Bedtime = Partytime!

Wondering if anyone has any advice for me... My 3 yo twin boys currently share a room and have always shared a room. We have been having trouble with them talking/laughing/playing at bedtime. We start a bedtime routine (bath/brushing teeth/pajamas/reading stories) at about 7:15 and lights out by 7:45 then they will talk and laugh sometimes until after 9!!!! We would have to do some fairly intensive renovations to put them in seperate bedrooms... Any ideas on how to keep them quiet and to bed sooner??

 

That's why mine have been going to bed later in the last couple months. Do they still nap?

 

I was wondering if they still nap as well. When my girls started doing this, and doing it often, we took away the afternoon nap. They were so tired by bedtime we didn't have any problems. Or, you could start your bedtime routine a little later, say at 7:45 and have them in bed by 8:30 and see if that helps.

 

I've heard the same thing about taking away naps... Good luck!

 

I agree with taking away the nap if they are still napping. When mine get too rowdy I threaten to separate them & put one in the guest room. They like to be together so they usually shut up pretty quickly. If you have an extra room or even someplace you could make a bed on the floor for a few days to separate them if needed, it only took me actually separating them once before they learned. Now the threat is all it takes.

 

I haven't posted in forever, but I am having the same problem the last week and mine are only 2 yr 4 mos. We have a routine at night as well and I put them to bed around 7:30pm, read, tuck in, night night. But they've been staying up until about 8:30pm talking and playing, calling me in the room for this and that, throwing their stuffed animals and blankets on the floor. Mine still nap anywhere from 1 to 2 1/2 hrs a day....but I am SO not ready to give the afternoon naps up yet. It's only been the last week or so they've done this - sometimes if I just ride things out they go back to their routine....I HOPE this is what happens this time!!! Also, I figure as long as they're getting the sleep they need on a daily basis and are happy in their rooms playing with one another and not crying I'm going to leave it alone.....for now. =)

 

Yeah it's the same here, they're napping later and later and are going to bed later and later... oh well. Not ready to drop that nap.

 

They are still napping although we recently cut it back by an hour. Worry that completely removing the nap might make them over tired?? I tried separating them, by putting one on the love seat in another room, but it is where most of their toys are stored. They usually beg to get back together but once reunited start talking/giggling again and don't remember how much they disliked the separation by the next night. They still use pacifiers/blankies at bedtime only and we have tried taking them away as punishment but it doesn't seem to bother them...

 

What time do they wake up? 7:15 is an early bedtime for us, we usually go at 8:00, which means that as soon as the Final Jeopardy segment comes on, they're getting their things ready to go to bed. They wake up at 6:45, 7:00 on a late morning. I'm actually thinking of pushing it back to 8:30 after they turn 3.

 

At almost 3 my kids get 11 to 12 hours of sleep. If you have naps that counts as part of the time. I took away naps at 2 1/2 bc of all the playing at naps and bed and it wasn't worth it. They are in bed by 7 and wake between 6:30 and 7. At first they would even go to bed at 6:30 sometimes. I still miss the nap at times but would rather have my evenings with no kids.

We do a quiet time in front of a movie after lunch to give everyone a little down time. Not as good as a nap but better than nothing.

 

Mine started doing that around that age too. It stressed me out at first, but then I decided to just let them do what they wanted as long as they weren't really tearing the room apart.

I have to say that it has just gotten worse as they've gotten older, because they're still napping at school (which I can't do anything about -- I've tried). On weekends they go to sleep right away and it's WONDERFUL. So I would suggest cutting out the nap, or at least cutting it down to just every few days.

If you think they still need the nap every day (or almost), then you might want to just put them to bed a little later and don't sweat it. We've done OK with just having a rule that after "bedtime," they need to stay in their room.

 

I didn't read replies so forgive me if this is not jiving anymore - <br><br>At 3, mine were giving me a run for my money at night. I do the week alone and was DONE at 7:30. Finished! I was having to sit in the hall and read while they kept testing and testing and testing. What worked for ME (not saying this is a professional opinion) is to take away naps. I quit giving them formal naps. We did quiet time with a movie and my DD, who still needed a nap, would snooze most days but not for too long ruining bedtime. My DS hasn't needed as much sleep as his sister - ever - so it worked well at bedtime. She's very compliant, so bedtime was fine for her because he was out like a light! <br><br><div>I wanted to add that if you choose to try this, you can push bedtime a few min. earlier and see how it goes!!&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Good luck!&nbsp;</div><div><br><br></div>

 

Bedtime is a nightmare around here. My only thought was, at least they aren't fighting. :aggressive:

My boys decide to fight and attack each other at bedtime.

Good luck getting it worked out. I wish I had some great advice, but I've been totally unsuccessful at bedtime these days.

 

Our twins got out of their cribs early, so we did crib tents & it has been a life saver. I know it's probably something you don't want to implement for 3 yos but thought I'd post for twins that are still in their cribs.

 

mine aren't that old yet, but I've just cut their nap from 3 hrs (1p to 4p) to more like 2 hrs (1p to 3p)... and the combination of less nap and more awake time before bed has made mine tired. now they are up for at least 4 hrs before bedtime (3p to 7p)...

I also put mine back in cribs 2 wks ago... but just this week did the cutting nap, and am wondering if I should try toddler beds again. literally they are just getting in the cribs and laying there. this is a BIG wow from the week before.

good luck!

 

I just moved their bedtime to 8:15 instead of 8:00 and have the perfect angels again. No crying, no games, no whining, just get up, get their stuff for bed and go into bed. It's funny because they wouldn't go to sleep until 9:00 when I would put them in bed at 8:00, but now that I'm putting them down at 8:15, they're sleeping by 8:30.

Another thing that helps us out lately is that I change into my pajamas before I try to put theirs on and I show them that I'm in my pajamas. (We were having some pajama hate going on)