Help! My toddler gets out of bed every night!

Many people assume as an infant sleep consultant that I mainly help families with their babies' sleep when in reality half of my work is helping families with their toddlers' and older childrens’ sleep. We often expect that as a child gets older, their sleep will get easier but with age can come other sleep challenges, such as transitioning to a bed, potty training, nightmares and most commonly of all getting to an age when your little one realises that you sleep in a different room to them and they would quite like to join you!

Today we are going to focus on the very common scenario of your toddler getting out of bed every night. Before reading my advice on how you can tackle this sleep ‘problem’  I want you to know that this isn’t a problem unless it is for you, it isn’t something you need to ‘train’ your toddler to stop doing but if it is causing problems for your toddler’s sleep or your sleep there are things you can do.

The key to preventing your little one from getting out of their bed in the night is to work out why they are getting out of bed. Here are some possible reasons and what you can do about it:

Communication 

Is it because your toddler doesn't know what to do if they wake in the night ? Make sure that they know that they should call you if they need you rather than getting out of bed. This is a really useful strategy because getting out of bed can be really wakeful which means it’s harder for them to get back to sleep. Whereas if they call you when they are half asleep and you manage to get there quickly and soothe them back to sleep, they are much more likely to go into a deeper sleep which means there is less chance of them waking up again. 

Need

Is it because they need something like a drink ? Have a sippy cup of water available to them during the night and  make sure they know where it is and that they can access it easily by  themselves. Or is it because they need the toilet ? If this is a regular occurrence try getting fluids into them earlier in the day or have a cut off time when they don’t drink before bed. 

Comfort 

Some little ones need sensory comfort during the night so having  something that smells and feels familiar in their bed can really help.  A comforter (lovey) or teddy by itself rarely makes a difference but if you can get your little one interested in something like a teddy by playing with it during the day and taking it to places with them, then they are much more likely to want to take it to  bed with them and to see it as a form of comfort.  

Bedtime

Few parents know about this one; if a toddler goes to bed too early, they are much more likely to wake in the night! This is because their sleep pressure isn’t high enough when they fall asleep which means that they go into lighter stages of sleep and are then more likely to wake up during the night. 

Once you have worked out why they are waking during the night and you have a plan of action, make sure that you are consistent with it. Even though it can feel exhausting having to deal with nightly wake ups at this age, try to respond in a calm and loving way. This will help your child to learn that they are not doing anything wrong and that you will always be there if they need you. It is this action which leads to children becoming truly secure and independent sleepers.

If you would like help creating a personalised plan to help your toddler sleep easily at night, have a look at my one to one support packages.  If you're not sure which package to book you can book a FREE discovery call with me here .