Does your sweet child trick you into letting them sleep in your bed by batting their eyelashes and telling you that they love you? Do you wake up with feet in your face, back, or other crevices? Are you forced to lay on the very edge of the mattress and hope by some miracle you don’t fall off?
I did. Sure, it’s fun and sweet and cute at first, but there comes a point when it’s time to send the tiny invader back to their own big girl/boy bed.
We did this dance for three months with our three year old. Yes, we had sleep regression big time, and it was completely self inflicted. It started when our son was born. We kept his crib in our room, and our daughter, whose bedroom is upstairs, did not like it one bit. If I wasn’t up during the night with her, I was up with my son. It was exhausting. So we caved…er, I caved. It was much easier to get my daughter to fall asleep and stay asleep by allowing her a spot in our bed. I told myself that I could keep a pulse on both kids, have some time to myself, and get more than two hours of uninterrupted sleep! Although it gave me back some sanity, it took a small toll on my husband who had to set up camp periodically on the couch. I’m sure he enjoyed the peace and quiet, but he wanted his bed back. It was clearly time for some toddler sleep training.
We reclaimed Mommy and Daddy’s bed (and our sanity) with the following toddler sleep training tips:
Step 1: Draw or print a weekly/monthly calendar on paper or card stock. Decorate it with stickers or have your child draw on it to create appeal and ownership. We built on the theme from the movie Frozen with snowflake stickers. We also choose star stickers to mark each day our daughter slept through the night in her own bed.
Step 2: Determine what excites and motivates your child. We used the idea of Santa bringing gifts, but some people allow their child to choose a toy at the end of each week or month.
Step 3: Set the rules. Decide whether your child must go to sleep on their own or fall asleep with you in the room with them. You might set a limit to the number of times your child can call for you in the night. Also, decide how your child will know when it’s ok to leave their room. We use a clock that changes colors when it’s time to get up in the morning.
Step 4: BE CONSISTENT. It’s important that you follow the rules, too!
Step 5: Stay positive! Give your child positive feedback on a regular basis, and make sure to give yourself a pat on the back, too. Toddler sleep training can be exhausting and sometimes heartbreaking, but totally worth it in the end.
What other strategies have you used for toddler sleep training in your house?
