3 year old discipline and sleep problems

[Geckmumto3]

Is it possible for her to go to bed earlier? In our house, 8:30 would be way late for a little one. Our DD went from being a great sleeper to a horrible sleeper around 18 mos. We discovered that if we kept her up past 7:00- 7:30, she seemed to miss a window of sleep and then took forever to get to sleep. And, still, at 9, she has a sleep window and struggles to sleep if we keep her up late.

As for the other behaviour, yes, I would say it is entirely normal. Although hard, we try to ignore anything that is not damaging or major rule breaking. With the dinner, once she got down, she would be done, plate gone.

Two-three is the time where they test their independence and see what they can do (I don't want to say "get away with" because that implies maliciousness). It is a time where parents have to discuss and decide what is important to the family, and find an approach that is consistent. That and a bucketload of patience.