Most toddlers take forever to fall asleep, and usually, the dad or the mom will have to lay down with the toddler, or there will be crying all night long. If you are a bit luckier, your toddler will fall asleep in one or two hours, but they can wake up a few hours later. This will lead to repeating the whole routine, or the toddler will climb into this/her parents’ bed.
All these issues will lead to your toddler not sleeping well, and also, you won’t be sleeping well. You, as a parent, will be exhausted and frustrated because none of you is getting enough sleep, and you have to repeat the bedtime routine over and over again without having the desired results. It will be tough to accept that this little human has all the power over you but don’t worry, a change can happen.
First of all, you must know that there isn’t any magic approach, and if something works for one toddler, it might not work for another one. Don’t let yourself get misled by advice like trying a weighted blanket, or giving your toddler melatonin, or moving your toddler into an adult bed. All of those things will work for few days, and after that, you will be back where you started in the beginning.
It will take few things to change some of the toddler’s behaviors, including his/her sleeping habits. What the toddler needs is firm boundaries, consistency, and fast response when the toddler does not meet the expectations. Below you will find ways to make those changes lasting and why you need to do what you need to do.
1. Maintain firm boundaries
You need to be consistent and clear about what you expect from your child, that way, the child will understand how to accomplish those expectations. For instance, maintaining a consistent bedtime routine and bedtime is very important. The toddler will learn when it’s time for bed, and it will be harder for him/her to fight and stall the bedtime if it happens at the same time every day. Another thing that can be confusing for the toddler is when you let them sleep in your bed, but then the next day, you want them to sleep in their bed. That is why the toddler needs to have one consistent place for sleeping, especially when your goal is for him/her to start sleeping in his/her bed.
2. Don’t make a big deal when the toddler’s behavior is not ideal.
You are reinforcing bad behavior if you give your attention to it. Naturally, you would want to encourage good behavior, and therefore you should give your full attention when the toddler is doing something right. On the other hand, you don’t want the toddler to repeat his/her bad behaviors like crawling into your bed in the middle of the night. This means that when you get mad at your toddler for crawling into your bed, you are reinforcing that behavior because the toddler managed to get your attention. The toddler doesn’t care if it is positive or negative as long as he/she has your attention. What you need to do is not express emotion and return the toddler back to his/her bed.
And if your toddler tends to wake up very early, like 5 am, if you allow that, you are reinforcing that behavior. You can buy the OK to Wake clock, which will turn green when it is time for the toddler to wake up. You must teach your toddler to lay in bed before his/her wake-up time comes unless there is an emergency, of course. And when it is wake up time, you can go into the toddler’s room, and you two can prepare for the day.
3. Let the toddler know that his/her bad behavior will have consequences
If you have tried both of the methods above and there is still no progress with your toddler’s sleeping routine, the following method might be the one for you. Your toddler’s bad behavior needs to have consequences, which should firm up your boundaries and make your expectations easier to accomplish. Bear in mind that we are not talking about any sort of physical punishment here. Toddlers are still learning the difference between wrong and right behavior; therefore, you should give them a warning when they are not making the right choice. If your toddler is being stubborn and continues to repeat bad actions such as not sleeping in his/her bed or keeps crawling into your bed in the middle of the night, it might be time for you to implant some consequences.
Anything that is not so pleasant for your toddler can be considered as a consequence. There is no specific consequence you can use for all toddlers because they are not all the same. What you need to do is choose something that will work on your toddler, still be careful not to get them angry or scared. It is very likely that the consequence will upset the toddler, and tears and screaming might appear. But if you stay strong and have a consistent routine about your expectations, the progress will be apparent in a few days. It will all be worth it.
Yes, it is going to be tough to deal with the toddler’s bad temper or him/her waking up in the middle of the night, but if you make changes to your routine soon, you will see the positive changes. Can you imagine your toddler acknowledging its bedtime? I mean, wouldn’t that be just amazing. The toddler is going to bed without any fight, and you have the time to lay back and relax for once.
Sleep training is worth all the time that it will take because once your kid stops resisting, you will have your kid in his/her bed by 9 pm, and you can go and have the much-needed rest for yourself. Hopefully out methods will work on your toddler.
