Keep your toddler in their room: whether or not they’re always actually asleep for their entire nap or nightly session, staying in their room will help solidify your toddler’s schedule. Try a pre-sleep routine: A relaxing wind down session can work wonders. Before bed, lay with your toddler and sing lullabies or read with them. This’ll set a natural, healthy sleep regiment, and over time, your routine will help them prepare to sleep. Make sure sleep happens in bed: the more routine and order you can bring to nap time and bedtime, the better. Stroller and car seat naps, for example, can throw them out of whack. Do your best to save sleeping for their bedroom!
Do light chores in their bedroom: quietly start putting away clothes and toys around their room. This can help them wake up in a slow, natural way. Climb into their bed: lay next to them, scratching their back or humming a tune. That way, they wake up peacefully, with their favorite person by their side. Open the blinds: gently open your child’s window to let in some daylight. If they don’t wake up in a couple minutes, gradually open them more and more. Sing a lullaby: enter your child’s bedroom singing a soft tune. Over time, let your voice get a little louder to encourage them to wake up.
On a related note, don’t call out their bad mood. Saying things like “Wow, aren’t you grumpy today!” might just encourage them to dig their heels in. Keep it positive instead!
The key here is to keep the routine consistent and positive. You want your toddler to be able to expect similar wake-up schedules and on top of that, you want them to expect to have a nice, relaxing time.
Plus, when your toddler is able to control their emotions through breathing exercises, they’re self-regulating. This means that in the future, they’ll feel more empowered to soothe themselves, too.
Or, if you’re having your child sleep closer to 120 minutes, dial it back. Try waking them up at 90 minutes from here on out, and see if their nightly sleep improves.
The most important thing is that your toddler is getting enough sleep in a day. On the whole though, most parents put their toddlers down between 6 p. m. and 8 p. m. each night.
Clamping down curtains and unplugging nightlights can be a great way to turn your room pitch black. If you know your home is going to be a little noisy, try playing white noise for your toddler, so they’re not too overstimulated to sleep. Then, make sure your thermostat shows ~65°F to 70°F (18°C to 22°C), because this’ll make for perfect sleep conditions for your little one.
If you make your nighttime visits too exciting or too long, you might be accidentally training your toddler to stay up, so that they “earn” extra time with you. So in short, keep it short!
The stricter the sleep schedule you set, the smoother things will run. Set a consistent nap time, wake them up close to the same time each day, and tuck them in overnight at a set bedtime, too.
