Your toddler is learning new skills each day and is learning to exercise her independence. While her tricks are exciting and amusing during the daytime hours, at nighttime, your patience may wear thin. When trying to train your toddler to sleep at night, you need to take into consideration her individual needs as a child. The National Sleep Foundation notes that toddlers and preschoolers need more sleep than adults, so make sure your toddler gets into an ideal sleeping pattern for her health and your sanity.
Offer Choices
Bedtime can often seem like a struggle for parents and toddlers alike. This is because your toddler is growing in his need for independence. All throughout the day, he is allowed to test his new skills by choosing toys, snacks and activities .At nighttime, it may seem like all of the decisions are made for him. You place him in bed, shut off the light and close the door. Offering him choices before bedtime, like what blanket to sleep with, the position of the lights or bedtime music, can help him feel more in control and less likely to have a tantrum at bedtime.
Bedtime Routine
A consistent bedtime routine prepares your toddler's body and mind for sleep, according to BabyCenter. It's important that you signal a slowing in activity and time for bed by partaking in nightly rituals that tell your toddler to calm down. A warm bath, a lullaby, a story or a short massage can calm your toddler and allow her to get used to the process of bedtime. When she finally climbs into bed, she's relaxed and knows that sleep is the next natural step.
Drowsy But Awake
As a parent, you probably love to rock your little one to sleep. In fact, it might be a nightly ritual that you've had since your toddler was a newborn. Unfortunately, when you rock your toddler to sleep, you teach him that he needs movement and soothing in order to fall asleep. When he wakes in the night, he lacks the ability to soothe himself back to sleep. Always put your toddler to bed when he is drowsy and prepared for bed, but not yet asleep. This teaches him to fall asleep by himself, which will keep him calm when he wakes in the night, according to pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene.
Assess Naps
Your toddler's sleep problems may have less to do with what goes on at night than they do with what goes on in the day. Think about the amount of naps that your toddler has and where they are situated throughout the day. Perhaps you can cut an afternoon nap so your toddler is more tired when it's bedtime, or maybe you can push a nap forward to an earlier hour so it doesn't disrupt bedtime, suggests Dr. William Sears, Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. Try arranging naps differently to see whether it makes bedtime an easier affair.
