How to Get a Toddler to Sleep Fast
After a long day, many parents wait for their little bundles of joy to go to sleep. But how can you help your child have a peaceful night’s sleep? Here are 10 effective tips which will help provide your child a good nights.
1. Do not feed the kids large meals close to bedtime and avoid giving them anything consisting of caffeine less than 6 hours before their bedtime.
2. Simply avoid all stimulating activities after dinner.
3. Avoid confrontation and aggressive behavior close to bedtime or any other actions that will bring on emotional behavior. Don’t warn or threaten your children to go to bed and sleep faster. It can affect their mental health.
4. Create a relaxing a consistent bedtime routine which basically lasts for 20 to 30 minutes and ends in the bedroom of the child. Simply avoid TV shows and scary stories. It will be better if a parent reads a favorite book as part of the bedtime routine.
5. Do not choose singing or rocking to get the toddlers to sleep fast, as if they wake in the middle of the night you could be creating a routine where the parents to rock or sing them back to sleep this condition is known as sleep-onset association disorder. Rather, parents can help them fall asleep with a transitional object such as stuffed animal or their favorite blanket.
6. Ensure that the child is feeling comfortable before bedtime. Blankets and clothes must not restrict the toddlers’ movement and their bedroom temperature must not be very cold or very warm.
7. If the children call the parents after they have left their room, parents should wait for some time before responding. This will remind the child that the parent is nearby however give the child the opportunity of self-settling, soothing and putting themselves back to sleep.
8. If the children come out of the room after their parents have put them to bed, they need to walk them back and firmly but gently remind them that it is their bedtime.
9. Give the toddlers the tools to overcome their fear. These can incorporate a spray bottle filled with monster spray, a flashlight, and a big stuffed animal for protecting them.
10. You can set up a reward system as well. Every night your child follows the bedtime routine they collect stickers and when they collect a certain number of stickers they get a prize.
Consider Taking Help from an Expert
Prof. Sarah Blunden has researched extensively on children’s sleep. She is an expert in treating children who have trouble sleeping. She has written an awesome book, named ‘Boss of my Sleep for Children’, which discusses how to get a toddler sleep fast. In this book, the Australian animals have shared their bedtime routine, which inspires toddlers to fall asleep. She also suggests rewarding your child with a sticker the next day for having a good night’s sleep. The toddlers once they have achieved a certain number of stickers then get a prize which further reinforces the motivation to follow the bedtime routine.
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