Top 10 Ways To Make Your Toddler Sleep Well
Sometimes, even healthy toddlers might have sleeping problems as they go through different stages of growth and development.
If your toddler is giving you sleepless nights, the reasons could be manifold. He might be suffering from teething or an ear infection, which prevents him from sleeping soundly at night. Sometimes, it could be issues like fear of darkness or being alone. Whatever the reason is, the situation is neither good for the baby nor for you and your family!
Toddler Sleep Problems:
Toddler sleep issues are common, so you should not be too worried. At the same time, do not treat this lightly; it is very essential that a toddler gets 12 hours of sleep in a day. If anything less, they become more vulnerable to other chronic diseases in later life. Let us look at some of the common sleeping problems in toddlers and possible solutions for them.
1. Bed time revolt:
Most toddlers don’t want the day to end; they keep on playing and resisting sleep, as they are not mature enough to realize that their body needs rest. Sometimes they might fight sleep so hard that they would incessantly cry to the point of getting sick. They may want to test their control over others and staying awake might be the easiest way to do so.
Solution:
First, does not succumb to your toddler’s demands, as this would teach her the wrong lesson about authority and boundaries. If she tells you that she wants to continue playing, strike a bargain – tell her she can play for ten minutes and after that she should be ready to sleep. If necessary, dim the lighting in your baby’s room, put on some soothing music and sleep along your toddler in her bed.
2. Wakes up mid-sleep:
Some toddlers wake up in the midst of the night and get all panicky. This usually occurs when their sleep cycle comes to an end and after waking up, they find no one to look after them. They may get scared and start crying.
Solution:
Give your toddler a chance to fall asleep again on his own. Otherwise, just give him a pat and console that everything is fine, let him feel safe and then he might simply sleep again. You might also give them a soft toy to soothe them.
3. Wakes up too early:
So your toddler wakes up with the birds and the rising sun. It is quite understandable that his sleep reduces as he grows up, but is that the only reason? Sometimes, the reason may be hunger, nappy issues or issues like an insect bite. Besides, there might be a lot of disturbance like noise and piercing sunlight in the room.
Solution:
It is common for you to hope that your toddler wakes up late, so that you can finish your daily chores while your baby is still asleep! If you want this to happen, first check if your toddler’s required hours of sleep are getting fulfilled. If yes, try to alter the sleeping time at night. By delaying sleep by 1-2 hours at night, you will be happy to find him wake up late in the morning.
4. Shuns afternoon naps
A power nap in the afternoon can help your toddler remain in good spirit the entire day. As a parent, you can understand this so easily, but it is difficult to make your tot understand the same. All children resist afternoon naps without realizing that after some rest they can start playing with double vigor!
Solution:
In this situation, forcing your child to bed may not be helpful. Instead, get him to be active in the morning. Take him to a park or a Playgroup, which will keep him on his toes. This will get him exhausted (in a good way) and ready to take a siesta in the noon.
5. Too timid to sleep:
We have all been there; your child is too afraid of being alone in a room that is not bright and light. Well, darkness does make even familiar things look strange and alien! He might be afraid of ghosts and monsters because he might have seen something scary or might be getting bullied. Moreover, such fears might be also due to his imagination, which toddlers have in plenty!
Solution:
are common at this age. Soothe your toddler by pacifying him and making him relaxed. Make their sleeping time as cheerful as possible and read them happy stories or stories about kids dealing with monsters triumphantly. Try to check the room and show them that there is nothing to worry. More assurance is needed to make them strong and less afraid of such imaginations.
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