OK, there comes a time when every intelligent, hardworking Mom decides "enough is enough" and realizes she is letting her 3 year old beat her...as the insurance commercials go, that is the place where I find myself at now.

I cannot get my daughter to bed at a decent time. The past three nights it was after midnight!!!

She goes to "school" while I'm at work and they have her take a two hour nap. On the weekends, she doesn't nap. She will stop and "rest" for about an hour , usually laying on the couch or the floor and watches a movie, but never closes her eyes and I don't force her to nap. On the weekends, she is in bed and asleep by 9 and wakes up on her own right before 7. (the schedule I like)

During the week it is a completely different story. I am not getting my homework and stuff done until the wee hours in the morning and this is creating a haggard looking, gray haired Mommy who never has time to iron her clothes any more and no longer has a 4.0 GPA.

I've tried turning everything off, singing lullabies (which I did last night for 30 straight minutes), we read every night so that is already part of our ritual and I even pick good nighttime themed books. (Goodnight Gorilla is one of her faves) We take baths the same time, I am trying everything I read in books but she just will not sleep.

I'm on the verge of buying a bottle of Benadryl or Scotch. (JUST KIDDING, I SWEAR)

Any advice??? I know some of you more experienced moms have dealt with this before...

If you find an answer please share! We have the same problem with our 2 year old. The crib was no longer an option when she could and would climb out of it before you could get out of the room so we put her in a 'big girl bed'. Worked out great the first few nights. She went to bed on her own around 9:00 (we put her down around 8:15 and she would play with her babies until 9ish) and would sleep until 6:00. After about 3 nights of that it was no more! Now the only way we can get her to sleep before midnight is to let her get in the bed between us, and while I know that isn't the best solution, it's better than no sleep for anyone!

I have recommended Jo Frosts book here before (Supernanny).

Believe me when I say I feel your pain - I truly do.

We have only just recently conquered the bedtime battles with our 3.5 year old.

We went into hard core sleep training mode with her, used Supernanny's techniques and we now have a happy girl, well rested, who is in bed and fast asleep before 8pm every night.

It is hard work but it is SO worth it in the end.

I think a combination of tiredness and guilt makes you think it's okay to let them run a bit of steam off and just get tired enough to fall asleep - but it backfires when your child becomes overtired and all the more difficult to settle down.

We've always struggled with sleep issues with our daughter - but I am proud to say 'never again' will I let her take the upper hand as far as bedtime is concerned.

The key is consistency of routine and for her, time warnings help - as in 'okay, you've got 2 more mintues then we have to tidy up and go to the bathroom' She understands what time bedtime is, and she knows the quicker she zips through the preps (bath, teeth brushing, jammies on) the more time she'll have for bedtime stories.

She still objects every single night - and in the early days (we only implemented the sleep training about 6 weeks ago) it took about 45-50 mins of wailing and all sorts of protests. Now however, it is 10 -15 minutes tops from we put her into her bed, until she's fast asleep.

If you're not familiar with Supernanny's approach - I'll detail it here if you need me to.

Alternatively - I think the book is about $17 - I got ours at Barnes and Noble.

Edited to add:

It really does come down to not letting them grind you down lol! You know intellectually that your child will benefit from an early bedtime and a good night's rest. They will play up and stall, and cry - you have to make the decision as to whether you're willing to endure that crying for a relatively short time (as in a few nights) in order to come out the other end with a child who gets the message that bedtime is bedtime and there's no point fighting it

One of the major success factors for us was moving bedtime up to 7:30, instead of starting it all at 8:30. Our daughter was overtired to start with and much less co-operative. An earlier bedtime has definitely helped. She does not take a nap though - so this may be why this works for us.

Routine matters to the child and we parents. For my sanity, and their survival, bedtime was much enforced---with my own & now, with Hayden!! Sometimes, a bedtime story & enforced quiet time works best. Other times, ignoring also works!! Parents need a couple of hours "down time" before their own bedtime. You can't give the child the control, and ever feel rested, peaceful, and "normal" without time for yourself. Your own contentment makes parenthood easier.

Albee, I've heard you recommend the Supernanny book before and I'm going to get one this weekend.

I also know I complicate matters a little taking classes two days a week and getting home late, but my mother has begun adopting my same time frame and she is bathed and ready when I get out of class.

I will not let her win..hehehe...and hopefully I will be another toddler bed-time success story.

Thank you ladies!