Bedtime fading – to try and reduce night waking in older toddlers.Parental presence – using your presence as a safety signal to reduce your toddler's anxiety by sleeping in their room.Using positive and consistent bedtime routines.Recognising and responding to tired signs.Some strategies you can use to develop positive sleep behaviour include: Limiting screen time at night and having a regular bedtime routine (such as bath, book, song and bed) can help to prevent and reduce settling difficulties and waking at night. It could be a dark room or having familiar objects around them. Routines and environments play a big part in helping toddlers get to sleep – they need a cue to tell them when it is sleep time, which is usually something in their external environment. Settling your toddler at 2 to 3 yearsīy understanding and connecting with your toddler you will learn their cues and be able to support positive sleep patterns. They may still resist going to sleep at night and want to stay up with the family. Toddler sleep rhythms at 2 to 3 yearsĪround this time, your toddler may reduce the number and length of daytime naps.Īs toddlers’ brains are developing quickly, they may develop night-time fears and may need additional comfort. If you are concerned about your child, contact your local maternal and child nurse, your doctor or the Maternal and Child Health Line on Tel. This includes:Įvery child is different, so don’t worry too much if your toddler has different sleep patterns to those described here.
This includes 1 to 2 hours during the day, which helps to promote optimal learning and development.Ī number of sleep-related changes commonly occur in this age group. Toddler sleep patterns and behaviours (2 to 3 years)īetween the ages of 2 and 3 years, toddlers often sleep 12 to 13 hours in a 24-hour period. Lots of flexibility and works from home so he can do the school run, cover naptime so I can go out for lunch with friends etc.In your language: For translated fact sheets go to Information in community languages. DH is around a lot as he finished work at 3 or 4 so lots of time to see the kids after school which is lovely. We will have 14 years with at least one teen in the house □Ĭlubs wise we don’t have that many at the mo - Stagecoach and football which clash on sat mornings. Then can always move in the future - when DD turns 11 DS1 will be almost 18 so maybe she can get a bigger bedroom for her teen years one way or another :) We are going to do a built in bed in the stair bulkhead. We are extending and adding a master and en-suite but one kid will still have to have the box room. My friend had 3 in 5 years and another friend had 4 in 4 years. Then in sept ‘22 middle started school so now I have the whole week home with the baby :) So I had m/t/w with the middle and baby, Thurs/Fri with just the baby while middle was at preschool. Baby was born in April and he went to school in the September. I have almost 7 years between oldest and youngest. You can wait longer and have a bigger gap? But her sisters adore her and I’m so glad we did it. Hardest things have been trying to fit naps in around big kids and parenting while sleep deprived. Once they’re on solids they can join meals with the bigger ones which is helpful. This time of day is tricky again and did require more screens than I’d like when she was tiny. Now she’s bigger there is more time spent entertaining as she’s early a toddler.ģpmish we do the school run. I chill, do housework, run errands, feed, change, play - all the usual baby stuff. When the baby was younger this was trickier as she wanted to nap just as we were all busy packing bags/brushing teeth/doing hair. I eat then do the usual morning stuff of tidying breakfast, getting everyone dressed. He brings me tea and a baby to feed then leaves for work. Husband gets up with whoever is up before 6.30 (often all of them) A bigger age gap (child 2 is 3.5 years older than child 3) helped. We have 3 and the last one has slotted in beautifully. Your trickier child will be older and more able to handle the transition Your kids are used to sharing you and you are used to managing the needs of more than one child There’s no way of knowing if 2-3 will be harder/easier as it depends on so many things.