How to recognize – and avoid – bedtime stalling tactics
If the bedtime routine is becoming a war zone for you and your toddler, you might want to take in these suggestions for dealing with common toddler bedtime delay tactics.
Child behavior specialists all agree: Children and toddlers need their sleep, with children under the age of five needing between eleven and thirteen hours of sleep per 24 hour cycle.
But, what if your child suddenly hits a wobble and starts to try every trick in the book to get out of sleep time? A glass of water, needing to wee or “just one more story” are all classics in the game of getting out of bedtime. Here’s how to tackle this common toddler issue.
Timing is everything
Toddlers can’t tell the time, so telling them it’s nearly bedtime when they’re in the middle of a game or activity isn’t going to go down too well. That’s why it’s important to create a routine they can predict from early on. Supper, bath, story time and bed are all predictable components of a healthy routine for a toddler – and giving your little one a countdown that it’s all about to kick off helps them to prepare for the inevitable - that bedtime and sleep are coming.
Address their fears
Those monsters with long fingers under the bed? They’re real to your child when the lights go off. Helping children to tackle their fears – be it of the dark, whether you actually will check on them if they go to sleep alone or whether they can call you if they’re frightened in the night will go a long way to help them settle a little quicker. A night-light is a must for kids with active imaginations and don’t forget to check the room and under the bed with them before switching off the lights to make sure those monsters have gone for good.
When should your toddler stop their daytime nap?
Acclaimed author, occupational therapist and baby and toddler sleep specialist Meg Faure suggests checking your children’s sleep patterns if they’re playing up at bedtime. While she says they could be pushing boundaries, which could then be a discipline challenge, babies usually need to drop one of their two daytime sleeps at around the age of one while “…toddlers differ in the age they drop the day sleep completely – some do so as early as two-and-a-half and others hold onto that day sleep until preschool.
Regardless of your baby’s preference, it is a healthy habit to instill a day rest time, in which they have the opportunity to sleep or just to relax after a morning’s interactions”, says Meg. In any event, toddlers need to ideally be up from their daytime nap at 14h00 to ensure they’re ready for bed later.
