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Neither of my children were good sleepers as babies. It’s one of those things that I was alwasy really resentful of. A new mom needs a lot of rest, and I was hardly getting any rest, let alone “lots.” Hearing about other moms experiences with their kdis sleeping through the night as soon as they were home from the hospital or, heck, anytime in that first year?? It felt like a slap in the face.
But if there’s one thing that can be said about life with kids, it’s that nothing is constant. Thank goodness, am I right?!
We’ve had a bit of luck in the toddler sleep department, that’s for sure. But I know that not everyone has toddlers that are good sleepers. So I’m sharing the 5 tips that have really worked for us.
2. Create a way to get the sillies out. For us, it’s a game of ‘attack daddy’ or tickle the kiddos. They love it and it gets that last bit of any pent up energy out of their systems. Also? It’s super fun for everyone.
4. Limit television in the evenings. Children can be so overstimulated with the bright lights of a giant television screen, so after 6:30 PM, we really limit the use of TV. Luckily both of our kids are huge fans of reading books, so we generally settle in with a book and some snuggles.
What are your thoughts?? What else would you suggest to ease the pain of toddler bedtime routines?!
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My toddler was stalling so bad at bedtime I had to create a checklist for her. If she did everything on the checklist she got a sticker. If she got 7 stickers for the week she could pick out a small toy from the store. Totally worked!
I have always been a huge advocate for bedtime routines. You can tell when their routines get off a little bit because no one is happy. Great list! 🙂
These are such great tips! I found that sticking to a routine even when we’re traveling really helps!
Belle | One Awesome Momma
Yes to all of this! Especially getting the sillies out! We usually roll around and wrestle with the boys a bit to get out all the crazy/tire them out!
This is something I still work on and my daughter is 6. She often gets overtired and then we struggle! Great tips.
These are great tips! I don’t have much to add other than maybe a night time bath? My kids love taking baths any time of day but sometimes I feel like it helps get them ready for bed.
Oh, I love the getting the sillies out! Such a great idea. Meal time routine and not getting them overtired are really important. Actually all of these are really great ideas!
We have a loose routine for evenings. My kids do really well even if we throw off their night routine a little bit but it gives me peace of mind that there’s some sort of structure between the end of dinner before bedtime stretch.
Yesssss! Great tips! Get the sillies out sis a definite must, and connecting- we always read books before bed with the lights dim ?
My kids were horrible sleepers as babies too! My third is thankfully much better than the first two–thank God! These are great tips! I find that TV has a huge effect on it as well, and so we try to limit it after dinner. I have also found that lots of physical activity is a must for my kids!
I need to get better with setting stricter dinner times so it leads to more timely bedtime. What time do you guys usually have dinner?
OMG this list is so on point!! We live by the “don’t let our kids get over tired” rule and it’s done wonders for us!!
Ok this was a great post. All great tips and sadly I am not doing many of them. Our mealtime is all over the place, especially on the days that I work (t & w). We need to be better about a lot of these things
A regular routine is so important for us for a successful bedtime! We also limit our tv, no television after 4:00 pm unless we’re having a family movie night or something.