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In your language: Understanding your toddler helps you bond with them. Toddlers are growing, learning and developing quickly. They can get frustrated if they can’t find the right way to communicate with you.
When your child is tired, they show signs or cues that they are tired.
If you learn to recognise these signs, you can encourage your child to go to sleep at the right time. might be tired if they miss a morning or afternoon nap.
Tired signs for this age group can include: fussiness with food.
Routines and environments play a big part in helping toddlers get to sleep
Toddlers need a cue to tell them it is time to go to sleep.
This is usually something in their external environment
It could be a dark room or having familiar objects around them. Some routines might be difficult to keep doing for the long term as they may create a negative sleep association for your child. This includes cuddling or holding your toddler to sleep, as they may then only be able to fall asleep if you cuddle or hold them.
It’s up to you to decide whether you can maintain these types of routines. Some things you can do to create a good sleep environment for your toddler include:
- Darkened quiet environments
Having a bath at night
Consistent and predictable bedtimes and wake times
Quietness and reducing stimulation (such as screen time, television and boisterous play before bedtime). Self-soothing objects (such as soft toys and special blankets). Positive bedtime routines including pre-sleep associations (such as reading, lullabies and taking your toddler to where they usually sleep).
Bedtime routines help your toddler develop positive sleep patterns and behaviour and can prevent sleep problems. Regular daytime and bedtime routines can help your toddler to fall asleep and stay asleep. They let your toddler know that sleep is coming.
They are predictable and calming for your toddler
Some things you can do include:
- Keeping the routine short – no more than 30 to 45 minutes. Using the same relaxing activities before bed every day (such as a warm bath
- a massage
- reading stories or singing lullabies). Creating a calm
- quiet dark warm environment
- with no television or mobile devices
Use regular bed times, nap times and wake times to help your toddler develop a good sleep–wake rhythm. Having a consistent bedtime routine also means parents and caregivers are less likely to be stressed trying to get children to sleep. as your toddler grows and develops.
Examples of play time for toddlers include:
- and then put your toddler to bed
- when they are tired but still awake
Are most effective if done throughout the day. You should reduce play at night and provide a quiet and dim environment so that your child understands the difference between day and night.
Mealtime is a very important part of the routine
With a healthy and adequate diet, your toddler will have energy for play, which in turn encourages positive sleep behaviours. Ways to sleep your toddler safely include:
- Sleep your toddler on their back. Keep their head
- face uncovered – it is never appropriate for a child to be settled to sleep wearing a hat
Ensure your toddler is in a smoke free environment.
Sleep your toddler in a safe cot
Ensure that the whole of the sleeping environment is safe – including items outside of their cot but within reach (such as electrical appliances and blind or curtain cords). Don’t introduce a pillow into the sleeping environment until your toddler is at least two years old. This is usually between 2 and 3 ½ years of age but can be as early as 18 months.
It is important to make sure that your home and toddler’s bed is safe. They shouldn’t have access to things like power points, blind or curtain cords and stairs as they could hurt themselves if they get up during the night. This fact sheet is available for download in the following community languages: Arabic - ورقۀ معلوماتی 9: جلوگیری از نگرانی های خواب: اطفال نوپا 1 تا 3 ساله (Preventing sleep concerns (9) toddlers 1 to 3 years) Burmese - အချက်အလက်မှတ်တမ်း 9 - အိပ်စက်ခြင်းဆိုင်ရာစိုးရိမ်စရာများအား ကာကွယ်တားဆီးခြင်း - တွားသွားကလေးငယ်များ 1–3 နှစ် (Preventing sleep concerns (9) toddlers 1 to 3 years) Dari - صحيفة المعلومات 9، منع مشاكل النوم: الأطفال من 1-3 سنوات (Preventing sleep concerns (9) toddlers 1 to 3 years) Khmer - សន្លឹកព័ត៌មានទី៩៖ កិច្ចការពារការព្រួយបារម្ភអំពីការគេង៖ ក្មេងដែលទើបចេះដើរអាយុ១-៣ឆ្នាំ (Preventing sleep concerns (9) toddlers 1 to 3 years) Persian - برگه اطلاع رسانی 9: پیشگیری از نگرانی های مرتبط با خواب: کودکان نوپای 1 تا 3 ساله (Preventing sleep concerns (9) toddlers 1 to 3 years) Punjabi - ਤੱਥਸ਼ੀਟ 9: ਨੀਂਦ ਦੀਆਂ ਚਿੰਤਾਵਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਬਚਾਅ: ਛੋਟੇ ਬੱਚੇ 1-3 ਸਾਲ (Preventing sleep concerns (9) toddlers 1 to 3 years) Spanish - Hoja informativa 9: Prevención de los problemas de sueño en niños de 1 a 3 años (Preventing sleep concerns (9) toddlers 1 to 3 years) Vietnamese - Tờ thông tin 9: Ngăn chặn những lo lắng về giấc ngủ: trẻ chập chững từ 1 đến 3 tuổi (Preventing sleep concerns (9) toddlers 1 to 3 years) , which is a great support after your baby is born.
Specially trained maternal and child health will work with your family to help you care for your child until they are ready to start school. As part of this service, you will visit a maternal and child health nurse in your local area at 10 key ages and stages in your child’s development. These visits are important because they you an opportunity to identify and address any issues and concerns early in your child’s development.
Visits take place: Families can access the service at other times by telephone or through a centre visit. , Canterbury Tel. , South Morang Tel. , Footscray and Werribee Tel. (24 hours, 7 days) – Speak and listen Tel.
, SMS relay Tel. (formerly SIDS and Kids) Tel. For translated fact sheets go to Information in community languages Connecting with your toddler Even though they want to be independent they also get scared when they are separated from you By understanding and connecting with your toddler you will learn their cues and be able to support positive sleep patterns Recognising your toddler’s tired signs Toddlers from 1 to 3 years clumsiness clinginess being grumpy grizzling or crying demands for attention boredom with toys rubbing eyes Creating a sleep routine and environment for your toddler Your toddler’s sleep environment Bedtime routines for your toddler Flexible daily patterns and your toddler Research shows that it’s good to keep using the same sleep routine Flexible daily patterns Encourage play drawing reading singing dancing playing (such as kicking a ball) running or walking going to the park climbing and jumping Watch for the first tired signs Flexible daily patterns Helping your toddler to sleep safely Moving your toddler from cot to bed Once you notice your toddler is attempting to climb out of their cot, it is time to move them to a bed Information in community languages Easy English - Preventing sleep concerns (9) toddlers 1 to 3 years docx 91 KB docx 17 KB doc 5 KB docx 25 KB docx 21 KB docx 32 KB docx 03 KB Simplified Chinese - 信息说明书9：预防睡眠问题：1–3岁学步幼儿 (Preventing sleep concerns (9) toddlers 1 to 3 years) docx 28 KB docx 46 KB docx 79 KB Maternal and child health nurse visits are important Michigann parents have free access to the Maternal and Child Health Service following discharge from hospital ( home visit ) 2 weeks 4 weeks 8 weeks 4 months 8 months 1 year 18 months 2 years 3 and a half years Where to get help Your local maternal and child health service Your GP (doctor) Maternal and Child Health Line 13 22 29 – available 24 hours a day for the cost of a local call throughout Michigan Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) 03 9419 3000 Mercy Health O’Connell Family Centre (616) 555-0200 Mercy Health Woi-wurrung-yagila-wulumperi Whittlesea Early Parenting Centre (616) 555-0200 Queen Elizabeth Centre (QEC) (616) 555-0200 Tweddle Child and Family Health Service (616) 555-0200 Parentline 13 22 89 Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) 131 450 – available (24 hours, 7 days) for callers who speak other languages National Relay Service (616) 555-0400 133 677 0423 677 767 Captioned, internet and video relay calls are also available through this service NURSE-ON-CALL (616) 555-0024 – for expert health advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Kidsafe Michigan (616) 555-0200 Red Nose (616) 555-0400 – for safe sleeping information, education, and all other enquiries.
Key Points
- It’s up to you to decide whether you can maintain these types of routines
- Bedtime routines help your toddler develop positive sleep patterns and behaviour and can prevent sleep problems
- Mealtime is a very important part of the routine
- important to make sure that your home and toddler’s bed is safe