Q: 2 year old suddenly refuses to go to sleep! HELP!

Hi all! We are having problems with our 2 year old DD. She has always been rocked/cuddled to sleep in the rocking chair and this has never been a problem. Lately she just won't go to sleep. It doesn't matter if it is the usual 7pm or even 9 or 10pm, it's all the same. Tv on or off she still squirms and cries or plays. I cut back her 11am sleep to only 1 hour and this made no difference either. I am obviously not a fan of the controlled crying game but am at a loss now what to do or try! Any suggestions? I'm desperate.....it's just getting crazy and frustrating. :confused:

Bec, do you have a bedtime routine? I find with DS this has worked really well. He will go to sleep anywhere if we follow the same routine (clean teeth, change nappy, read book, big hugs and kisses, tuck in). This has worked moving him into a big boy bed in a new room, when away from home, even going to sleep in a portacot in the middle of a party in a function room without so much as a peep! Mind you he is not quite 2 yet so knock on wood we don't soon go through the same problem you are having LOL!

Also do you use a comforter - teddy or blankie or something? Maybe that could help.

I'm not sure what else I can suggest. But hopefully it will just be a phase and you will soon have your sleeping daughter back!

Bec does she have 2 sleeps? Matilda did the not sleeping at night when it was time to cut out her second nap. She was going to sleep at 9-10pm and when we moved her to one sleep she was back to sleep at 6.30pm. HTH!

If she is still having two naps per day I would also recommend cutting one of them out...
Maybe she is getting to the age where she is just too old to fall asleep being rocked? I know Aidyn stopped falling asleep in our arms after about 18 months.
What about lying in bed next to her instead and cuddling her that way? That is how we have settled Aidyn on and off for the past year at least.

We do the same things every night, shower (we don't have a bath!), jammies, bottle, teeth, book and sleep. Her only comforter is her dummy. She only has one sleep at around 11am. I agree that maybe she is just too old to be rocked but she isn't happy to lay in bed with us either. she isn't much of a cuddly child either, when she is rocked she tends to face outwards and lies her head on a pillow rather than our arms. I guess we will just have to soldier on and maybe really re-inforce the sleeping in bed thing. I have tried talking her her about it and making a big deal out of being a big girl and going to sleep like Benji does but it has no effect. GRRR! Thanks guys for your suggestions, I really appreciate them.

Matilda isn't one to be rocked either, so we sit on a chair and read a book while she tosses & turns & some nights it can take up to an hour for her to fall asleep. We often will get up & get something & come back so she knows we aren't staying there all night. This is after the night routine & lights are off (I bring a torch in to be able to read otherwise I get really bored & cranky)

Hello, I don't know how distressed your daughter is at this time of night, but we used to just leave DD in her bedroom with the door shut. This was after all the usual bedtime routine, story, cuddles, tucking in, etc. She wasn't ever distressed by this. She couldn't open the door handle and hadn't worked out the light switch, so if she didn't go to sleep straight away she would just play in the dark, or look at her books in the crack of light coming under the door! She would often fall asleep on the floor (!) After a couple of months of this (not having us coming in every time we heard her up again) she started just settling in and going to sleep straightaway.

Just thought I'd add this in as it is quite a different approach but worked for us. She still plays in her room after lights out (now 8 YO) so nothing much has changed :lol:!

bec just wondering if it is dark when you settle her, could you try lying with her in a dark room and maybe just sing to her and pat her or stroke her gently? just a thought. what about if she lay with her in bed in the dark with a bottle? good luck and i hope you find a solution
beckles