Parenting Tips for Toddlers During Bedtime
Are you a parent of a toddler who just wouldn't go to bed?
The struggle is real. Until your toddler is fast asleep, slumber will never consume you.
This can be quite difficult for parents who have commitments in the morning.
What must a parent do in such a case?
This blog can help you with that.
Here we will be discussing the best parenting tips you can use to put your kids to sleep without breaking a sweat.
Importance Of Quality Sleep For Toddlers
It is important that you understand the importance of quality sleep for your toddlers.
Here is what experts have to say about this; if you want your toddler to have steady and healthy growth, it is vital that you pay attention to their sleep patterns.
If your toddler is not getting enough or quality sleep, it may lead to problems such as depression.
For a toddler to have depression is very concerning.
Moreover, at this stage of your life, you must know how important sleep is for your well-being.
The same goes for toddlers, they need all the sleep they can get.
This leads to a critical question, do you know just how much sleep is enough sleep for your kid?
Ideally, toddlers of the age 1-2 years require sound sleep of 11-14 hours to function well enough, whereas toddlers of the age 3-5 years can work with 10-13 hours of sleep.
Now that you know how important sleep is for your young one and the right amounts of it let's focus on how to get them to sleep!
Parenting Tips For Toddlers During Bedtime
Design a Routine
Providing a routine to your toddler is very important.
Children crave security, and you must provide it to them by giving them a structured bedtime routine.
Sit down with your child and listen to the suggestions they have for their bedtime routine.
Work with them to come with a routine that sits well with them and can help them sleep easily and efficiently.
The routine must include the following things to ensure good sleep:
A Warm Bath
A warm bath can help calm down your ward and prepare them to get in the right mindset to sleep.
According to experts if you take a warm bath shortly before your bedtime, it will work as a tool to induce sleep.
This is why a warm bath can help your child not only mentally but physically prepare for sleep.
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Oral Care
Changing Into Comfortable Clothing
A Bed Time Story
This cannot be stressed enough! Read to your toddler.
There are many reasons why you must read to your toddler.
Reading to your toddler helps them calm down and focus on the story alone.
This in turn helps sleep, lull your child in and give them the peace they need, to feel sleepy.
While reading a cutesy story to your toddler, snuggle with them. The closeness will help them feel safe and more connected to you.
Lead By Example
It is unfair to the child if he is asked to sleep, while rest of the family members are awake and probably having fun.
It might cause an aggressive reaction in the child whenever bed time approaches.
To combat this situation, it is best that you along with the rest of the family also follow a sleep routine just so your toddler does not feel left out.
Give Them The Coziest Environment
As discussed earlier, it is vital to be comfortable if you want to sleep.
While your toddler cannot do this on their own, it is your responsibility to provide them with a cozy environment.
Before you put your toddler to sleep, make sure that their room is not brightly lit.
Bright rooms can hinder sleep. In addition to that, make certain that there are no loud noises that can prevent your child from falling asleep.
To further facilitate sound sleep, you must make sure your child's room is well ventilated so there is no suffocation through-out the night.
Keep Gadgets At Bay
Keeping your child away from any screens before they sleep is more important than you think.
The blue light that emits from screens is usually the cause of disrupted sleeping cycles.
If to speak scientifically, blue lights from screens hinder the production of melatonin.
For those who don't know, melatonin is a hormone that controls your circadian rhythm- which in layman words is your sleep-wake cycle.
Look For Sleeping Disorders
As a parent, you must be fully aware of any difficulties that your child might be facing.
That includes sleeping disorders, it may be because of different sleeping disorders that your child is giving you a hard time at bedtime.
It is best to go to a health care provider if you think your child is exhibiting signs of a sleeping disorder.
They will not only give you a proper diagnosis but will also treat the disorder the way it should be treated.
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Conclusion
As a parent of a toddler, there are several things that you need to be wary of, and one of the most important of those things is sleep.
Getting them to sleep on time and have the right amount of sleep can be quite a challenge.
Hopefully, the parenting tips given above can be of great use to you.
Happy Sleeping!
References
https://www.webmd.com/parenting/bedtime-routine-tips#2-8
https://www.alaskasleep.com/blog/getting-kids-to-bed-on-time-tips-tricks-guidelines
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/bedtime-routine
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Comments 1
You suggest all the routine less than an hour? That would be great to achieve! For us it's an hour minimum. Later we don't have problems with wakings since we've finished Susan Urban's sleep training (very helpful book I must say: https://www.parental-love.com/shop/toddler-sleep-training ). But our routine take a lot of time - I see it now. 15mins bath? That's a quicky! And also we have everyday massages - Billy loves massages. How do I cut it off?