How to get a toddler to stay in bed? We all undergo different stages in life. From newborns, infancy, toddler, teenage, up to adulthood.
Yes, the cycle will remain the same for your little ones. As a mother, you will have to go through many hardships for your child.
One of which is putting your child to sleep or making them stay in bed. It is hard at first especially if you are a first-time mom and you have no experience with kids.
Trust me, it’s as tiring as if you’re working non-stop but the joy and the peaceful face of your sleeping child will surely take those pains away.
I had a hard time with my baby at first, especially when making her stay in bed at first. I had to work from home and I don’t have anyone else to stay with her.
So to help you out with your problem too, here are some tips and ideas that could work with your young one too.
Toddler Age
As your kids grow older, they tend to make changes. Not only physically but also mentally and emotionally.
They tend to get excited at small things and they also get curious about the small stuff.
It would be very challenging for you to figure out the things that they will get interested in.
The toddler age starts when your baby turns a year old up to 3 years old. They are going through infancy preparing themselves for preschool.
During this time, their physical, as well as their motor growth, might decrease but you will see intellectual, social, and emotional advances.
During the years 1 to 3, your baby will start to learn many things including walking, talking, and imitate people’s faces and sounds.
As they will get older, they will begin to learn how to express their emotions and help themselves get dressed ready for the day.
They will tend to have a nap during the days and at least 10 to 12 hours of sleep during the night.
How To Keep The Toddler Stay In Bed
So I have here three tips on how to get a toddler to stay in bed. But it’s not like a one-size-fits-all scenario.
You will have to try all of them if necessary and find out which one does the trick for your little cub.
Tip #1. Reward method
So, let’s start with the most effective one, the reward method. The reward method may be in the form of many things.
Here is the deal. You will have to talk it out with your kid and say perhaps you will give them rewards if they stay in the bed for the night.
Be diligent with your reward and make sure that you can provide them when he finishes his task.
Just like what I did to my little CJ, I gave her 2 pieces of tokens before we get to bed.
I told her that these tokens could only be exchanged in the morning. Whenever she calls me to get her anything, she will have to pay me 1 token.
Then when morning comes, she can exchange the tokens for a prize that she wants. A bowl of cereals or a goldfish perhaps.
The night came and she said to me “Mommy I’m thirsty”!
I said to her, “Okay I’ll give you some water but you will have to give me a token but if you’re not too thirsty you can wait for the morning and I’ll give you water to drink all you can for free”.
She hesitated for a bit and said, “It’s okay mommy I’m still not too thirsty”.
She was eager to have her reward in the morning because I saw her put the tokens under her pillow.
The morning came and she excitedly gave me the tokens in exchange for a chocolate-milk flavored cereal.
I got to sleep some succeeding days without her frequent calling. She had called me 3 to 5 times a week since we had our agreement.
You can try this method with your toddlers too.
Tip #2. Firm boundaries
Another method is to make your kid get used to the sleeping hours. Be firm when and what time is “bedtime”.
This will trigger their sleeping pattern. It is okay if they get to sleep beside you or on your lap but be consistent with where they should sleep and at what time.
Having to go on the same routine every day will make a habit out of your child to stay in bed during those times.
One example is what a friend of mine did with her son. She keeps track of time, especially when to eat dinner and when to get ready to sleep.
They let Movie eat dinner at 6 pm and fixes him for bed 30 minutes before 8.
She did this for over a week, not no matter what the Movie does with the rest of the day, he tends to get sleepy nearing his bedtime.
This sure worked for her, if the 1st one didn’t work, try this one instead. You may get hung up and make it a habit also.
Tip #3. Open door method
Now in this method, you will have to be stricter.
A little discipline is all you need.
You have to make sure that your young ones stay in bed then you can open the door for them to call you when they need something.
If they don’t do so, you are going to close the door if they go out to keep them in.
This method has been tested by one of my friends because her son is very active.
Conclusion
There are other ways on how to get a toddler to stay in bed.
Nevertheless, some of those are not that effective compared to the three.
You may use harsh ways but that will massively affect your relationship with your little one.
Remember, they’re only kids.
Always be gentle but put a firm discipline is the key to growing a good child.