Getting Your Toddler to Stay in Bed at Bedtime and All Night Long

As toddlers grow, their bodies and minds need to adjust to the shift of weaning themselves off of naps and appreciating the benefits of a longer night’s sleep. Between the ages of two and three, average toddler sleep needs drop to about ten and a half hours a night, plus an hour and a half afternoon nap. Four-year-olds need eleven and a half hours at night, and most no longer nap daily although they do need about forty-five minutes of quiet time each afternoon and possibly an occasional nap. Five-year-olds sleep about eleven hours a night. Afternoon quiet time can still be quite beneficial for both of you. However, getting your toddler to stay in bed can be a challenge. Here’s how you can fix it:

• Sensible bedtime
• Explain the goal to your toddler
• Get those naps!
• Use a reward system

Toddlers are Experts at Delaying Bedtime

Toddlers still need quite a lot of sleep. However, we all seem to experience a strange phenomenon at bedtime as these crafty creatures devise countless reasons for not doing what they need to do — sleep! They stall and evade with amazing ingenuity. They engage in philosophical discussions, and they voice enough curiosity to rival a little Einstein. Of course, none of these thoughts and questions crosses their minds at 4:00 P.M. when they are playing. Instead, they become an all-consuming “need to know” as soon as they hear the word pajamas.

The Best Way to Get Your Toddler to Stay in Bed

The best way to get your toddler to stay in bed is a sensible bedtime (ex. asleep between 8-8:30pm), a good routine, and the ability to gently disengage when they start to pepper you with all sorts of questions and requests. If your child wants you to tuck him in three hundred times, try to do it just once or twice. Tell him what you expect, and when the “last time” will be. Then stick to it. You can come back to his doorway in a few minutes to quickly praise him for understanding and following the bedtime directions.

Once you’ve given him that dollop of praise and reassurance, leave before he starts trying to engage you all over again. Skip this step if it makes matters worse. Use your judgment. Put up a gate if he insists on coming out of bed a zillion times — he’ll get the message. You can even tell him that if he stays in bed you’ll be back in a few minutes to take down the gate.

Separation Anxiety

Children this age are brilliant procrastinators, and any separation anxiety or nighttime fears only hone their skills. As parents, we need to inject some discipline into bedtime, but still keep it warm and cozy. Help them with those bouts of the scaries that  make bedtime difficult even when they aren’t turning stalling into a competitive sport. Sincerely address the monsters under their bed as real threats. Help them look there and in closets as assurance before they turn off the lights. It’s our job to make sure they are fed well before bedtime and have gone to the bathroom before tuck-in to evade those stall tactics. A sip of water after brushing their teeth should do the trick for the night. At nighttime — and anytime — your best defense is a good offense!

If your toddler needs you to lie down with them, rub their back to sleep, or sing them to sleep, then you will have to create change from many angles.

Want to know more about those bedtime battles?
Read: Preschooler Bedtime Battles: 11 Tips for Smooth Evenings

Have A Family Meeting Before You Start

To begin getting your toddler to stay in bed, explain to your child that you have learned that they need to learn how to put themselves to sleep “without Mommy and Daddy laying down with you” (for example) and that you are going to stay with them as they learn. Encourage your child to brainstorm about how she can participate. Perhaps she can decide what she can take into her bed to touch, hug, or twirl, or what extra game she will get to play in the morning if she uses her “good sleep manners” at night. You want her to have a stake in success.

You may be surprised at how sensitive children already are to sleep issues, and how quickly they pick up the lingo. Many children are relieved when parents bring this up. They know that something is wrong, that Mom and Dad are frustrated and want them to sleep differently. They are happy to know you are going to stay with them as they learn.

Did you know that putting your child to bed drowsy but alert is the best way to teach them to fall asleep?
Read: Drowsy But Awake — The Cornerstone of Successful Sleep Training

Clearly Explain the Upcoming Changes so Your Child Knows What to Expect

Warn her about an earlier or more structured bedtime, or a new routine. “Daddy is not going to lie down with you anymore, but Daddy will stay with you until you fall asleep.” Or, “if you come to our bed at night, we are going to tell you we love you and give you a big hug and take you back into your bed where you can snuggle with your teddy bear.” Adapt the script to the appropriate sleep challenge, but you don’t have to give a lot more detail.

Make a Sleep Manners Sticker Chart

A sticker chart is one surefire way to get your toddler to stay in bed. How elaborate your sticker scheme is depends on your child’s age and temperament. Kids love stickers, stamps, and stars, and they work great for this age. As an extra incentive, let them choose their own stickers. To make a weekly chart, turn the paper horizontally, put the days of the week along the top, and the manners across the left, or short, side. You can even leave a little space to jot down a simple log: what time he went to bed, how long he slept, etc. Choose three to four manners that best apply to your child. Phrase the manners in positive terms: “do’s,” not “don’ts.” In other words, say “Lie quietly in bed,” instead of “Don’t make noise in bed.” Here are a few examples

• “Put yourself to sleep without twirling Mommy’s hair.”
• “Stay in your own bed all night long.”
• “Sleep until 6:00 a.m.” (or whatever realistic time you choose as long as it’s not  before 6:00 a.m.).
• “Stay in bed quietly until the wakeup music comes on.”  (check out the Good Nite Lite that is perfect for this!)
• “Take a nap or quiet time.”

Use the Sticker Chart as Positive Reinforcement

Give the chart some good, focused attention every night at bedtime, even if your child appears to be ignoring you. You can talk about it during the day too, emphasizing her successes, gently reminding her of expectations, but not dwelling on failures. The nighttime review is the most essential part.

In the morning, give out the rewards promptly. In addition to stickers, give plenty of praise and hugs, which mean even more to her than those cherished stickers. Try not to make her feel that she is bad if she failed, just tell her that she can try again that night and that you know she can do it. If she’s done a really good sleep job, you can give her an extra sticker for her jacket or her hand so she can show it to her grandmother, babysitter, preschool teacher, or the bank teller.

By sharing in her success, you are sharing your own successes with yourself and the rest of your family as well! Try positive reinforcement before taking away a privilege like TV in the morning.

The Sleep Lady Shuffle Helps to Get Your Toddler to Stay in Bed

This means you can sit up next to your toddler while they go to sleep at bedtime. Here is the part where you get less sleep in the short run. Each time they wake up during the night calmly return them to bed and sit by their bedside until they are asleep. Move your chair further away every 3 nights. If you are consistent, you should get your toddler to stay in bed, sleeping through the night within 2-3 weeks. It can take longer the older they get, and the more inconsistent you have been in the past.

Need a refresher on The Shuffle?
Read: The Sleep Lady Shuffle: How to Gently Sleep Train your Baby

Make Sure Your Child is Well-Napped

If you child is younger than 3.5 or 4 years old, make sure they are not nap-deprived during this process. Nap deprivation will increase the struggle at bedtime and cause more night wakenings and early rising!

Remember to stay consistent for the best sleep success!

Wondering about nap schedules for toddlers and preschoolers?
Read: Naps for Preschoolers: Your 3 and 4-Year-Old Nap Questions, Answered

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