I used to get this with my older boy. Took me a bit to figure out the routine, but we have it worked out well now and have been using it for a long time.

Step 1. Half an hour before "bedtime" he gets told the time (8pm) and that he has to start winding down ready for bed.

Step 2. Ten minutes before "bedtime" (8:20pm) he gets told he has only ten minutes left to finish whatever he's doing and get to bed.

Step 3. At 8:30pm he's told to go to bed. He suddenly needs to go to the toilet and have a glass of milk at this point, so he goes and does that, brushes his teeth, and then gets to bed by 9pm. He thinks he's delaying, but in actual fact his bedtime is 9pm - he just doesn't know that. LOL

Step 4: when he's up and down like a yoyo, "I want this I want that I need this etc" I eventually reached the point where I considered the reality v's the excuse. He's already been to the toilet, had a drink, he's not hungry, hot, cold, etc. so there's no reasons left... he says "Muuuum!" and my answer is always the same, "Nope, can't do anything about it, go to bed." But muuuuuum..." "Nope, can't do anything about it, go to bed." And I flately refuse to respond with anything at all besides "Nope, can't do anything about it, go to bed." no matter what he says. It frustrated him no end, but thats payback for the frustration he causes me by not wanting to go to bed. LOL

He has now got it figured out that if I respond the first time with "Nope, can't do anything about it, go to bed." it's time to just give up and go to bed as that's all he is going to get no matter how much he argues.

i had the same problem with my five year old daughter.

firstly keep to the routine and when she gets up put her straight back to bed everytime and maybe close the door for a couple of weeks and dont give in to five nearly six year old.

good luck

It seems to be a more common occurance around this age for some reason. I found that taking away all the excuses helped. IE we did toilet, drink of water, cuddles, story etc all as part of the routine.

We also had a look at what he was eating before bed. There are some children who are extra sensitive to certain foods before bed and make them difficult for them to settle. There is a really good book called the No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers. It has a whole section on children having trouble actually going to sleep-it also lists foods to avoid.

You might also like to look at the fedup.com.au website and see if there is anything there that could be setting her off. If she seems to be getting more hypo with the lavender bath then perhaps this is an issue.

I did have one night about a year ago where my 5yr old chucked the biggest tanty before bed. I put my youngest in my bed (they share a room) and then closed the door and sat outside for anhour while my eldest trashed his room and finally fell asleep. He was none too pleased when he was made to clean the whole thing up before breakfast the next day. Needless to say we haven't had a real issue since.

I have a 5 year old that does that often, and it has come down to that i read to books to her, and then she is allowed 10 minutes more after that to read by her self.. If she gets out of bed, we place her back and say that her teacher will be sad tomorrow if she is tired and her friends will be sad if she is too tired to play with them...

The other Option is a reward chart and let her know when she has gone to bed for the week and not disturb you just because she doesnt want to go to bed, that she gets a Treat at the end of the week, doesnt need to be a expensive item, and could  be a Trip even to the local park..

Remember you are the Adult and Mum here and she is the little girl that needs to know that you know whats best for her...

xx cazza

Have you tried to just put your foot down and let her throw her tantrum in her room?  tough love always works!!  just explain to her that seh is getting bigger now and has to go to bed with seh is told,  try a reward too, say if seh goes to bed good tonight then seh can stay up another 15 to 30 min. tomorrow.... Bribes always work when tough love dont! LOL