Every parent has struggled at one point with getting their kids to sleep at night, and these tips for getting your toddler to stay in their bed at night are going to save the day. I only wish it didn’t take me 6 kids to figure these tips out.
Whether you have transitioned to a toddler bed, or your child is just finally moving out of your room to their own, you can manage to keep them in their room with ease. This leads to better sleep for everyone, and newfound independence for them.
Amen or what?
7 Tips For Getting Your Toddler To Stay In Their Bed At Night
Create a bed time routine. Give your toddler a routine to look forward to. When you get into a set bedtime routine, they know what to expect and are less likely to wander out of their room at night. Start with a warm bath to get them clean and calm. Instead of television, spend time listening to soft music like classical or a lullaby
. Read a story and snuggle in their room. Tuck them into their bed and pray for them, or wish them good night. Create a simple routine that is done every night so they know it is time to settle and go to sleep.
Put them to bed earlier. Many toddlers are still in need of 10-12 hours of sleep a night, plus daily naps. Sometimes the best way to get your toddlers to stay in their bed at night is to send them to bed earlier when they are already beginning to get tired. If you wait too long and they are overly tired, they will get up more frequently and be restless in the night.
Give them comfort items. Not only will they need their existing comfort items like pillows, stuffed animals or a special blanket, but you can also provide them with new comfort items. If they are transitioning into their room for the first time, you can let even a young toddler help you pick out things for their room. A child who has transitioned to a toddler bed from a crib may want to add something new and “big kid” to their room. Give them a comfort item that makes them want to stay in their room.
Use a bed rail. Many toddlers fall out of a toddler bed and thus wake up and come to your room. When they first begin sleeping in their own, it is a great choice to install a simple bed rail that will keep them from falling out and waking up should they roll around a lot in their sleep.
Skip the bedtime drink or snack. Many times the bedtime drink or snack can actually keep them from sleeping well. This is especially if they aren’t potty trained. They will tend to wake up with a wet diaper in the night and get up to come to you. This makes it harder to get them to go back to sleep in their bed. Stop giving snacks and drinks at least an hour prior to bedtime if at all possible. Don’t send your toddler to bed with a sippy cup of juice, water or milk.
Use aromatherapy. The benefits of lavender, peppermint and chamomile to soothe and promote sleep are well-known. Whether you use the bath products that include it, or you use a diffuser and oils in their room, aromatherapy can soothe and help calm them for sleep.
Figure out why they are leaving their room. This is really the most important factor in getting your toddler to stay in their bed at night. You need to find out why they don’t want to. Some children are afraid of being alone. Others have a difficult time soothing themselves to sleep. There are a lot of reasons, and you can figure those out by asking, observing and even using a video monitor to see their behavior after you leave the room. Once you know what the root cause is, it is much easier to adjust and create a healthy bedtime routine that works.
These tips for getting your toddler to stay in their bed at night may not work for every situation. Just as mentioned in the last tip, you have to understand what is causing your child to get up and work on fixing that. Once you find that root cause, you’ll all be sleeping easy at night.
I am a mom of 2 teenagers. I recently remarried and my husband has a 7 yr. old daughter. We have been together for 4 years. He is very active in her life. She comes over every other Friday and spends 1 night over. We have been on 2 out of state family trips and I love my stepdaughter but when she is over and it comes to bedtime it is literally a nightmare. She cries, screams and makes herself sick to the point were she throws up because she does not want to sleep in her bed in her room by herself. My husband has laid down with her read books and waited till she fell asleep to leave the room but she wakes up crying, screaming and making herself sick. She has really bad anxiety to the point we’re we go pick her up so she can spend the night and she has tried to get out of it. This first started when she was 5. She tried telling my husband that she can spend the day with him but would like for him to take her back home at night. I have sat with my stepdaughter and talk to her about the situation and tell her she is a big girl with a beautiful room. That she is safe and dad and I are going to be there all the time and when she wakes up to try to make her feel better but it does not work. My husband has talked to his ex about this but it has not help. She is raising her in an attachment type of relationship which makes it really hard for us when she is over. She does not know how to play by herself at the even with other children. She needs constant supervision and attention. She is a nurse at a hospital and a feel she is doing more damage to her child than good. I understand that this can happen cause she is an only child. My stepdaughter cannot do anything on her own and it is sad and very frustrating for me because she does things that I as a mother never allowed my own children to do. I do think my husband has to put his foot down and do something about it. It even has put a strain on our marriage. Can you PLEASE give me some advise. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you
I’m so sorry you are dealing with that. Unfortunately, I understand your frustration. It’s so hard when both parents aren’t on the same page. I did with it with my ex, too.
Have you thought about talking to a counselor or pastor? Satan is going to do everything to try and destroy your marriage. Don’t let him win.
Also, it sounds like she needs some counseling too. Have you talked to the school counselor?
Sorry I’m not much help. Praying for you.
My daughter who’s 6 will not stay in her room at night we’ve been trying to get her to stay in there n it’s worked 2 times but then during the night she comes in to my bed n I just need some advice
I have little girl she is 3 year old . Been sleeping with us since was 1 an having trouble with her sleeping in her own bed .
My daughter is 13 months and she was sleeping all night in her crib until just recently and then I can’t even lay her down and shes either crying or wide wake again. I have done the whole letting her cry it out, we stick to a bedtime routine and have tried things people have told me about. The only way I can get her to sleep is laying her down in our big bed. She will fall asleep and then I move her to her crib. She will wake up around 3am and we have to do the whole thing over again. Should I think about putting her in a big girl bed? I know it seems young but she is not sleeping (neither is mommy) and she is 33″ tall and almost to tall for the crib.
I would try a toddler bed and make a big deal out of it. Maybe give her a daily reward.
i am having similiar issue with my 2.5 year old. she slept in bassinet beside my bed til three months nad has slept in her crib in her own room ever since. just recently she started fighting me terribly at bedtime to the point where im rocking her to sleep or almost to sleep ans then laying beside her crib she will put her hand on me to make sure im there and then go to sleep. i sneak out and like clock work 3am she wakes up and either cries for me or comes into my room since i did take the crib railing off and turn it into a toddler bed because i felt she was ready. but its a nightly battle and when she wakes up at 3am she screams and cries and fights to not have to go back to sleep, it takes me til nearly 7am every morning to get her to fall back asleep,, so in return i can relate to the not getting much sleep, its messing up her sleep schedule, and now that shes waking later shes fighting her naps. i tried something new today and didnt put her down for her nap, hoping maybe shes grown out of them and will be tired out and sleep through the night. i never had an issue with my daughter sleeping, she always slept through the night for me and up until the last 4 months never cried at bedtime. i am hoping this is a phase and it will pass.. if anyone has any advice i would appreciate it!