Toddler solo bedtime
-
At what age were you able to put your toddler to bed, put them in, and leave the room and they go to sleep themselves? We’re currently laying next to them on the floor while they fall asleep and I am hoping one day we can stop this. We tried the leaving and putting to bed around 4 months ago and it was a massive emotional fail.
-
Sleep consultant here! And you are not alone--this is the number one reason toddler families reach out to me. And I have a just turned 3-year-old myself. Those bedtime battles can be so tough. Age-wise, it can vary so greatly when kids fall asleep on their own. And for a lot of kiddos, it's something that needs to be formally taught and doesn't happen on its own. You are their fav person and they are around an adult at all other parts of the day, so helping them to feel calm and confident and build up the skill that they can confidently rest on their own will be key and can take a lot of intentional strategies and consistency. I have LOTS of behavioral and developmental strategies, but one of my fav toddler strategies is the "kissing game". Tell your little one you need to (insert task, like go to the bathroom) and that you will be back to give them a kiss as soon as your done. And then when you start to walk to the door, rush back to them and give them a kiss and say you couldn't wait and needed to give them another kiss right now. Make it a little silly but continue "leaving" to do a small task (you can just step outside the room) and then continue to return and give a kiss. This is a gradual way to build some trust that you are always nearby without it becoming a big battle that you are leaving the room. I have lots of other strategies so feel free to email me (jillian@snoozebabyco.com) if you need 1-on-1 help. You've got this!
