10 Ways to Make Your Toddler’s Sleep a Dream
Weary of your toddler spending sleepless nights? Want to Discover Ways to Make Your Toddler’s Sleep a Dream?
I know where you are coming from. It’s a pestering issue for most parents.
But not anymore. I will discuss hacks to help you send your toddlers to the dream zone.
Mostly, I find that toddlers don’t have a good sleep schedule. Hence, they have fragmented sleep during the night.
However, there may be several other reasons your baby can’t sleep soundly at night.
Read the full article to learn ten tips to improve your baby’s sleep time.
1. Create a Cozy Sleep Environment
Is your child feeling comfy? Maybe not.
It’s a potential reason why toddlers create a ruckus when they should be dreaming.
So, it’s time to act.
Your toddler should rest a bit cozily before they go to sleep. Here are some things that may help your child relax:
- A comfortable mattress
- Stuffed toys of their liking
- Padded beds
- Optimum room temperature
- Soundfree environment
- Neutral or mildly fragrant room odor
- Ambient or dim lighting
Start by turning off the lights. Next, focus on setting a standard room temperature that your toddler likes.
But why do these matter?
All these settings signal that it’s time for them to rest. As their rest is prolonged, they will eventually sleep away.
While your child rests, ensure there is no abnormal sound, too. Toddlers are primarily at their basal metabolic rate. So they have less optimal sleep.
Often, that causes the slightest of the sounds to disturb their sleep at night. That’s why you need innovative Ways to Make Your Toddler’s Sleep a Dream.
To cut off such sounds, you may use a white noise machine.
Pro Tip: Often, external lights permeate the static lighting inside the room. So, try using blackout curtains. These curtains shield any extra light coming from outside.
2. Stick to a Consistent Bedtime Routine
Most toddlers have no routine bedtime. They sleep off whenever they are tired. So, building a good sleeping cycle for your little one is essential.
A bedtime regime helps in this regard. Have a pe sleep schedule for rhyming lullabies or patting on the back, which triggers sleep. Or indulge them with a soothing pre-sleep bath. Gradually establish a calming pre-sleep bedtime routine that you follow every night.
Pro Tip: Don’t put your child to sleep according to your convenience. Instead, build a fixed sleeping time for each night.
3. Set Clear Bedtime Expectations
Setting understandable boundaries can help your toddler understand what’s expected at bedtime.
Simple rules like:
- “Stay in your bed” or
- “It’s time for sleep.”
can be communicated in a gentle, reassuring way. Make sure to communicate these guidelines consistently and with love. I feel there are no better Ways to Make Your Toddler’s Sleep a Dream.
4. Limit Screen Time Before Bed
The blue light from screens can interfere with your child’s natural sleep cycle. Turn off screens at least an hour before bedtime to promote better sleep. Instead, opt for calming activities like reading books together or doing a puzzle.
Pro tip: If your child has screen time while dinner is prepped and ready, it is the perfect time to play! Then, turn screens off before eating- this is a natural end to screen time and ideal timing for bedtime success.
5. Encourage Physical Activity During the Day
A toddler needs mental and physical stimulation each day. Ensure your child has ample opportunities for physical activity throughout the day. Outdoor play, dancing, and running around at the park are great ways to help your toddler expend some of that endless energy!
However, “running your toddler out” is not the answer to easy sleep. Find the balance between enough physical activity and too much!
6. Mind Their Diet
Most infacts don’t have a proper dinner meal. Abbott recently published a study confirming that nutrition balances children’s brains, digestion, and immunity between the ages of 1 and 5.
When they don’t have a nutritious meal, children develop a lack of immunity, gastric issues, and uneasiness. Without clear symptomatic signals, most of these issues go undetected. And you keep on scratching, searching Ways to Make Your Toddler’s Sleep a Dream.
Children are likelier to be shifted to the dreamland with a full belly.
7. Be a Sleep Role Model
Parents strongly influence the regular habits of babies. So, your child will become a night owl if you are like that, too.
It’s time you changed. Firstly, begin with setting a bedtime. Then, set an example for your child too.
Talk about cherishing your sleep time, too. Hence, they will start thinking of night’s sleep as a time to enjoy.
Children need at least 11 to 12 hours of deep sleep at night. They may sleep up to 3 hours during the daytime, but only a little.
A strong adult habit of 8 hours of strain-free sleep will inculcate similar habits among toddlers.
8. Use Positive Reinforcement
Don’t nag your child with force or voice to sleep every night. Instead, use positive reinforcement techniques to make them look forward to night’s sleep.
Here are some examples of the same:
- Make a sticker chart for your toddler. This is one of many Ways to Make Your Toddler’s Sleep a Dream. Give your child one sticker daily if they go off to sleep, following their schedule.
- Frequently, make them their favorite meals if they follow their sleep schedule every night.
This visual reward system helps motivate your toddler by providing a clear and tangible goal. If these steps are hard to follow, you may affirm them too. Simple affirmations like, “You did a fantastic job getting ready for bed tonight!” or “I’m so proud of how well you followed our bedtime routine,” can boost their confidence and reinforce positive behavior.
However, these steps might not work, as well. Often, psychological issues prompt children to stay awake.
Maybe they saw a bad dream the other way. Or, I watched horror content somewhere.
Such occasions call for sensible treatment. Begin by caressing them. Try to find out why they feel disturbed. Foremostly, don’t nudge or pester them. Use kind words, build a storyline, or reiterate incidents that may have disturbed them.
You can teach your toddler some easy steps to follow their bedtime. For example, set an alarm. Then, make them remember the sound of it.
That’s simple. Poke them every day when the alarm rings. Eventually, they’ll know that the sound means it’s time to go to bed.
This approach helps maintain a positive atmosphere around bedtime, making it easier for your child to develop positive sleep habits and look forward to bedtime as a time of achievement and success.
9. Offer Comfort and Reassurance
Fear and anxiety may grab children at night. If you pester them to sleep, it will induce even greater stress. More superficial things like the transition from day to night often worry them.
There are not many ways to take away these feelings from them. Now and then, children will encounter something new.
But you may use kind words and patting gestures to make them feel safe and comfortable. Also, speak with them in a calm and soft tone.
Moreover, they stay around them until they fall deep asleep.
The bottom line is to reassure them with your presence around them.
Phrases like “I’m right here with you” or “You are safe and loved” can provide the emotional security they need to feel at ease.
I prefer a simple pat on the back or a gentle touch to make your presence felt.
Additionally, maintaining a consistent bedtime routine can significantly aid in creating a sense of security for your toddler.
Establish a series of calming activities, such as
- reading a favorite bedtime story,
- brushing teeth, or
- singing a lullaby and
- stick to this routine each night.
Over time, this predictable pattern will help your child understand that bedtime is a safe and comforting time for rest.
Creating a cozy and inviting sleep environment with a favorite stuffed animal or a soft nightlight can reinforce their sense of security.
By offering reassurance and maintaining consistency, you help your child build a positive association with bedtime, fostering a peaceful and restful sleep experience.
10. Address Sleep Issues Early
When you notice persistent sleep issues with your toddler, it’s crucial to tackle them early. Sometimes, what appears to be a temporary phase might indicate a more serious problem that won’t improve without intervention.
Reach out to your pediatrician or a sleep consultant specializing in toddler sleep to ensure your child gets the rest they need and explore additional strategies for improving their sleep.
By implementing these ten tips from Tiny Duck Parenting, you can transform your toddler’s sleep routine from a nightly struggle into a peaceful and enjoyable experience for you and your child.
Remember, every child is unique, so finding what works best for your family may take trial and error. Be patient, stay consistent, and celebrate the small victories along the way.
Epilogue
This article was written by Jennie Boone, Founder and CEO of Tiny Duck Parenting. Jennie specializes in teaching toddlers and children to learn to sleep independently and through the night with her premier program, The Week to Sleep. Armed with a Bachelor’s Degree in Child and Adolescent Development, Jennie’s journey with toddler sleep began when she encountered a family struggling with a toddler’s bedtime woes.
Seeing a gap in resources for toddlers, she became a certified sleep consultant and developed the Week to Sleep, tailored explicitly for toddlers in open beds. Her expertise has won her recognition on Mommy Mingle, Parentville, buybuybaby, and the Google Employee Resource Group. Jennie’s mission is to simplify bedtime routines and promote healthy sleep habits for children, fostering their optimal development.
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