You put your preschooler to bed at 8:30 at night, hugging and kissing her and wishing her sweet dreams. It's been a long day, but still the dinner dishes await, you have bills to pay, the dog needs to be walked and the cat fed, and you haven't had a spare moment to put your feet up. But instead of spending the rest of the evening catching up on your chores and clocking some precious time with your partner, you're in and out of your child's room, cajoling her to sleep. She finally nods off — about three hours after she first went to bed. Sound familiar?
Baby Center has a great Behavior Problem Solver tool on their website that allows you to select your child's age and the behavior you would like to get a better handle on. Once you make your selection, tools are provided for your consideration. Remember each child is unique and one strategy is not going to work for every child.
Here are a few of the behaviors you can choose from:
- bedtime battles
- lying
- biting
- tantrums
- whining