Depending on the age of your child – right around 18 months old (sometimes sooner or later) your toddler may decide to resist bedtime. Now is a good time to institute the bedtime routine. Coming up with a list of guidelines to follow every night before you put your 12 to 36 month-old to sleep can help your little one – and in the long run – can also help you!
Creating a Relaxing Bedtime Routine
According to Jodi Mindell, sleep expert and author of Sleeping Through The Night: How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night's Sleep [Harper Collins, 1997], routines are essential for relaxation. When a toddler is relaxed, says Mindell...."the more likely he'll go to bed easily and fall asleep quickly." Read on for easy ways to create a relaxing routine to soothe your toddler into bed.
Develop Nighttime Guidelines
The first step in creating bedtime routines is to make it a family effort. For your toddler's bedtime guideline, you will need to consult a few people: your toddler, yourself, your partner, grandparents and any other caretakers putting your 12 to 36 month-old to bed. Routines, as Mindell says, are meant to create a relaxing environment, not create stress - especially for the parent.
Before making your toddlers bedtime guidelines, keep some things in mind:
- Consistency: A toddler craves routine. According to Babycenter, toddlers crave routine and learn to appreciate its predictability and consistency. So while it may seem like a good idea to give your 12 to 36 month-old a bath every night, if you know this is not possible, keep it off the list.
- Time: Bedtime rituals should not be rushed, nor should they take hours and hours. A good nighttime routine starts anywhere from sixty minutes to thirty minutes before bedtime, depending on your personal routine and preferences. Remember, toddlers often take longer on tasks that are enjoyable to them - such as baths and reading stories.
- Amount: Don't add too many components to your toddlers bedtime routine or it will end up like a game or worse yet....a chore! Activities should be related to relaxing or making your toddler more comfortable for bed or the morning after, such as bathtime, pajamas, brushing teeth, reading a quiet story, snuggling etc.
Some Common Bedtime Routines
Common bedtime routines include:
- Bath: Taking a short, relaxing bath will refresh your toddler for the next day. However, this may also be your toddlers last chance of the evening to express their leftover energy! You can add special lavender scented suds to the bath for a calming affect. Bathtime should be short and sweet.
- Pajamas: After bath is a great time for pj's! Loose fitting garments are a fantastic way to get comfortable quick. Also, your toddler will begin to associate their pajamas with bedtime.
- Brush Teeth: Toddlers want to be just like Mom and Dad or older siblings. Though not old enough to use real toothpaste yet, toddlers can still use small sized toothbrushes and training toothpaste to clean their teeth. What a great way to teach then the importance of hygiene early on!
- Say Goodnight! Your toddler is all ready to go to sleep. Give them the chance to say goodnight to everyone. All the lights get turned off and it is time to say goodnight!
- Storytime: Agree on how many you will read in advance!
- Bedtime: Review the list of routines you did with your toddler and explain that they have all been accomplished and that he did a great job!
Make Bedtime Routines Together
After you pick which routines work best for you and your family – the fun part starts! Get out some coloring crayons or markers and put your toddler to work!! Help your 12 to 36 month-old make images of each activity on your list. If a bath is on your nighttime guidelines, then draw a person sitting in a bathtub. How could you draw brushing teeth? Put each activity on its own sheets of paper. When you have finished, let your toddler help tack, tape or otherwise secure it to a wall outside of his room, or somewhere visible where the two of you can see it easily.
After a few attempts, you might find yourself surprised to see your toddler running to the pictures you have created when he hears you cry out, "bedtime!" instead of scurrying in the other direction!
Keeping Up With a New Routine
Routines can be fun at first. But when the novelty wears off and your little one is rubbing her eyes, do you have to stick to the plan? No. You can revise your routines a little, but general advice from places such as Babycenter and books such as Mindell's suggest that you will have a hard time regaining what you lost.
Instead of tossing your routine out the window due to an event or unexpected distraction, revise instead. You'll be a lot happier and a lot more relaxed. That is.....until another stage of sleep comes along.
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