Every night at about 7:30pm I let out a huge sigh because I know what that means, bedtime for the toddler. Why does this have to be so difficult. He is four for crying out loud and should be able to sleep on his own.
We try to keep him on a bedtime routine so he knows what is expected each night. I think we can create the Fort Knox of sleep routines for him and yet the bedtime war will still breakout. Anyone that knows me knows I have very little patience for this. I mean just lay down and go to sleep already. Is four too early to except him to crawl in bed and say good night?
So our child bedtime routine consists of a screaming fit to get him into his room, reading books, lights out, more screaming fits, sitting with him, and finally to sleep. Keep in mind the last part can happen TWO hours after the start of all of this. Really parents is it this hard to get your toddler to sleep?
I have looked and looked online for different things we can do to try to help us make this easier on all of us. Some good tips I did find were to keep them active during the day and play music. Okay well he is at daycare all day running around with 30-50 other children… Check! If I played music for him he would be up on his bed dancing no matter how soft of music it was. When he was a baby music used to work all the time.
My husband last night said to me “Maybe if we did a reward system he would go to bed easier.” So I got all Dr. Phil on him to which I reply, in my best Texan accent of course “Well obviously what we are doing isn’t working so anything is work a try“. So now I am out searching for a printable bedtime routine chart we can use and found some really cute ones.
Each time Cooper is good and listens he will get a sticker. Then with that sticker he can trade it in for 10 min of TV, video game, or a treat. Doesn’t sound bad right? Well let’s say a couple hail Mary’s and pray to the toddler bedtime Gods this works because Momma can’t take much more!
Download Printable:
#1 Nice to meet you!
I can totally relate to this! I had the same problem. I read the article on sleep issues on rewardcharts4kids.com and it really helped.
I used the sleep charts they offer. It could be that my son was ready to sleep through the night and I needed to go on the program! I realized that I also needed to make some changes. I just feel like a different person. Sleep deprivation can change your life and your entire outlook! We don’t realize how much we need it until we don’t get enough!!