck
Sorry for replying so late, but here’s what I do that makes my son go to sleep in 10 minutes:
1) warm milk
Keeping a fixed bed time and not fluctuating it.
2) comfortable bed or fluffy pillows
3) soft cotton night wears
4) rake your hand through his hair
5) fluffy teddy bears to hug
6) Nice hot [not too hot] bath
7) Taking a spoon of honey
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