The toddler stage is often the most exciting phase of having a child, yet it also comes with challenges, and sleeping is one of them. It’s common that some toddlers will experience sleep problems; it could be refusing to sleep, a sleep tantrum, or even a sleep disorder such as sleep talking and sleepwalking.
The good news is, most of these toddler sleep problems are harmless. The bad news, however, these problems can still disturb your little one’s sleep pattern and may result in your child having a lack of sleep.
You have tried applying a good sleep routine, but it doesn’t seem like these problems are going away. So, here are some extra strategies that you can do to help cure your little one’s sleep problems. Keep in mind that every child is different; some may work for them and some just won’t. You can use these ideas as a reference, but feel comfortable adapting them to your little one’s personality.
Common toddler sleep problems and their solutions
They refuse to go to bed
What is it:
A child refusing to go to bed, or having a meltdown just before bedtime is one of the most common toddler sleep problems. Most of the time it’s caused by overtiredness, but the cause can be varied; tiredness, fear of the dark, separation anxiety or an illness.
This is actually a normal behaviour, and it will eventually happen to most toddlers, especially between 2 to 3 years old.
What you can do:
When that happens, keep yourself calm and make sure that you stay in your child’s presence. Be there for your little one until she’s able to calm herself down. You can give her a hug, but my favourite is carrying my child on my hip and rubbing her back as it will help calm her down. It’s often that my child ends up falling asleep in my hand.
Keep in mind to avoid making unhelpful reactions, such as yelling, screaming or even threatening your child, because it can only worsen the problem and potentially give your child a behavioural problem when they grow older.
To prevent bedtime tantrums from frequently happening, what you can do is establish a positive bedtime routine. It’s a positive activity that you and your child always do together before bedtime, such as singing, reading stories or a good night kiss. In fact, a study concludes that a positive bedtime routine can help improve a toddler’s sleep and potentially reduce these bedtime meltdowns.
Another strategy is to avoid overtiredness during the day, while also ensuring your child is having enough activity and not too much sleep so that it’s still easy for her to sleep at night.
Night terror and nightmare
What is it:
While they may seem similar, night terror and nightmare are actually different, and they occur in different stages of sleep, too. According to the NHS, a nightmare is a typical bad dream that causes the person to wake up from and remember, and it affects both adults and children. Meanwhile, a night terror is something that makes the child move, scream and talk while asleep, and they will not remember it when they wake up. Night terrors are more frequent in children.
According to research published by the AAPF (American Academy of Family Physicians), both night terror and nightmares will eventually reduce as your child grows older, and will probably stop when your child is in her teenage years.
What you can do:
Night terror and nightmares are common problems, and they don’t necessarily mean that your child is sick or has a sleep disorder. It can be caused by being overtired, needing to pee at night, or when a child is dealing with stress and changes. For most toddlers, night terrors will get better on their own.
- Nightmare
When your child is having a nightmare, make sure that you stay in your child’s presence and reassure your child that you’re there with her. You can tell her that she’s just having a bad dream while also offering comfort so that your child may feel OK, and helping her go back to sleep.
In addition to stress and tiredness, nightmares can also be caused by overstimulation before bedtime such as watching scary movies and content. So, make sure to avoid that in the future.
- Night terror
When your child experiences a night terror, the first thing to do is to stay calm and not wake her up. All you need is to make sure your child is safe and keep them from moving too aggressively which can risk hurting herself. You can use a toddler bed guard to prevent your child from rolling to the floor. You may need to visit your doctor if it keeps happening though.
Sleepwalking
Just like its name suggests, sleepwalking is when your child does activities such as getting out of bed, walking or even eating while they’re asleep.
What you can do:
While it’s not too common for children, most of the time sleepwalking does not require special treatment, and will eventually go away when your child grows older. What you need to do is to ensure your child is safe and slowly help her back to bed without waking her up. It’s important to not wake your child so that they still get enough sleep.
When that happens, also make sure that you don’t make them feel ashamed and that it’s just normal childhood behaviour.
Sleep talking
What is it:
Sleep talking is when your child talks in their sleep. It can be similar to a normal conversation, or just sputtering words that just don’t make sense. Almost everyone who experiences sleep talking doesn’t remember what they said when they’re asleep.
What you can do:
You may think to stop your toddler from talking in their sleep, but the answer is, you don’t need to. It’s a common thing, and it could happen to both children and adults. Only in a few cases that a sleep talking can be a sign of a serious sleep disorder. So, your little one may need to see a doctor if it keeps happening every night for longer than a month.
Some things you can do to prevent sleep talking is to encourage healthy sleep and eating habit and avoid any screen time before sleeping. It’s also important to keep your child relaxed before bedtime by providing her with a comfortable sleeping environment free of distraction and bright light.
Snoring
What is it:
You may not expect that, but snoring can happen to children too, especially when they’re too tired. It can also be caused by allergies and nasal blockage. The Sleep Foundation published that 27% of children will likely experience snoring at some point, but only 1 to 5% are a sign of obstructive sleep apnea.
What you can do:
If the snoring disturbs her sibling’s sleep, you can help reduce the snore by elevating her head using a pillow, or, if your child is under 1 year old, elevate the head position of her crib. Oftentimes snoring is caused by overtiredness, so keep in mind to avoid that if your child is often snoring.
However, snoring can also be a sign of a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea. And if you notice that there’s a pause between each snore, you really should see a doctor.
Frequently waking up at night
What is it:
Parents who have a toddler know that this is the most frequent thing happening with their children! This will test your patience as parents, as your child will often cry until she gets back to sleep.
Night waking can happen too often for some children, and it can disturb their sleeping pattern – and you too!
What you can do:
Never try to rush getting her back to sleep when she wakes up at night because it’s likely that she’ll eventually sleep by herself.
If she wakes up crying and calls you out, reassure that you are there for her and just calm her down until she gets back to sleep. However, if she just wakes up and doesn’t cry, you can leave soon after checking her as it’ll help her to learn to calm herself, which can be a valuable skill for when they grow up.
Ensuring your toddler has enough sleep is challenging for many parents, and it can even lead to parents’ sleep regression. We understand that it can be tough sometimes, especially when you need to balance life and work. Keep in mind that this is just a phase in your child’s life and that eventually, these sleep problems will go away.
