I have a 2 1/2 yr old son who refuses to sleep at night or take naps during the day. I have tried numerous things to help him sleep better, nothing seems to work. We've tried pushing back his bedtime to 9:30, reading him bedtime stories, no sweets in the evening, no drinks other than water before bedtime, sitting with him until he falls asleep which doesn't last very long, night light, patting him to sleep, a sleep "buddy" (nightlight care bear), I'm lost on what else to do. He falls asleep usually at 11pm after trying to ease his way out of his room to then awake at around 2 am play until about 5 am to then sleep until about 8 am and remains awake all day only to do it again the next day... its very frusterating for us. The last couple of days we've woken up at 3 am to find him sitting on the sofa watching TV in the living room we tell him to go back to sleep which he acts as if he is to then find him at 5 am awake in the living room again. He spends his entire day awake and running around with no down time. HELP!:confused:

It sounds like he may have some imbalance (not sure if it would be serotonin) that makes him not require much sleep. Ask your pediatrician if s/he can figure it out and what they would suggest. Then ask your pediatrician if it would be possible to refer him to a sleep clinic or something if it is an issue such as an imbalance and the pediatrician doesn't have answers.

He may also be an insomniac
Information on insomnia - symptoms, causes, treatments

I don't know with someone that young what the possibilities may or may not be.

Do not self medicate him with anything to make him sleep. It is important to figure out the cause and deal with it specifically especially because of his young age.

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Originally Posted by chella169

I have a 2 1/2 yr old son who refuses to sleep at night or take naps during the day. I have tried numerous things to help him sleep better, nothing seems to work. We've tried pushing back his bedtime to 9:30, reading him bedtime stories, no sweets in the evening, no drinks other than water before bedtime, sitting with him until he falls asleep which doesnt last very long, night light, patting him to sleep, a sleep "buddy" (nightlight care bear), im lost on what else to do. He falls asleep usually at 11pm after trying to ease his way out of his room to then awake at around 2 am play until about 5 am to then sleep until about 8 am and remains awake all day only to do it again the next day...... its very frusterating for us. The last couple of days we've woken up at 3 am to find him sitting on the sofa watching tv in the living room we tell him to go back to sleep which he acts as if he is to then find him at 5 am awake in the living room again. He spends his entire day awake and running around with no down time. HELP!:confused:

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I've gone numerous times to his ped. They prescribed him some antihistamines to help with his sleeping it worked for the first 2 days then did nothing. I spoke with the doctor about it and he just told me to try a new sleep schedule, which did not work

Ask him to refer you to a specialist or a sleep clinic. Often primary docs will not think or offer that because often they want to exhaust all the possibilities they can come up with first.

What are his activities during the day? What is his diet? Keep seeking the help of medical professionals, even if you have to look beyond his PCP to get the attention you need.

During the day he is at daycare... so needless to say they keep him busy very busy... he comes home a plays all day running around, playing with his little sister and destroying whatever he can get his hands on. We don't give him a lot of sweets in fact its close to none...

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Originally Posted by chella169

I have a 2 1/2 yr old son who refuses to sleep at night or take naps during the day. I have tried numerous things to help him sleep better, nothing seems to work. We've tried pushing back his bedtime to 9:30, reading him bedtime stories, no sweets in the evening, no drinks other than water before bedtime, sitting with him until he falls asleep which doesnt last very long, night light, patting him to sleep, a sleep "buddy" (nightlight care bear), im lost on what else to do. He falls asleep usually at 11pm after trying to ease his way out of his room to then awake at around 2 am play until about 5 am to then sleep until about 8 am and remains awake all day only to do it again the next day...... its very frusterating for us. The last couple of days we've woken up at 3 am to find him sitting on the sofa watching tv in the living room we tell him to go back to sleep which he acts as if he is to then find him at 5 am awake in the living room again. He spends his entire day awake and running around with no down time. HELP!:confused:

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Try to make him watch a movie that he likes and not let him off the couch if it is time to take a nap and if it is time to go to sleep just make him lay in his room and not come out without consenquences. Time out works and also taking away something that he really likes for a while. I also have a 2 1/2 year old and it will take some time but give it a shot.

Try and make him stay in his room until he is willing to go to sleep. It will take some time but it is worth a shot. Maybe if you have an extra TV try putting that in his room and use it only for bedtime. I also have a 2 1/2 year old and it wasn't easy.Give it a try and see how that goes.

Can a 13 year old stay int the same room as a girl who is 8 in the state of California?

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Originally Posted by shell_josh2008

Try to make him watch a movie that he likes and not let him off of the couch if it is time to take a nap and if it is time to go to sleep just make him lay in his room and not come out without consenquences. Time out works and also taking away something that he really likes for a while. I also have a 2 1/2 year old and it will take some time but give it a shot.

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He'll stay sitting for a while then he gets all squirmy... we've tried taking away his favorite cars he doesn't care... we've also done the time out thing he just doesn't care lol nothing phases him

Your child needs around 11 - 12 hours a sleep a night, with a 2 hour nap during the day. That is the average for children your son's age.

When he is sleeping, does he snore? Does he kick his feet? Does he have problems with ear infections?

The fact that your son isn't sleeping that much should not be ignored. If your doctor is just blowing you off, find another doctor.

When I was researching this question, most of the things I found in connection with lack of sleep with a toddler was some sort of ailment. Like ear infections. True sleep disorders were said to only happen in about 10% of toddlers. On the flip side of that, toddlers can suffer from separation anxiety, even if you are just down the hall. Keeping him up later, in hopes that he will be more tired and it will be easier to fall asleep doesn't always work. It was said that it is HARDER for kids to fall asleep if they are overtired.


Of course, you need to stick to a routine. After dinner, you should keep everything low key. You have said that he stays busy, try to avoid over stimulation as you get closer to bed time. As toddlers, they have had fun all day and don't want to stop the fun by going to sleep. So, naturally, he is going to start fighting you. That is natural. But, he still needs sleep, like I said, on average 11 to 12 hours each night.

How long has this been going on? Is it a new thing or has he always had issues with sleeping?

He doesn't snore has no ear infections and doesn't kick his feet... he's been like this since he was a baby

Have you kept a regular routine? Bath at a certain time, story at a certain time, lights out at a certain time? Frustrating as it is, keep reinforcing it. Some kids take longer than others to accept it.

When he wakes up in the middle of the night, does he disturb you? Or does he entertain himself?

I would get him to a sleep doctor, just to have an exam and let a doctor explain this to you. He should be passing out during the day from not getting any sleep at night.