Bedtime is crucial for children who are full of energy. Often times, they are unwilling and not wanting to sleep at a designated time. However, this provides an opportunity for parents to talk with their children and come up with certain ideas or plans wherein the child can stay up later on certain nights, as long as they know and promise to be asleep the next day at the designated bedtime.

Key Takeaways:

• Most nights, it’s a battle that includes screaming, kicking, getting out of bed repeatedly, pounding on walls, flailing on the ground, turning on lights, and I would be lying if I said that she was the only one screaming by the end of it.
• Our daughter loves books, and usually begs for more. We had some luck for awhile with letting her look at a book or two in bed after we say good night, but now it just postpones the battle for a few more minutes.
• We are feeling like we’re out of ideas, and are so frustrated by the end of the night, that it’s impacting our marriage as well.

“Shorten her overall bedtime routine as well — a full hour in bed before lights off might be too long, and could be increasing her general physical (and emotional/transitional) antsy-ness in the meantime.”

http://alphamom.com/parenting/big-kid/stop-bedtime-battles-stalling-power-struggles/