[pluckyflamingo]

I have a nine month old daughter. She is at daycare from 7:50 am to 5:10 pm. When she is there she is under a routine. Eats, naps, plays at the same time everyday. However when she comes home she is so unpredictable. Sometimes she is tired and wants to take a nap sometimes she will want to stay up and then won't be tired until 10:00 pm. When I was a child my mother always put me to sleep at 8:30pm. What is a good time to put your child to sleep for the night. And if she is tired do I let her take a nap or should I keep her up until her bedtime?

[Justwantfair]

If you daughter is in a routine at school, she can be in a routine at home. I would work on keeping her up, you get home eat dinner, have some playtime and bed at 8:00 or 8:30 p.m. If you are consistent she will be as well.

Babies react well to schedule, that is why daycares implement them.

[DoulaLC]

I'd say that if she is very tired, let her take a short nap. No sense in making her miserable. It often takes some trial and error to see what works best with your family's schedule. You'll have to see what works for the time you want her to wake up at too.

Maybe try just a half hour or hour nap if she needs one and then wake her so that she has a few hours before the time you would like her to go to bed.

You can help her get programmed into a bit of a routine by being consisent and following a regular bedtime routine... winding down at the end of the day, bath, fed, etc.. If she balks at going to bed, cuddle her a bit more and try again after a short time.

Be prepared for her to change her sleep patterns once in awhile even after you get a routine going... it is fairly common depending on her stage of development and her temperament.

[nikosmom]

Typically when your daughter goes down for the night, how long does she sleep? Figure out her sleep patterns and then build your routine around that.

My son for instance, NEEDS 12-14 hours of straight sleep every night to function [yes, really] so I know that I have to get him in bed by 7ish. Based on a 7/7:30 bedtime, I know how much time I need to allot for dinner, bath, and the bedtime routine.

If your daughter is hard to rouse in the mornings, maybe try moving her bedtime earlier so that you can avoid some of the fussiness of wanting that evening nap and also ensure that she's tired enough to sleep through the night. It will definitely take some trial and error to figure out what works best for your daughter.

As for the routine, it's most important to stick to it as much as possible. So say you set a bedtime of 8:00, even if she doesn't seem really sleepy, it's OK to put her in her crib so that she can fall asleep on her own. She will soon recognize bedtime as the next step after dinner and such. As JustWantFair said, kids thrive on routine and predictability.

[kp2171]

I agree with all that's been said.

My son is naturally wired like me... he could stay up half the night and sleep in late if he had his way. He only seemed to adjust to a more "reasonable" schedule around 4 years... before then, it was a struggle to get him down earlier and to get him up earlier.

While I didn't mind, it drove my wife nuts. She is an early to bed/wake up before God and the army kind of girl... so id be putting him to bed at the same time id be putting her to bed. Absolutely no kid free time.

I've also noticed he is quite sensitive to the sun/seasons and to "normal" life routines. The depths of winter and its accompanied darkness just let his little body fill with melatonin and deep sleep. As the seasons change, he is more apt and able to wake up earlier in the AM, and room darkening blinds help with the evening when the sun refuses to set.

Likewise, any "disruptions" in the daily cycle can throw him off... the holidays are joyous, but between the change in schedule, the people, the stimulation, the food (sweets!)... it just throws him all out of whack.

My son is older... now five... but one thing I've found that helps him wake up, and often then have an earlier bedtime, is to wake him indirectly.

Instead of poking and prodding him awake in the AM, ill go into his room and put toys away, hang up clothes, and along the way, maybe turn on some toy or some sound that will let him "choose" to be awake, interested, engaged. We have had fewer grumpy mornings when I "let him" wake up instead of making him.

My son never liked naps. His cousin, 8 mo older, still needs his daily fix. My son hasn't had a regular nap since he was 16 mo. If he's napping, he is sick. So... I don't have good advice there, other than I think a short nap can't do any harm.

[luvyrkez]

When my kids were in daycare, I had the same problem. We would eat dinner and as soon as their tummies were full, they would want to sleep. 6:30. I bought some new tub toys (crayons for the bath) and as soon as they were getting tired, I would bathe them, and then they would be ready for bed about 8.
Good Luck!

[kp2171]

We've even done the reverse at night, concerning food and bathing.

Sometimes having him take a warm bath early, followed by dinner, and then whatever little cleanup was needed, seemed to send him to bed on a full tummy without some of the crankiness and stimulation that was associated with bathtime... he loves the bath, but would make noise after, just before stories and bed...

Hed get wound up playing with toys in the bath, then get irritated getting out, getting dry, getting cold, getting lotion on, dressed... do this before dinner and there's more time to wind down and the distraction of food.