No More Bedtime Battles: 3 Easy Sleep Routine Tips for Toddlers

Bedtime battles at the end of every long day can be exhausting and frustrating for parents, especially when Mum and Dad both work and need to be up early and energised the next day. Sometimes rocking them doesn’t seem to work, and letting them cry it out makes you feel guilty – even if they aren’t infants anymore. That’s where having good bedtime routines comes in.

Having a fixed bedtime routine every night not only makes for better (and earlier) sleep for everyone at home, it is a good way to reinforce important habits like reading, dental hygiene and spending a little quality time together before turning in for the night.

Tip 1 – The ABC Routine: Brush, Story, Sleep!

This is the easiest and most common way to signal to your child that it’s time to go to bed. Every good bedtime routine starts with brushing your teeth – building good habits to last a lifetime starts young.

If toothbrushing is as excitable an affair in your home as it is mine (read: your toddler hates getting his or her teeth cleaned), your child might still have a little too much energy after brushing. That’s when story time kicks in. Pick books with soothing or goodnight themes to help calm them down.

That’s not to say you should go on reading forever if Junior doesn’t want to go to sleep. Set a limit – three stories, maximum, before it’s time to tuck your little one in bed.

After doing this for a few nights, you’ll likely start noticing that your bub is nodding off to sleep even before you can finish the last book. Story time not only encourages your child to develop a love for reading, it also allows busy parents to have a bit of quality downtime with your child before it’s back to the grind.

Tip 2 – Always Wind Down Slowly

Don’t expect your child to jump into bed the moment you announce its bedtime – kids need to slowly get into their “sleeping zones”.

Firstly – all electronics like television, the iPad, or mobile games should stop at least an hour before bedtime. It’s important to stop any high energy, stimulating activities so their bodies start to relax. We like to dim the lights about an hour before bedtime and turn on some soothing jazz or lullaby music.

Starting to wind down an hour before actual bedtime also gets all the excuses out of the way. Toddlers will often come up with any excuses they can to stay away from bed – including being hungry, thirsty, needing to use the restroom, or being scared of “monsters in the closet”. An hour is more time than you need for them to exhaust their creativity!

Tip 3: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

We’ve found that the repetitive nature of bedtime routines are the most important part of putting them to bed. Children thrive on routines, schedules and repetition to find comfort and to self-soothe – the two qualities most needed for independent sleepers.

Whether it’s saying bedtime prayers, closing the curtains, turning on the music, or saying goodnight – as long as it’s done in the exact same order every night, it creates a calming and instinctively soothing atmosphere for your child to cue their brains that it’s time to rest for the night.

So don’t stress – bedtime should be one of the best times of your 24 hours, when you’re looking forward to yet another amazing day ahead with your little one. Putting too much pressure on fixed routines can backfire when the children feel like they are being forced to go to sleep, so being gentle, but firm, is always the key.

And don’t beat yourself up if the kids decide your bed is the place they want to camp out tonight – remember, their days as babies are limited, but they have all the time in the world to be grown-ups, so enjoy those “slumber parties” while you can!