Hi out there,
I really hope someone can tell me what is going on with my 3 yr. old granddaughter. Her parents can't get her to go to bed without a two to three hour fight every night. They say they've tried everything. They called me tonight and I went over there to see if I could help. I've never seen her like this. She had pulled all her clothes out of her dresser and told her mom to please leave her room. I finally managed to get her to sleep after about 30 minutes but all she would tell me was she wanted to go to my home and her stomach hurt. The stomach thing has been going on that I know of for some time. She says it whenever she get scolded. She has a two year old brother and another on the way. They spend three to four days a week with my husband and me, usually at least six hours a day each time. She also spends the night with us, her greatgrandmother, her aunt and other grandfather. None of us have trouble getting her to bed. She does not share a bed at any of theses places or even a bedroom. Her mother lays down with her at naptime , but she sleeps by herself a naptime at my house so we thought this might be the problem but when my dayghter tried to lay down with her tonight she asked her to leave. They are at their wits end.
Please help!!!!
firemac17

Sounds like a classic struggle to see how far she can push her parents. My kids are perfect for my parents as well and I always get questioned "what problem" when I pick them up the next morning.

I think they need to set a routine every night for bed time, dinner, bath, read a book then kiss good nights and bed. Catering to her tantrums will just make the situation worse because in the end she is getting what she wants. My 4 year old (when he was around 3 1/2) wanted to feel like a grown up boy and wanted to feel like he was dictating when to go to sleep, so I let him "read" his own book once I left the room but told him when he finished it he had to go to sleep, I would find him asleep within 10 minutes :nod:

I think the struggle makes the situation worse, it's no fun, but sometimes you have to just let them sit in bed awake, eventually they will know you mean business.

Good luck!