How To Get Your Toddler To Stay In Bed? 3 Easy Tips To Follow 

Too many parents have been asking: how to get your toddler to stay in bed?

It usually takes too long for the toddlers to fall asleep.

how to get your toddler to stay in bed

Someone has to lay with them.

Otherwise, they will cry continuously.

If you get lucky, they can fall asleep within an hour or two.

But in some instances, it would take several hours.

Putting them to bed can get very exhausting. You will not get enough amount of sleep.

For sure, you already have tried multiple things.

But it seems that none of them works!

But do not worry, tonight you will be able to have a better sleep.

 

3 Tips To Get Your Toddler To Stay In Bed

Unfortunately, there is no single method that can work for all when it comes to keeping the toddlers in bed.

Many might have told you to move them in an adult or toddler bed, use a weighted blanket, give them melatonin, among others.

But these methods tend to work only at first.

Sooner or later, your problem will still be the same.

So, how to get your toddler to stay in bed?

Nonetheless, you can try the following tips.

 

#1. Firm boundaries

It is important to have a consistent bedtime routine.

You will need to do something that can signal your toddler that it is already time for them to go to bed.

The toddler will get confused if sometimes you allow them to sleep with you and sometimes you want them on their own bed.

As such, it is important to be consistent in the place where they have sleep. This is especially true if they have their own beds.

 

#2. Do not give attention to their non-ideal behaviors

Remember, that you reinforce anything you paid attention to.

If your child is showing something good such as peeing in the potty, you have to praise him so that he will be motivated to keep doing it.

For their behaviors that you don’t want them to repeat just like waking up at midnight and crawl in you in bed, you must not show them that it gets your attention.

You must not scold them or store them back into their room because the toddler will think that he can easily get your attention that way.

Remember that even the negative attention you gave them can still feel very rewarding for them.

So when this happens, you simply have to return the toddler into their bed without showing any emotion.

In case your toddler is an early riser, you should not allow him to get up at 5 am as this will only reinforce his behavior.

You need to train your toddler that anytime earlier than your wake-up time should be treated as nighttime and that they should stay lying in the bed.

You should only go to their bed and help them get up if it’s the right time.

 

#3. Consequences

If ever both the tips above are not working with your child, that may be because it lacks one important aspect and that is having consequences.

This is a very important factor that can firm up the boundaries you set as well as letting your child know about your expectations of them.

Do not react negatively just yet. I am not pertaining that you should punish your child physically.

What I am talking about here is that you need to give a warning to your child the first time they do something wrong.

At this particular age, learning what is right and wrong is crucial for your child. You must allow them to do what is right first.

But if they continue doing those particular actions, especially when it cuts both your and their sleep, then you might have to instill some consequence.

This can be unpleasant for your child. Remember that it varies across toddlers since they are unique.

You have to pick a thing that is important to them. But make sure that it is not something that will make them angry or scared.

Also, you have to know as early as now that your child will get upset at first. But this is only for the short run.

He will cry of course, but you need to be consistent. Believe me, you will see the progress in a couple of days.

 

Other Tricks That You Can Try

Below are some other tricks that you can employ to keep your toddler in bed.

You need to build confidence by using Beddy-Bye, fairy tales, magic breathing, role-playing, sticker charts, gossiping, patience-stretching, and Toddler-else.

Allow your toddler to say good night to all of his toys.

Have a quiet time for about 30 minutes up to one hour with dimmed lights and turned off the TV before you begin with the routine.

Giving your child a massage or a bath can help him to relax.

Using sweet talk, lullabies, storybooks, and white noise can also help your toddler to drift off faster.

You can even use a pacifier.

 

It’s A Wrap!

How to get your toddler to stay in bed?

Just all the tips and tricks below and your child can fall asleep faster and stay in bed longer.