Three year old tantrum...HELP!!

I dont have a daughter... but I've worked in several childcare centers since I was about 14... and I did take care of my little sister for most of her life. She had similar issues... most especially the sleeping and potty training phases... The only thing that worked with the potty training was bribery... (Bribed her with a new "PeePee Doll" lol... you know what I'm talking about I'm sure... they come with a little pink toilet, lol.) The sleeping thing is a little bit tougher... If the following occured, lil sis would come crying into my bedroom in the middle of the night... 1. Sugar intake 4 or less hours before bedtime (more time should be alloted for larger amounts of sugar, such as birthday cake, and such.) 2. Too large a meal within two hours of bedtime... she shouldnt be hungry, but she also shouldnt feel too full when she goes to bed, it can cause indigestion and wake a child up... 3. Loud or exciting animation movies or television shows, or "adult" rated action films... anything over a G rating was a huge no no when Christy was little... 4. Anything over 30 min naptime. And naptime in the middle of the afternoon shouldnt occur... The things that DID work?? 1. Coloring or storytime for about an hour before bed... its amazing how easily a kid will fall asleep when laying on the floor with a coloring book... And the fact that shes calm and relaxed will help her stay asleep... 2. A chair placed beside her bed and telling her youll "stay til she falls asleep", will provide a feeling of security and well-being... which will help her sleep through the night... itll take a few days of her struggling to stay awake to see if youll REALLY stay, but after a little while she'll fall asleep almost immediately. I have to ask if she has a lot of problems with bedwetting??... you said she's about three??... so I dont know by this whether or not she's potty trained?? or on her way to be?? Sometimes that can make a child feel insecure especially if shes worried about wetting the bed. Try coming in and waking her up about halfway through the night to take her to the toilet... if she knows she wont wet the bed or her diaper she may sleep better... And, if all else fails... I have to agree with the above comment... bribery, for the win. lol. I really hope this helps... if not, sorry for the long post

What a great response!!! You should write a book on this subject. I think our main problem is that we never really set a routine when baby number 3 came along. We had one for the first two and it worked pretty well, but they just were not all night sleepers. We are doing a little better lately. Getting all of ours to go to sleep is a never-ending battle. One thing that I haven't been doing lately is telling them a bedtime story. I have done that for years until lately. I made up some characters called Cowboy (puppy) and Timmy years ago and they got a new story about their adventures every night. I never dreamed they would love those stories so much. I would even include them in the story as friends of theirs. I may have to go back to that again even if we end up with a 9:30 bedtime.