Getting a Toddler to Sleep at Night

Mornings can be a mad rush in most homes, especially those where you have toddlers and young children. Kids who are groggy or grumpy in the morning because they haven’t had enough sleep can easily add to the chaos. Putting kids to bed and making them sleep early is the key to avoiding morning tantrums.

Every parent knows how difficult it can be to put them to bed; the endless and exhausting battles include the typical responses “I’m not sleepy now”, “Just 10 more minutes” and a plain stubborn refusal to close eyes.

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You can’t force sleep

As an adult, you know how difficult it can be for you to sleep when you are not sleepy or excited about something, even though you know you have to get up early next morning for work. Isn’t it much more difficult for kids, who are not worried at all about morning wake-up to go to daycare/school?

You can’t force them to sleep. So what can you do? Persuade, encourage and coax them to go off to dreamland! How do you do it? Here are a few tips on what you can do to get kids to bed for a healthy nighttime sleep.

         v  Bedtime routine: Establish a bedtime routine. Most adults have a routine they follow before going to bed and kids need one too. This could include, but need not be limited to – reading for a while, having a glass of milk or another suitable snack, a warm bath, etc. 

              v  No lighting: The light produced by the displays on TV, tablets, computers, video games etc., is a proven factor of disruption to sleep. Make it a rule that all activities involving electronics must stop at least one hour before bedtime. Impress upon them that dark is best for good sleep and make them get used to it.

                       

            v  Stuffed animal companions: Kids love to keep stuffed animals as companions in bed when they sleep. Parents often try to wean kids away from these toys, as over-reliance on them to assist sleep is bad. However, they do provide comfort and security to small children. Let them be for a couple of years. Most children outgrow the need for these ‘companions’ naturally in course of time. 

             v  Right temperature: Make sure that the bedroom is at a comfortable temperature.  This varies from child to child but somewhere between 65 to 70 degrees is normally right for most kids.

             v  Relaxation techniques: Even small kids can be tense and worried. If your child is unable to unwind and relax at bedtime, there are useful meditation techniques and yoga exercises before bedtime to help them unwind. You can find, online, information about these and other relaxation techniques for young children.

             

             v  Sleep duration: Children below the preschool age need about twelve hours of nighttime sleep. Set up a fixed bedtime and stick to it. If a toddler has to get up at 8 am, she should be in bed by 8 pm. 

         

     Remember, you can’t force sleep! You can just provide the environment for sleep and encourage kids to practice the ideas given above.

     Children who want to go to daycare will be least troublesome in the mornings. That means you need to find a care center that suits your child. It can be a tiresome process, but luckily, there are now online resources that can help you find and contact daycares in your area; you can easily select the one that you feel is right.