Two-year-old will not sleep |

Two-year-old will not sleep

by Rod Smith

A reader writes….

“I am at my wits end and exhausted because of my two-year-old son who will not sleep through the night. How is it possible that a child can cry, without tears, for an hour and a half without giving up, even after being shouted at 1 am, made to stand in the corner and then eventually getting a smack to get him to sleep? I am determined not to give in to him. Besides drugging my child, what else can I try? He has an afternoon nap around noon daily and for an hour. He eats well and normally falls asleep at 7.15pm. He starts waking at about 11.30pm and this is when the fun starts!”

Rod responds….

This doesn’t sound like fun. Please see your physician and consult with a pediatrician. Remember your child is 2! He needs warmth, love, and acceptance in the night, not a smack or to stand in a corner. There is absolutely no reason at all, ever, to smack a two-year-old. This issue is not about his behavior, but about your behavior. What are you going to do when he is 12, and 14 and 17 and will not obey you?

Published in Newspapers, You and Me, Monday, July 18, 2005

Posted on July 18, 2005 at 9:10 pm in Uncategorized | RSS feed | Reply | Trackback URL

39 Comments to “Two-year-old will not sleep”

julie
March 15, 2008 at 3:23 am

you’re an idiot if you think that spanking your kids doesn’t work, Rod. don’t judge other parents for doing something that many parents are afraid of doing today for fear of social rejection. DISCIPLINE YOUR CHILDREN.

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Rod Smith
March 15, 2008 at 7:47 am

….. your response (Julie), is quite revealing…. I am not to judge but your are name-calling…..

There are many ways to “discipline your children” (especially a two year old) that do not involve spanking. Spanking is the easy way out (with very temporary results). Get creative (this will do your child some good), Julie, reactive behavior will hurt you both.

If you are calling a stranger an idiot I wonder what you are calling those whom you love!

Thanks for writing.

Rod

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MOTHER T.
June 24, 2008 at 5:26 pm

My personal opinion is that you should spank your children. I have 4 kids and if one of them get out of line I will spank there bottoms. kids now a days get away with too much stuff. If you tell your child to stop doing something and there are no consequences then they will just turn around and do it again. Putting your child in time-out only works at that time. When they get out of time-out they will do it again But if they get a spanking its going to hurt and they want do it again. We got spanking when we were children, and I learned right from wrong. In my opinion if you don`t spank your children and let them know who`s the boss then they will run all over you.

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Brooke
July 2, 2008 at 4:34 pm

I agree with Rod that there is absolutely no reason to hit a child. It does not teach them right from wrong; in fact, it teaches them exactly the opposite: that it is ok to hit someone if you are bigger than them, or if you are angry at them. Instead, appropriate consequences are what a child needs. I do not let my two year old get away with anything, but his punishments fit the crime. In my experience, a time out (one minute per year) is much more effective than a spanking: he doesn’t do it again because he knows that his fun time will be interrupted, not because he fears pain. Although, no matter what the misbehavior or punishment, a two year old may do it again: it takes as much as 15-20 exposures to learn a new concept, including how to behave properly. A two year old is so “terrible” because this is the age where they begin to test new concepts, including what they can get away with, and that learning can take a lot of trial and error. You need to be patient, consistent, and understanding, but draw firm boundaries and punish quickly and consistently every time they are crossed.

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Michael
July 17, 2008 at 9:24 pm

I spank my child but we are getting away from the point. What can we do for a child that will scream till his throat is raw some nights instead of going to bed and others willing go to bed… My wife and I have had the same schedule with him even though we have been displaced due to flooding in are area that hit our home….

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Brian
August 17, 2008 at 11:51 am

Are you kidding me? A 2 year old who won’t sleep, so you shout at him, punish him, and hit him? I wouldn’t sleep either, if I were him, because I’D BE AFRAID OF YOU. How do you expect your kid to relax and fall asleep if his discomfort is met with punishment and more discomfort? He’s 2. You are an adult. You are supposed to be his comfort and guide in a world that he is learning how to live in. You are supposed to kiss his boo-boos, dole out the hugs, and show him how to have patience.

What you are describing is abuse. Get counseling for yourself before a “smack” turns into a throw, or a violent shake. Your 2 year old has done nothing wrong, and you have done nothing right.

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Jen
October 6, 2008 at 12:37 pm

I have the same problem with my two year old but got NO help from this site! I wasted my time reading it!

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Rod E. Smith, MSMFT
October 6, 2008 at 6:46 pm

Hello Jen:

Perhaps you will find help somewhere….. for the sake of the child I hope you do.

Regards and thanks for writing.

Rod Smith

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Dr. Rob A. Jones
October 23, 2008 at 9:33 am

So the great Dr. recomends seeing a pediatrician and loving your child? Wow – insightful.

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Erin
October 23, 2008 at 10:42 am

I just can’t believe what I just read. This mother should not have even had children. Hitting is wrong…Someone should call Child Services on her. I came to this site because Im 8 mos pregnant with baby number 2 and Im looking for ways to help my 2 year old sleep because lately he’s been waking up screaming and I have to go in and sit next to him and rub his back for an hour just to have him wake up again. Im never EVER mad at him because I know it isnt my fault if anything I feel like its mine!…Im seeking help because I personally need more sleep! I do the morning nap time and keep him active and have a soothing night time routine but it seems like whenever his dad is at work (hes a firefighter and works 48 hour shifts) he’s waking up 4 or 5 times a night. Any suggestions?

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- Susana12
  November 2, 2009 at 12:57 pm
  
  I was having problems putting my 2 year old to sleep until i just compromised and let him fall asleep in my bad watching really boring T.V. After an hour I carry him to his own bed(not crib) and he usually sleeps through the night. It has been more relaxing for all of us not to fight him EVERY NIGHT to fall asleep and stay asleep.
  
  Good Luck
  Mom of 2.5 and 1 year olds
  
  Reply
Cora
December 30, 2008 at 5:48 pm

I have a two year old who will not sleep, I have found that putting in movies that he likes gives him a sense of comfort and he will lay down. You can also try giving him a drink for the night. I think the key factor is consistency. If you lay with your child when it is bed time it also gives comfort. It relaxes you to see your child in comfort and it relaxes the child because the hugging and comfort bond is still there

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liz
January 12, 2009 at 3:55 pm

This is the craziest discussion ever. Of course you spank your child, if you love them that is. No one said anything about “hitting, throwing around, or beating” the child. A spanking is just a pop on the bottom-and considering the child is 2-it’s a diapered bottom. It’s just a form of an alert to let him know he did something wrong. Spanking as a form of discipline is normal and completely acceptable–beating a child is not. My advice on the sleep problem though is to get outside help. I’m having the same problem with my 2 year old. If he’s in a toddler bed- put him back in the baby bed. If he can crawl out-they make guards for that. That way he can cry himself to sleep instead of you having to keep putting him back to bed. Ever 10 minutes, go in, rub his back, hug, etc then leave room-extending time each time you come back. This WILL work-i’ve done it. And I’m about to do it again. I don’t advise spanking for this specific action because it is just a stage and he’s probaby starting to develop a sense of fear at this age-fear of the dark, of being alone, etc. The baby bed will work along with the guard if you need it. Also, make sure you let his pedi know that his sleep habits have changed-there could be something else wrong. Hope this helps!

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Michael
January 15, 2009 at 8:59 am

People, People, People!!!

No need to get at each other. I’m in the same boat, 2 year old who gets out of bed at night and begins to scream and shout. We have tried several methods, but realize its just a faze. Just provide comfort to your child, which ever way is best for your child. They are not misbehaving, so punishing won’t really work, it will most likely get you both excited, making it impossible for the house to get back to sleep. I understand it can be frustrating (I’m ready to jump off a cliff), but they will grow out of it, just be patient.

Hope everyone has a great day.

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Christy
March 16, 2009 at 4:39 pm

Rod I agree with you! I do think a child does need a spanking every once and a while. But at 1 am in the morning. I would never be that cruel. Your the mother deal with it. Keep your child up for a little bit. Never heard of putting a child in corner at two either. All your doing is upsetting him so he don’t go to sleep. Do you sleep when your upset. I am just horrified. I have a 2 year old and has a sleeping problem also. Maybe you should get it checked out before you punish. I really feel sorry for you child. It breaks my heart.

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Kim
September 22, 2009 at 7:14 pm

Keep in mind that every child and situation is different. When my oldest was 2 and switched over to a toddler bed, she was not a happy camper (fyi she had been in our bed for the most part but baby #2 was soon to arrive). My husband and I took turns putting her to bed. We explained to her that we would lay next to her and hold her hand for 10 days (we counted down each night). Then counted down 10 more days for just laying on the floor next to her. Then continued until we were out of the hall and no longer needed. Kids really respond to counting down … it is amazing how much then can comprehend it at that age and it gives them time to process what is happening and adjust. Believe me, it required patience and is not for all but, I am throwing it out there as a suggestion and something that worked for us.

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Anonymous
November 4, 2009 at 7:33 am

hey,
Too much expectations from a mother….

We even have to consider the parents frustration and continuous sleep deprivation. In this current scenario with everything that is going on being able to get up and start a day with tons of things to do and take care of a child supposedly like from a Dr.Phil book is ….impossible

Puja

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Ashley
January 20, 2010 at 10:35 pm

The guy who responded to this lady obviously has not been through the terrible 2s!!

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Kaylee
June 9, 2010 at 12:03 am

Last night my daughter would not go to bed, I was up every 30mins threw out the n ight..I put a movie on put toys in her crib.
I tried letting her sleep with me, she wouldnt lay there.
she finally went to sleep at about 8am and then i woke her around 10am.
shes had no naps today, I put her in her crib she cry’d herself to sleep took about 15mins and she woke up again.
her father is taking her for a ride around the block as im writeing this i dont know if shes gonna be asleep by time he gets back…

any suggestions???

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mother of two.
September 19, 2010 at 8:04 pm

wow. i agree with the woman above who said she came to get help with her two year old and cant believe people are talking about this. .. SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD.. there is a difference between spanking a child and beating a child. how dare you say that this woman has no reason to be a mother and someone should go take her kid. who are you to judge. only god can judge that. when i was young i got spanked. thats how i grew up and i turned out just fine. i know people who were spoiled rotten and got put in time out, never got spanked who are on drugs, dont even talk to their parents, or worst.

it’s about respect. if your giving your kid everything they want they will not respect you they will take over you!
i still cannot believe some of these peoples comments.
GIRL julie, my child is two and i often have the same problem and this is an everynight kind of thing, i work very early in the morning and it seems like i dont ever get any sleep plus i have a baby also. my two year old will scream bloody murder to get up and play with his toys at 2am in the morning.. it’s crazy that a two year old can be up all day and still not be tired. he won’t even take naps for me any more.. i let him watch a movie first, if that doesnt work, i turn it off and i put him in bed and i sit there, if he tries to get up i say no, it’s night night time. and i keep doing that until he sleeps. it may be two hours later but he sleeps. i’m still working on this, i think it’s just a phase that a two year old goes through, im just glad i am not alone.

you are not a bad parent. be glad that you have children because they are the greatest gift on earth. it wasnt meant to be easy, it’s meant to be worth it. it’s mind over matter and these people were just brought up differently but dont ever think that you’re a bad parent!!

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Christy
November 11, 2010 at 8:27 am

OBVIOUSLY the men in this chat either dont have children who keep them up all night or they have a wife who steps in and is exhausted instead. They can just be pissed when their wife cant function the next day and clean the house the way they want it. The question was how to get your child to sleep, no one has answered that.

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PW
November 28, 2010 at 6:35 am

Rod you are an idiot. IF you smack while they are young you don’t have to worry about them not obeying at 12, 15, 19 or at all.

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- Rod E. Smith, MSMFT
  November 28, 2010 at 9:24 am
  
  Well, PW, whoever and wherever you are, I am happy to be an idiot in your book. You might want to do some thinking about your willingness to hit two-year-olds….. but hey, I won’t even try to convinced the already convinced. Smacking, name calling (and I am a stranger to you)! I wonder how you really treat those you love if you can call a stranger an idiot! Write again – it will be nice to hear from you.
  
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laura
January 5, 2011 at 10:01 pm

Wow, the point is how to get your two year old to sleep. i have 4 kids, my 3rd is almost 3 and has never went to bed on his own , we put him in there and he will scream i give him 5 min and then i end up getting him because i feel bad, i think he should go to bed like a big boy and not wake the other kids up in the mean time but the easier route is bringing him in to lie down with me until he falls asleep and putting him in his own bed. sometimes he comes, but we always put him back, hopefully one day he will get the point and just stay there. terrible 2s hit every kid differently, my first two who are now, 13 and 10 never went through this. this 3yr old is the devil when it comes to bedtime. and to think i have one more to go. but for those who think hurting a child to get him or her to listen wont work, they will be afraid of you and that aint cool. plus, that will lead into more harsh things that could get that child of yours taken away. if you need help call a counselor or go to a parenting class, or ask someone for help.

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Regina
January 13, 2011 at 7:03 pm

I am currently having this problem with my son. He is 2 years and 4 months. He has always been in his own room. We put him in a Toddler bed when he turned two and he did very well. I recently started working and I am a full time college student also. I think Spencer is angry at me for that and just missing his Mommy as he is now refusing to sleep in his bed and wants to sleep with me. The problem with that is when he gets in bed with me, he thinks my bed is a jungle gym and he plays and jumps for hours and never sleeps.

I have 2 older sons, 13 and 15.5. When I was pregnant with my 13 year old, we had to break my older one from sleeping with us as he was kicking me in the belly. We bought him a sleeping bag (which he picked out) and put it on the floor of our room. We told him that if he woke in the night, to come get in the sleeping bag but don’t wake us up. He did this for about 2 weeks. Then we noticed one morning he had taken the sleeping bag to his toddler bed and gone to sleep there. He never slept with us again.

My 13 year old was a Momma’s Boy DELUXE! He took every nap with me -he still does sometimes!-just don’t tell anyone!! 🙂
When he started getting out of bed at night when he first got his toddler bed, and sneaking to my bed, we decided we had to break him of this. This can make it hard on a marriage! So, I bought a child door-knob lock for his door and put it on the inside so he couldn’t ecape. I know that sounds cruel, but I assure you, it caused no emotional harm to this day. He would wake up, realise he couldn’t get out, cry for a little while, give up, and go back to bed.

Back to my current son. He has the door-knob lock. He has the night light. He has the classical music. He has the big-boy bed. I have tried the sleeping with me-didn’t work. I have tried lying with him-didn’t work. I admit, I have spanked him-didn’t work. I have brought him in the living room to lay on the couch and watch T.V. with me and get tired-didn’t work.
So far, Benadryl is the only answer. As much as I hate to say that.
Any further suggestons?

And on the spanking issue-I do spank. I do not beat. My 15 and 13 year old are well rounded, and respectful. I get compliments from older people on how well my children behave and that means alot to me. I don’t believe in the “time-out” generation that we have and believe that is why children are in control of parents instead of the other way around. My older boys have NEVER been in a fight or hit anyone and don’t believe that hitting is acceptable. So, anyone that says that spanking teaches them that hitting is okay, is wrong. Most of these people, have not raised children past toddler years. Are you going to put your mouthy, lying, disresptful 14 yr old in “time-out”? It won’t work. They will laugh at you, I assure you.
But, To each his own. Just don’t assume that people that spank are wrong, and beating and abusing their children. Then I will try and not assume that you are abusing yours by not disiplining them.

The Bible does say “Spare the rod, Spoil the Child”. Take that for what it is worth. I am not a religious nut, but I do believe this scripture has proven itsself to be true.

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Mayra
February 1, 2011 at 9:47 am

I think almost all this people that comment about this are missing the point. They forgot their children feelings. If we punish them, hit them, and get angry with them, we are teaching them that violence and anger is the right way to do everything and get whatever they want. They won’t learn patience, kindness and respect not for them selves or others. Next time that they don’t do the right thing they are going to be waiting for any kind of punishment or anger, because belive it or not if you spank a child whit anger of any kind that’s violence too, and it’s the easiest way and the most common for a child to get your attention. What a child really needs is love, patience, he-she needs you to be with him-her with your heart and your mind, not with your anger.
If you feel happy about your self and your children they will do whatever you want (I mean, act the right way), and if you show patience and talk to them about evrything belive it or not they will understand. I am not saying don’t pay attention to them and let them do whatever they want to do. ***NO***, What I am saying is that if you need to apply a corrective then do it, but do it thinking about the child not about your self. They deserve your love and that’s what they really need to grow up beeing a good people that feel good and trust to them selfs and others.
I know you are thinking that I don’t have kids, but that’s not true. I have a 2 year old son and my husband and I are the guardians of a 6 years old girl who was raped in her own house when she was 4 years old, and she has been living with us since then, and I am a babysitter of a 4 and 5 year old nephews so I know what I am talking about.
It’s not easy but I love them and every time they don’t want to do what they supposed to do I take a deep breath and act with love and it doesn’t mean I let them do whatever they want it means I deal with them, explain to them, talk to them, ask them or just smothly ignore them depends on the situation but specially tinking that they learn from me and my husband.
I don’t have a job like most parents but belive me I have a lot of work at home, the diference is that I don’t earn that much of money but I sill getting tired by 5:00 pm and I have to keep working until 11:00 pm. Remember if you fell good, the kids will fell good and they will show it. They are going to reflect the education, the happiness and the respect to them and to others, specially to you.

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Why
February 7, 2011 at 10:46 pm

Why is it all of the spanking advocates can’t spell? Aside from that, if I ever see any of you spankers do something remotely wrong, I will make sure that I am there to spank you, shout at you and punish you for your actions. You are bad people!

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Lacey
February 28, 2011 at 4:26 pm

I have been reading, and I am one of those parents who DO believe in spankings, there has to be some consequence for their actions, although, lately I have noticed when he is acting up, I take his favorite toy from him for about 20 minutes, until he understands why mommy took his toy… It has seemed to work with general misbehavior. AS FOR sleeping issues, I am still at a loss. My child is 2 years old, and he will NOT sleep through the night, as a matter of fact, he was up until 5am this morning… I am thinking that maybe sugar is playing a role in his non sleep patters. Not that I hand him candy and cookies all day long. But he does drink a lot of juice, and milk, and the grams of sugar in these items are outragious! Does anyone else think this could be why?? I am going to test this method by buying him sugar free drinks (not going the whole nine yards and cutting out the natural sugars in his food, because I understand that children need a lot of calories through-out the day), and then repost back and let you all know if it works. Any feedback would be great! Thanks everyone.

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Chance
March 17, 2011 at 12:38 am

I do believe in spankings not smackings. But I spank my children when they are in TROUBLE, not because my child can’t sleep. I do find that inappropriate. I always use spankings as a last measure. But of course your child wont go to sleep with you yelling. Our children look up to us and I guarentee when he is about 3 or so he will begin yelling at you when he/she is angry. What if your child is in discomfort, or scared, or is just a little hungry why in the world would you yell and spank him for something like that?

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Jason
March 21, 2011 at 3:06 pm

We are, unfortunately, working our way through this as well. Our 2 year old son has been waking up at all hours of the night and getting him back to sleep can take anywhere from 1 – 4 hour. We have held him for comfort at time and at other time simple returned him to bed. We have occasionally allowed him into our bed, but as a previous parent stated he like to use it as a trampoline. The best and least time consuming method is the returning to bed. When he gets up the first time we say it is still bedtime and lay him down and cover him up and then quietly leave. When he gets up again we simply put him back, this time not saying anything….. and repeat. He finally will stay in bed and eventually falls asleep. It takes calmness and patience, but usually only takes 15 min, where the cuddling, laying beside him etc. takes hours, and if you leave without him falling asleep it will just begin again. There are no answers to this….. it’s a period in your child’s life that he will get through. I say enjoy the pain with the pleasure….. all too soon they will want less and less to do with you and that, to me, is the real problem. I speak on this subject as “we” because my wife and I are partners in this, and yes I am well versed in the 3 hours cradling times the nightly struggles that ensue, and showing up to work with 3 hours of sleep for days on end. I do it because I love my wife and I love my son. (sorry for the last bit, but I did not like the previous rant attacking male involvement, we often are stereo-typed unfairly)

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kelsey
March 31, 2011 at 4:13 am

My daughter does the same exact thing and it is exhausting.. i don’ t know what to do. She’ll fall asleep at a normal time any toddler should fall asleep but a couple hours later she’s ready to go, go, go. and then she usually doesnt fall asleep till about 6am. and by this time im exhausted too so we both sleep all day and do the same routine. there’s been a couple days where she would go to bed and sleep all night and wake up regularly in the morning. unfortunately for me, and even her, i havn’t found any routine that will work so i wish you the best of luck.

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Lorraine
April 1, 2011 at 12:17 am

What you guys are going through I am going through with my year old times. He will not go to sleep at night. We put him in his room he comes right back out, goes into his siblings rooms terrorizes them, sneaks downstairs into the fridge sometimes, he has flooded the toilet several times. Tonight being one. Gotten a hold of my purse and ate tums, and the list goes on and on. We put him back into his bed over and over again and he just keeps sneaking out and terrorizing the whole house. Tonight his father took him downstairs while I slept to let him watch Tv with him for a while since he would not got to sleep, and see if that would do the trick, after a while he turned the lights off and they laid downstairs on the couch together and fell asleep (so he thought) I get up a little while ago to use the bathroom and my Year old has opened the downstairs family room door, snuck upstairs into my room and into the bathroom, and stuck and spoon and pamper into the toilet. The bathroom floor was soaked. We have tried alot, even letting him sleep with us, which like everyone else, he thinks is play time, and he will sneak out of our bed, use a chair or whatever to get to things in our room, which sometimes he gets his hands on bad stuff, meds etc. He wont listen, even telling us NO when we tell him to go to be. after he flooded the toilet and I went downstairs and informed his father who could not believe he got up from next to him in the dark and snuck out and did all that he did. Oh I forgot to mention he even put a towel down to try to soak up the water. Anyway when he told him to got to bed, he said no, and took off running laps around the living room chairs. Im talking 10 laps in 30 seconds. I dont understand how he can have this much energy this late at night. I NEVER had this problem with my other kids. He eventually goes to sleep but STILL will wake up early in the morning, so he is missing a lot of sleep that I believe a child really needs. I am starting to think something is going wrong with him.

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- Lorraine
  April 1, 2011 at 12:18 am
  
  That should say I am going through with my two year old times ten. Sorry
  
  Reply
  - Lorraine
    April 1, 2011 at 12:21 am
    
    Sorry again. I am reading over this and realizing I have tons of typos. I am half sleep. I hope you all can understand what I was meaning to say in the spots I made typing errors.
- Pat
  June 1, 2011 at 10:27 pm
  
  To Lorriane hope you get this because I think I know what is going on with your child. What you have described sounds like my grandson when he was 2. My grandson became so out of sorts. He destroyed my house and left a path of destruction wherever he went. When asked why he did it. He would look at me and say, “because I wasn’t suppose too!” I begin to suspect that there was something wrong with him. I started by taking him to his doctor. Then I took the next step and made an appointment with a Numerologist. It wasn’t long before he was diagnosed with a form of high functioning Autism. He is 6 years old now and on medication that gives him the ability to focus. He is now in control of his actions. Mind you he is still a boy! He is getting the help he needs to cope. Hang in there but seek medical help and don’t just stop at the doctor. Some of the best children doctors don’t have a clue about Autism and don’t know how to recognize it. It doesn’t hurt to seek advice or help from another doctor. bypassing my grandsons baby doctor and making the appointment with a specialist was the best move I ever made
  
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Shannon
April 21, 2011 at 10:46 pm

We just started experiencing some of these problems with our two year old son. The confusing part is that he was sleeping through the night and going to bed really well until recently. We thought we had the bedtime routine figured out . All we had to say was that it was “nite nite” time ,give him a sippy cup of diluted milk and he would go willingly. He would sleep at least 10/11 hours a nite. For the past three weeks he has been pleading for more time before bed. So we started giving him (5-20 extra min) before putting him down. Then it started! He has been standing up in the crib as soon as we leave the room,screaming and crying for a least an hour every night. After 4 or 5 times of going in there to comfort him and firmly repeating”nite nite” he will sometimes lay quietly for a 1/2 hour n then start screaming all over again. Last night it took 3 1/2 hours to get him to go to sleep and that is only because i went to sleep on the floor next to his crib. He has also been really miserable, defiant and taking tantrums throughout the day for over 2 weeks now. He isnt sick,he doesnt have a fever and nothing traumatic has happened. We are so baffled and depressed with his new behavior. He was such a happy baby for the past two years and never minded bedtime. I’ve noticed he also seems afraid lately and looks paranoid over little noises outside and the house. I’ve heard about the “terrible twos” and I also have a 15 year old son with aspergers syndrome. In spite of all this, we are still completely baffled. I don’t understand how my happy-go -lucky baby suddenly(overnight) turned into a demon. Please help! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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Pat
June 1, 2011 at 10:11 pm

Wow I read all these comments and wonder where the heart is for children? I have a daughter who is now 34years old. She too at age of 2 would not go to bed at night. It was a struggle and all efforts would not work. Her naps were shortened and we tried putting her on a set time. Nothing worked. as time passed my struggles with her sleeping became worse. Soon she went into night terrors. When she could tell me what was happening she would tell me about snakes that were attacking her. as she got older her night terrors became worse. I would put her in my bed and hold her as her little body would jerk as her mind saw snakes coming for her. I took her to doctors and they told me their is little knowledge of what caused night terrors. When I was pregnant with her my husband took me to a movie. Back then you got to see two movies one good one and one sub one. The sub movie was called “Sissssss” it was a movie about snakes that got exposed to nerve gas and they went crazy and started killing people. I read an article that said what you watch, listen, and do when pregnant effects the baby. Now my daughter married and with kids she has a 2 year old and she like her mother will not go to bed at night. At the age of 2 and 3/4 years she is now having night terrors. She tells us she has spiders and bugs crawling all over her. We have gone to sleep specialist and found that sleep disorders run in families. I have sleep apnea and have been an insomniac most of my life. as a child i had nightmares of falling in a deep dark hole. I just kept falling until i woke up. So before you start hitting and yelling at your child consider that they might have a sleep disorder that due to their young age they can not tell you about. they might be fighting seep because the fear of what happens to them when asleep is worse then anything you can do to them. consult your doctor before you start hitting a child. Remember there is a communication problem although you child can talk they can’t tell you everything that goes on inside their mind and body.

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Anonymous
June 1, 2011 at 10:18 pm

Spanking a two year old? Can a two year old string a sentence you can understand? Most of the time they can’t and because you are exhausted you spank your two year old? I have the same problems, my 2 year old son will not sleep, will not nap and most nights will sleep when we sleep which is about midnight, I’m struggling but I don’t spank a two year old, I affirm through verbal assertiveness though but I don’t blame him, I try to understand what’s going on and most likely it is my own doing because I don’t follow a strict routine but because of my ill health I can’t help not sticking to a routine though I try my best.

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Pat
June 1, 2011 at 10:24 pm

To Lorriane hope you get this because I think I know what is going on with your child. What you have described sounds like my grandson when he was 2. My grandson became so out of sorts. He destroyed my house and left a path of destruction wherever he went. When asked why he did it. He would look at me and say, “because I wasn’t suppose too!” I begin to suspect that there was something wrong with him. I started by taking him to his doctor. Then I took the next step and made an appointment with a Numerologist. It wasn’t long before he was diagnosed with a form of high functioning Autism. He is 6 years old now and on medication that gives him the ability to focus. He is now in control of his actions. Mind you he is still a boy! He is getting the help he needs to cope. Hang in there but seek medical help and don’t just stop at the doctor. Some of the best children doctors don’t have a clue about Autism and don’t know how to recognize it. It doesn’t hurt to seek advice or help from another doctor. bypassing my grandsons baby doctor and making the appointment with a specialist was the best move I ever made.

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