Toddlers are definitely at the age where parents are sometimes lost for what to do. There is a reason the old adage of children at this phase of life being referred to as the “terrible twos”. One of the main problems parents seek out help for is of course, the dreaded bedtime ‘routine.’ With going back to school near in the horizon and changing summer routine to school, bedtime, in particular, can be challenging.
Children are a ball of energy and at this age, cannot or refuse to recognize and admit when they are tired. They may fall asleep sitting straight up on the couch, but when being moved to their beds, have the amazing knack of summoning energy from an unknown source and begin acting up.
When my daughter was a toddler she was no different, although my princess was no “terror at two” lol. She fought me on bedtime, all the time it seemed. She gave me all the excuses from being “afraid of the dark to; I am not tired to; I didn’t finish my favorite show.” Its amazing how they learn to negotiate and fight for what they want at such a young age; funny and ironic as adults we tend to lose that ability.
Think of my own experience and doing some research, I found some tricks to getting your toddler to bed, without having to go through an hour-long battle.
Bed Time Trick 1: Create A Consistent Routine
Children, especially toddlers need, and thrive, on routine. Having structure is comforting for them as their days have a predictable pattern and there is less chances of ‘surprise’. This couldn’t be truer when it comes to bedtime. Leaving your toddler to his/her own devices before bedtime, and then announcing it is time to sleep, will only induce whines and temper tantrums.
Decide on a pre-bedtime routine, and be firm in carrying it out every day. To do this you could arrange their bath time soon before bed and then have a story time. Once this pattern is set out, your toddler will know that when bath time arrives, bed time will soon follow. This may give them fewer opportunities to try and squirm out of the set sleep time. Also, children’s brains are designed to follow routines and having a consistent one may help your toddler become naturally tired, making bed time much easier.
Bed Time Trick 2: Avoid Attempting to Reason With Your Toddler
Toddlers are highly inquisitive. Everything needs an explanation; even the explanations need explanations. This can lead to an endless and frustrating debate as to why he/she needs to sleep right now. This will only serve to raise your blood pressure and hype up your child’s wakefulness away from sleeping.
Instead, give a simple and short answer that he/she can understand, and be sure to stick to it. For example, you can use an explanation such as, “You need to sleep now so you can have energy to play in the morning”. It’s that simple. If they need to know why sleep is needed for play energy, tell them you’ll explain it after they sleep.
Bed Time Trick 3: Cut Out Stimulation-Inducing Activities
This is a problem that can easily be overlooked. Stimulation-inducing can be split into two groups- those that raise adrenaline levels; and those that prevent melatonin production.
Adrenaline Level Raises
This can be any activity that occurs from any vigorous and exciting play. This type of play and activity will only serve to raise a child’s adrenaline levels- a hormone that increases the brain’s alertness and production of excess energy. Naturally this will decrease your chance of getting your toddler to bed without a performance. Your toddler will feel wide awake and energized, and have increase hyper-ness; something you definitely don’t want.
Melatonin Producing Prevention
Melatonin is one of the important factors inducing sleep-wake cycles. The result of our brains producing this chemical is that we feel more naturally sleepy and ready for bed. Be sure to not allow your toddler to watch t.v. for up to 2 hours before his/her bedtime. Melatonin may be a powerful chemical, but it is extremely light sensitive. Ways that can prevent its production is things such as watching t.v. or looking at a computer screen. Staring at artificial light will stop the brain from producing it. By letting your toddler watch t.v. up to half an hour before bedtime, you may end up with the result of a 2 hour long battle ensuing.
4. Help ease your toddler’s bedtime fears
Young children, especially toddlers, tend to have wild imaginations that could possibly lead to irrational fears forming. They may think that there are monsters hiding under the bed or in their closet and they are the cause of shadows being cast on their walls.
If you find your toddler is afraid of shadows, take a few moments to sit down and point out to them where the shadows are really from – and encourage them to also think of what is really causing a shadow
Another tip that I have seen all over the internet, is keeping ‘monster spray’. The basic idea is that you keep a spray bottle of water that you squirt in places your toddler thinks monsters are hiding. While this may be effective, I believe though, that you may ultimately end up fueling your child’s belief in monsters. I advise only using this method with caution. Do not make the mistake of using this method for too long a time, your child needs to learn that there in fact aren’t any monsters you need to spray away.
In the end…
Putting your child to bed really needn’t have to be a combination of struggles and tricks. The main aim is to teach your child that when it’s bed time, it’s bed time.
