Sometimes getting your little one down to sleep can feel like a struggle. Sleepless nights don’t always end when your child is a baby, with many toddlers finding it hard to get a good rest. If you’ve been having problems then this blog could really help you out.
Whether your child has been having sleepless nights for a while or this is a recent development, these top tips might be just what you’ve been looking for to get them to fall into a deep slumber.
Start with their bed
Just like goldilocks, having the perfect sized bed for your toddler will do a lot for their sleep schedule. If their bed is too small or too big, they could become restless and wake themselves up in the night. It’s also important to pay attention to the quality of their mattress and whether they have too many blankets or not enough. Being too hot or cold is a big reason why children find it hard to sleep, but they might not always be able to articulate why. Sometimes a bit of trial and error is needed to get things right, so don’t assume that the way their bed is set up is perfect automatically.
Have a routine
Getting your toddler to go to sleep at the same time each night can help them to get more hours of sleep. If they’re going to bed too late on the weekends and then having to go earlier before they go to school or nursery, it’s likely that they’ll struggle to fall asleep. It can also help to have the same routine leading up to bedtime, such as having a snack, then a shower and finally reading a book before the lights go out. This will help your kids prepare themselves for sleep each night.
Reduce screen time before bed
While lots of children might want to watch a cartoon before they go to sleep, it’s best to turn off their electronic devices a couple of hours before they go to sleep. The blue light in these devices can make your kids less sleepy, so try to make reading or playing a board game a part of your evening routine rather than watching TV.
Reduce noise and light
Lots of parents play soothing music for their children while they sleep, or keep a night light on until the morning. While this can be comforting for some children if yours isn’t sleeping as well as they should, try to make the room as dark and as quiet as possible. You might not realize it, but these external stimuli could be encouraging your toddler to stay awake for longer.
Speak to a doctor
If your child is really having trouble sleeping for an extended period of time or complaining about night terrors, take them to a doctor. It’s likely to be nothing serious, but a professional opinion can go a long way and might help you nip the problem in the bud.
Do your kids have a good night sleep?
*Disclosure: Collaborative Post
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
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Great tips, ive always been lucky with my daughter always been a brilliant sleeper
Dark room is problematic for us since Joe started to get scared in the dark. We have this start projector – supercute! Also I’ve used some tips from this great book I got lately: https://www.parental-love.com/shop/toddler-sleep-training and – besides darkness problems – she is a great sleeper now. Although you may be right – maybe we should get a simple lamp and use the projector during the routine, not the sleeping.
I also used Susan Urban’s book, she’s the best! Those are just simple tips but you can see the effect pretty fast!
My kids have their up and downs sleeps wise. they go through stages sometimes sleeping sometimes devloping patterns of not sleeping, wanting to with mummy being scared. I am thinking of the trying blue light.
Fantastic tips. I definitely agree about having a bedtime routine plus its a lovely opportunity to share books with our little ones. #KCACOLS
Good tips. Are you going to do a teenage post too? (that’s only half a joke there….) #KCACOLS
Lol
Great tips, I have written a similar post based on my experiences#kcacols@_karendennis
Toddlers shouldn’t have to sleep alone. It’s scary and it’s not done in most of the world. #KCACOLS
Routine definitely helped us and trying to keep things calm as my boys always had a crazy half hour after dinner. #KCACOLS
Great tips! I completely agree with having a routine. It makes life so much easier if you have a routine and stick with it.
I’d say I’ve been lucky with my daughter because she sleeps 12 hours a night most nights and has done since she was around 1, only waking occasionally when she’s had a nightmare/temperature but I think it’s not all down to luck it’s down to routine. We were so strict with her napping/bedtime routine for the first few years of her life, it’s only now she’s 4 that we’ve gotten a little bit more flexible. We got a lot of judgement for how rigid we were with her but it’s paid dividends as she sleeps so well which means so do we.
Katrina x
#KCACOLS
Routine is key. We had a white noise maker that played ocean sounds for my daughter and I found it so soothing it would put me right out through the monitor every night #KCACOLS
These are great tips. I don’t have a toddler anymore, but I sure do have to snuggle with my pre-schooler every night. My youngest 3 have always sneaked in to our room in the early mornings to sleep with us. At least 2 of the 5 had good sleeping habits! #kcacols
I do love rountine and so do my kids and it has helped them have a positive sleep pattern. X #kcacols
Great tips as always Franca! I think routine was key in our house. It’s amazing how much easier it is to settle a young child when their bedtime and what happens before bed is consistent. We always read before bed instead of screens, that definitely helped too. #KCACOLS