Toddler Sleep Bedtime Battles and How Much They Need
Toddler Sleep
Did you ever think that it would be a problem to let someone sleep as long as they wanted?
Heck, if I had the chance to sleep 12 to 13 hours in a day I’d be all over that! What about you?
Our toddlers and the sleep that they need are in a totally different sleep universe than our own…
So how much sleep does a toddler actually need?
According to all the experts these are the sleep requirements that toddlers need:
- 1 year: Nighttime = 11 hours , Daytime = 2 hours (Total Sleep: 13 hours)
- 2 years: Nighttime = 11 hours , Daytime = 2 hours (Total Sleep: 13 hours)
- 3 years: Nighttime = 10 hours , Daytime = 1 hours (Total Sleep: 12 hours)
Keep in mind that most children need lots of sleep. Often, says sleep expert Jodi Mindell, author of Sleeping Through the Night, if a child has poor sleep habits or refuses to go to bed before 11 at night, his parents will think that he just doesn’t need a lot of sleep.
That’s probably not true — in fact, it’s likely that such a child is actually sleep-deprived. To see whether your child falls into that camp, ask yourself these questions:
- Does your child fall asleep almost every time he’s in a car?
- Do you have to wake your child almost every morning?
- Does your child seem cranky, irritable, or overtired during the day?
- On some nights, does your child seem to crash much earlier than his usual bedtime?
If you answered “yes” to any of these, your child may be getting less sleep than he needs.
To change this pattern, you’ll need to help him develop good sleep habits and set an appropriate bedtime. “Then he’ll get all the sleep he needs to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” Mindell says.
The Bedtime Battles
OK, so you know your toddler isn’t getting enough sleep. Whatcha gonna do…
The first step is to start getting your toddler into better sleeping habits. You may have even heard about getting your little one on a sleep routine or schedule. Your first step is to develop this routine.
But before you start, more than anything, you need to remember one thing. Consistency is the key to success.
I know this was very tough for my wife and myself. Both of us are working, then family time, dinner, bath, games and the list goes on.
How in the heck can you find time to pay the bills and do all the other stuff that just simply needs to be done???
We find the super hero in each of us and just make things happen the best we can.
This really isn’t meant to be a joke, OK maybe a little, but everyone’s best is going to be different. Just do your own personal best and that’s all anyone could ever ask.
Toddler Sleep Tips
Here are a few toddler sleeping tips that may be of some help for you.
Don’t wait for your toddler to be totally worn out before you put them to bed. Many people find that if you wait this long your child is prone to bedtime battles and just prolongs the time it takes them to get them to sleep.
A better solution would be to get your before bedtime routine in place ( more on this coming…) and put them to sleep while they are tired, but still awake.
What this does is let your toddler learn how to fall asleep on their own.
Sleep Habits, Rituals, Routines and Schedules
We mentioned this before but being consistent is the first step to setting up healthy sleeping habits.
When you have made the commitment to be consistent you need to know what to be consistent with…
…right. Follow this simple tip to get your toddler on the right path.
Create your nightly bedtime ritual. Set up a regular bedtime and be sure that at least an hour before sleep time is a wind down and be calm session. You don’t want all that ants in the pants energy getting in the way of a good night’s sleep. A common setup is a mellow activity (like a game), bath, read a book then bedtime.
By following this type of schedule your toddler will get accustomed of what to expect.
So what do you think? Has a system like this helped you or do you have any other tips that can help with toddler sleep? Let us know in the comments below.