Toddler - sleeping (or lack thereof)

[Elfy]

Hi all. My little boy is nearly 2. He has now decided that 7pm is not a good time for him to go to sleep and will scream, and scream (and scream) if he is put in his cot too early. Our evenings between 7.30 and 9 are spent listening to him scream in said cot, reading one more story (he has coined the phrase 'last time' although does not seem to understand the meaning of it!) and generally trying to get him to go to sleep. He used to be fine at this. I think he now realises that there is much merriment to be had by staying awake as long as possible.

He did sleep 2 hours at lunchtime, I've cut this to one hour in a desperate attempt to reclaim some of my own evening. Should I completely cut the nap...? Or does anyone else have some sage suggestions? (He generally sleeps OK when he finally goes to sleep. Ocasionally wakes up with cries of 'Milk', 'Milk' at 4am..but this I can cope with). He wakes about 7. As a baby he was a very early riser. 4.30am. Perhaps he just doesn't need as much sleep as some little ones? Thoughts...please.

[Tanza]

You could try cutting the lunchtime nap down a bit. But just wondered if he might be suddenly afraid of the dark? My son suddenly took a dislike to being in a dark room at about this age. We put a night light in his room and left his bedroom door ajar with the landing light on and all was fine.

[plimsoul]

i dropped their afternoon kip, as much as i loved my break in the afternoon, at 2. it made all the difference and they went to sleep without fuss. it was the payoff for losing my lunch break but was well worth it. some days they'd sleep half an hour in the buggy but that was it.

however, i did move dinner to a slightly earlier slot as the first weeks they found it very hard to make it through the day. i'd often give them some down time just watching cbeebies at the end of the afternoon to help them out. but after this initial period their bodies got used to it and i could move their dinner back to its usual slot.

they now sleep straight 7:30/8 through to 7/8. good luck!

[Elfy]

Tanza - I don't think he is afraid of the dark. I always give him to the option of having the light on or off. And he picks off. But definitely worth bearing in mind for the future as I know nightmares can be an issue for some small ones.

Plimsoul - Sounds like dropping the nap is the way to go. Now I have to sell that to the nanny! I also suspect he hasn't been getting out and about as much as usual due to the icy conditions. So he's not as physically tired at the end of the day. These little boys need a good run around!