Understanding children and their bedtime needs support parents in setting a good nighty-night schedule for them. This in turn supports them in their physical, mental and emotional development. However, not all toddlers sleep the whole night through, much to the detriment of the parents!
Toddlers need about 10-14 hours of sleep every night and one or two naps during the day. And as parents may know, a well-rested toddler means a happy household. If your youngster isn’t rested, or happy, it usually means no one is happy! So, in an effort to keep your kiddo down for the night, we came up with this little article.
How to Get My Toddler To Sleep Through The Night
1) Create a bedtime ritual
Toddlers seem to do well with a set schedule and routine. This means having meals, naps and playtime at specific hours during the day until they are used to their schedule. Bedtime varies from family to family, but in our household it was comprised of three different phases: preparation, goodnight and sleepy-time.
Preparation usually began about 20 minutes before bed, where my daughter would shower, brush her teeth, and get her blankets and stuffed animals in order. The next phase was the goodnight time: she had this habit of going to everyone in the house to give hugs and kisses (even though everyone often came to tuck her in once she laid down a few minutes later).
Eventually, she would lay down but would often play for a bit with her hands, or by talking to herself, or by trying to engage me in conversation. Finally, the last phase came about (my most favorite one); sleep-time occurred when she began to close her eyes and doze off. All in all, the ritual took about 30-40 minutes or so. But it made her happy and she slept in her bed after a few nights of practice.
For the first few nights she woke up once or twice, and would climb into mommy’s bed, but this is where I, with eyes half shut, would walk her patiently back to her bed and wait for her to fall asleep. It took some time in the beginning, but it was better than getting punched and kicked all night!
2) Training
In the beginning, your child may cry, sob and express their discontent with the new schedule and sleeping in their own bed. Your job as a parent is to allow them to disapprove and throw their tantrums without deviating from the plan! It can be a bit difficult in the beginning, but over time your child will get the message and eventually will come to accept the new sleepy-time schedule and their bed!
3) Be consistent and repeat daily
Consistency is a big part of implementing a new schedule for your little one. Be consistent and repeat as necessary. Think of it like you would exercise: you can’t exercise once for 45 minutes and then never exercise again and keep the same physical results. Practice, patience and consistency are the keys to your child’s peaceful new bedtime customs. If you have started implementing the “stay in your bed” rule and “sleep the whole night through,” keep at it. You have nothing to lose!
4) If your child refuses to sleep without you being there, get creative.
One of the things that really supported me in raising my child was making her think it was her idea to sleep in her own bed. Sneaky, I know, but it did work. I would give her a choice of course, and then she would make her choice. For example, I would tell her, “You can either sleep in mommy’s room tonight and not play in the park tomorrow, or you can sleep in your own bed and play in the park tomorrow.” Obviously playing in the park was something very important to my daughter; she liked socialising with the other children in our neighborhood.
5) Stick to your guns AND your schedule/routine
Sometimes the hardest thing a parent can do is say no to their child. We want them to be happy, we want them to feel loved, but sometimes saying no to your child is the only way to get your point across. A lack of boundaries, especially with your youngster, invites a lack of respect.
When supporting your child into a new transition, whether that is getting them to sleep the whole night through or to simply sleep in their own bed, stick to your guns; no means no, rules are rules and though your child may resist the changes in the beginning, it eventually will support them and you in the long run.
As with all things, find out what works best for you and your child. Your youngster may respond better to certain methods than others. Either way, remember to practice, be consistent and to be patient; it will all pay off in the end!
About Little Human Scholars School and Daycare Centre in PJ
Little Human Scholars is an all-in-one childcare solution. It is a preschool, playschool, kindergarten, nursery and full day daycare centre (with extended hours) located in the heart of PJ.
In fact, the location is one of the things which makes Little Human Scholars so sought after – it is conveniently nestled near Jalan Gasing, University hospital, PJ Old town, PJ New town, Jaya One, Jaya33, and the PJ IT Mall.
The best part is LHS has premiere services many other schools in PJ don’t offer such as full day daycare with extended hours, CCTV access for parents, and a nifty little phone app called Toddlytic which provides parents with automatic updates on their child’s development, behaviour and health checks.
With full-time guards always present at each of their locations, access to CCTV (which is in every room except the office, bathroom and kitchen areas), and very strict pick-up and drop-off rules, Little Human Scholars treats every child who walks into it’s hallways as one of their own children!
This place has it all: location, safety, health, IGSCE curriculum and play-based learning. What more could you ask for? Did I mention they also have transportation services and offer meal plans for students? It doesn’t get any better than that.
If you are interested in a tour of one of our centres (that’s right, there’s more than one), all you need to do is fill out the form here or call +6017-7303-025 and a LHS administrative staff will get back with you shortly!
Cheers,
Jana Moreno