I’d like to introduce Ronee Welch of Sleeptastic Solutions. She’s a pediatric sleep consultant in the Lehigh Valley, PA area. A little over a week ago, I wrote this post on my Facebook page. Everyone had such amazing questions that Ronee is offering all of my readers a special that is amazing, regardless of where you live.
Meanwhile, the most popular questions seemed to be about getting toddlers to sleep, so that’s where her post is focused today.
5 Steps to
Getting Your Toddler to Sleep
Getting Your Toddler to Sleep
Anyone who’s ever had a
toddler knows how frustrating, demanding, and tiring they are, yet they can
also be sweet, curious, and full of energy (energy that we wish we had to keep
up with them)! While their many
questions and silly antics are welcomed throughout the day, we tend not to
appreciate these things when it’s time for bed.
toddler knows how frustrating, demanding, and tiring they are, yet they can
also be sweet, curious, and full of energy (energy that we wish we had to keep
up with them)! While their many
questions and silly antics are welcomed throughout the day, we tend not to
appreciate these things when it’s time for bed.
Even before your toddler could
talk, he/she was already trying out different tactics for not going to sleep,
needing you during the night, or anything else that they felt would get your
attention. Older babies often figure out
how things work by doing such things as crying to get Mommy to come back for
comforting or throwing out a pacifier or favorite toy to get you to come back
and return that item to them. Getting a toddler to sleep is harder than you think. You definitely can’t give them the sorts of prouducts you find on sites like https://thegreenace.ca/product-category/concentrates/, but it may come in handy for myself if I ever find getting to sleep to be difficult.
talk, he/she was already trying out different tactics for not going to sleep,
needing you during the night, or anything else that they felt would get your
attention. Older babies often figure out
how things work by doing such things as crying to get Mommy to come back for
comforting or throwing out a pacifier or favorite toy to get you to come back
and return that item to them. Getting a toddler to sleep is harder than you think. You definitely can’t give them the sorts of prouducts you find on sites like https://thegreenace.ca/product-category/concentrates/, but it may come in handy for myself if I ever find getting to sleep to be difficult.
So what can a tired,
sleep-deprived parent do to quickly and quietly get their little one to sleep
in their own bed and stay there all night until a decent time in the morning? While there’s no magic cure, doing the
following 5 things will greatly help:
sleep-deprived parent do to quickly and quietly get their little one to sleep
in their own bed and stay there all night until a decent time in the morning? While there’s no magic cure, doing the
following 5 things will greatly help:
1)
Turn off
all electronics an hour before bed. Not only does watching TV or playing video
games stimulate young minds, but any light, including artificial electronic
light, can trick their minds into thinking that it’s time to get up instead of
go to sleep. You want to not only turn
off the TV, computer, video games, and other electronic devices, but also turn
the lights lower and keep excitement to a minimum near bedtime.
Turn off
all electronics an hour before bed. Not only does watching TV or playing video
games stimulate young minds, but any light, including artificial electronic
light, can trick their minds into thinking that it’s time to get up instead of
go to sleep. You want to not only turn
off the TV, computer, video games, and other electronic devices, but also turn
the lights lower and keep excitement to a minimum near bedtime.
2)
Develop a
great bedtime routine.
The key to a good bedtime routine is that it’s consistent every night so
that the child knows what to expect and when.
Reading stories are always great since they tend to make them sleepy and
keep them sitting still for more than 30 seconds!
Develop a
great bedtime routine.
The key to a good bedtime routine is that it’s consistent every night so
that the child knows what to expect and when.
Reading stories are always great since they tend to make them sleepy and
keep them sitting still for more than 30 seconds!
a.
If your child doesn’t have a favorite “lovey” or toy of
some sort, it’s never too early or too late to introduce one. It helps the child feel that they’re not
alone after you’ve left the room for the night.
Offer your child choices when getting ready for bed, such as which pair
of pajamas to wear or which story you should read first. Make sure the choices are all acceptable to
you before offering them so that anything your child picks will be fine with
you. Toddlers love to be independent and
feel like they’re in charge, so the more decisions you can involve them in, the
less likely they are to fight with you.
If your child doesn’t have a favorite “lovey” or toy of
some sort, it’s never too early or too late to introduce one. It helps the child feel that they’re not
alone after you’ve left the room for the night.
Offer your child choices when getting ready for bed, such as which pair
of pajamas to wear or which story you should read first. Make sure the choices are all acceptable to
you before offering them so that anything your child picks will be fine with
you. Toddlers love to be independent and
feel like they’re in charge, so the more decisions you can involve them in, the
less likely they are to fight with you.
b.
Double check that the child’s room environment is
conducive to a good night’s rest. As
your child grows, her sleep needs may change.
For instance, she may have been fine with your closing the door for the
first 3 years of her life and then one day she decides that now she’s scared
and wants the door open and a nightlight on.
It’s very common around the older toddler/young preschooler age, because
their imaginations are getting more vivid and things like nightmares can really
have an effect on them. So listen to
your child and try (within reason) to be accommodating to their new needs.
Double check that the child’s room environment is
conducive to a good night’s rest. As
your child grows, her sleep needs may change.
For instance, she may have been fine with your closing the door for the
first 3 years of her life and then one day she decides that now she’s scared
and wants the door open and a nightlight on.
It’s very common around the older toddler/young preschooler age, because
their imaginations are getting more vivid and things like nightmares can really
have an effect on them. So listen to
your child and try (within reason) to be accommodating to their new needs.
c.
White noise machines can also be a wonderful addition to
help your child go to sleep and stay asleep.
The rhythmic sounds it produces not only helps your child drift off to
dreamland, but it also helps to block out the everyday, outside noises that
often wake our children up too early in the morning.
White noise machines can also be a wonderful addition to
help your child go to sleep and stay asleep.
The rhythmic sounds it produces not only helps your child drift off to
dreamland, but it also helps to block out the everyday, outside noises that
often wake our children up too early in the morning.
For more on creating a good
bedtime routine, please go to my most recent blog for more examples of them,
how to create a good one, and to find out the number of hours your child should
be sleeping in a 24-hr period (http://sleeptasticsolutions.blogspot.com/).
bedtime routine, please go to my most recent blog for more examples of them,
how to create a good one, and to find out the number of hours your child should
be sleeping in a 24-hr period (http://sleeptasticsolutions.blogspot.com/).
3)
Set boundaries. Yes, children like to push boundaries, but
they need boundaries in which to push!
If you’re not setting boundaries for your little one, thinking you’re
being a “nice parent”, I promise you you’re doing more harm than good. Children really do enjoy boundaries because
it allows them to know what’s expected of them and gives them the liberty to
make their own decisions regarding it.
Now this is where the pushing of the boundaries comes in! Part of being a toddler is figuring out
what’s going to work and what’s not, when it comes to getting away with things
and getting what they want.
Set boundaries. Yes, children like to push boundaries, but
they need boundaries in which to push!
If you’re not setting boundaries for your little one, thinking you’re
being a “nice parent”, I promise you you’re doing more harm than good. Children really do enjoy boundaries because
it allows them to know what’s expected of them and gives them the liberty to
make their own decisions regarding it.
Now this is where the pushing of the boundaries comes in! Part of being a toddler is figuring out
what’s going to work and what’s not, when it comes to getting away with things
and getting what they want.
4)
Implement
consequences. Now that you’ve
set your boundaries with your child, you must follow through with consequences
for unwanted behaviors. If you tell your
child not to get out of bed once you put them there for the night and he does
it anyway, you need to be prepared to do something about it. For instance, if you threaten to close the
door because he gets up, then you must be prepared to actually close the door
for a minute or two. Empty threats are
just as bad as having none at all since your child will just continue with
those undesired behaviors partially because he can and partially because he
knows you won’t do anything about it. It
often only takes a couple of times of following through with your consequences
for your child to know that you’re serious before they move on to finding new
things to test you on!
Implement
consequences. Now that you’ve
set your boundaries with your child, you must follow through with consequences
for unwanted behaviors. If you tell your
child not to get out of bed once you put them there for the night and he does
it anyway, you need to be prepared to do something about it. For instance, if you threaten to close the
door because he gets up, then you must be prepared to actually close the door
for a minute or two. Empty threats are
just as bad as having none at all since your child will just continue with
those undesired behaviors partially because he can and partially because he
knows you won’t do anything about it. It
often only takes a couple of times of following through with your consequences
for your child to know that you’re serious before they move on to finding new
things to test you on!
5)
Be
consistent! The most
important thing to remember with toddlers is consistency! You’ve set the boundaries, told of possible
consequences should those boundaries be tested, but now comes the hard part – being
consistent EVERY time she tests you! If
you follow through once or twice with the consequences but then stop doing so,
she will go right back to continuing to test you with that issue instead of
just dropping it and moving on to something new. This is also true for how you handle night
wakings, middle of the night visits to your room, or early morning
wakings. If you don’t want your child to
visit your bed at night, then don’t allow it – ever! It only takes 3 nights to develop a new, bad
habit so be careful how you respond in all situations. This doesn’t mean that if your child is sick
or scared that you don’t comfort her, but do it in HER bedroom and not
yours.
Be
consistent! The most
important thing to remember with toddlers is consistency! You’ve set the boundaries, told of possible
consequences should those boundaries be tested, but now comes the hard part – being
consistent EVERY time she tests you! If
you follow through once or twice with the consequences but then stop doing so,
she will go right back to continuing to test you with that issue instead of
just dropping it and moving on to something new. This is also true for how you handle night
wakings, middle of the night visits to your room, or early morning
wakings. If you don’t want your child to
visit your bed at night, then don’t allow it – ever! It only takes 3 nights to develop a new, bad
habit so be careful how you respond in all situations. This doesn’t mean that if your child is sick
or scared that you don’t comfort her, but do it in HER bedroom and not
yours.
There are no perfect
solutions for all children, but hopefully these tips will help you all gain some
sleep.
solutions for all children, but hopefully these tips will help you all gain some
sleep.
If you’d like to learn more
about what you can do to help your child sleep fantastically through the night,
please visit my website at www.sleeptasticsolutions.com and
“like” my Facebook page for great
tips, promotions, and giveaways! There,
you can learn more about me, the Sleep Sense philosophy, my packages, and
contact me directly. I would be happy to
set up a time for a FREE 15-min phone evaluation where you can tell me more
about your child’s sleep issues! Also, because I think Kristina is awesome, I
am going to give her followers a $25 discount off of any package from now until
8/31/14. Just mention “Kristina Grum”
for your discount! Thanks for reading!
about what you can do to help your child sleep fantastically through the night,
please visit my website at www.sleeptasticsolutions.com and
“like” my Facebook page for great
tips, promotions, and giveaways! There,
you can learn more about me, the Sleep Sense philosophy, my packages, and
contact me directly. I would be happy to
set up a time for a FREE 15-min phone evaluation where you can tell me more
about your child’s sleep issues! Also, because I think Kristina is awesome, I
am going to give her followers a $25 discount off of any package from now until
8/31/14. Just mention “Kristina Grum”
for your discount! Thanks for reading!
Ronee
Welch
Welch
Sleeptastic
Solutions
Solutions
