Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
Why is my toddler having trouble sleeping?
My son is 2 1/2 and for the past 4-6 months has had terrible problems sleeping and wakes very early. He goes to bed ok (bedtime at 7pm, asleep by 8) but wakes between 4-4:30am the next morning. He usually starts to stir around 3 and sometimes wakes up around 1 or 2am. We manage to keep him in his room (by taking him back repeatedly) until about 6am, and from 5-6am this is usually only achieved by letting him listen to a CD, read books etc. At 6 or 6:30am he is ready to start the day and is usually quite cheerful - before then he is upset, unsettled and grumpy. We have tried what we think is everything, except controlled crying as we take the stance that we could suffer through weeks or months of it (as the books say is possible) without any good result, and as my son is a somewhat sensitive child we feel it's not worth it and are hoping for some other reason. Can anyone provide advice? My son has little or no screen time, calm bedtime routine, doesn't usually resist bedtime.
