Sam, mum to 22 month old Julian, is experiencing some difficulties getting her toddler to sleep at night.
“Julian has always been a good sleeper, but recently he’s become really unsettled. I don’t know if it’s just that he’s getting older or if there’s something else going on because he’s gone from only waking once at night to at least three times. He doesn’t seem to settle back as easily as before either, it’s almost like having a newborn again!
He still has two day time sleeps and a few people have suggested we cut one of those out and see if it helps, but I’m not sure if it will work. I was wondering how much sleep is normal for a toddler to have at night. At the moment he goes to bed at 7 and gets up at about 7.30am which has been great up till now! Maybe we need to start putting him to bed later?
I would be really interested to know how many hours a night is normal for a toddler to sleep, and if there are any tried and tested ways to get Julian to go to sleep, and more importantly, stay asleep! He’s been such a good sleeper up till now that I think we’ve been spoilt as we have never had to try any particular techniques to get him to go to sleep.”
Is your toddler an angel at night time or is getting them to sleep a complete nightmare? Whatever your experience is, please share it here and help Sam to get a decent night’s sleep again. By answering a few questions you can help other mothers find the solution to their toddler night time dramas. Thanks, Shona x
The results of our survey are back and it would appear that the majority of you are getting a good night’s sleep with 69% of your toddlers sleeping for around 9-11 hours per night. Only 19% of toddlers are still having 2 naps a day and they are all aged less than 16 months so it could be possible that Sam might benefit from cutting out one of Julian’s day sleeps.
When it comes to settling techniques, 34% of your toddlers go to sleep by themselves and 25% use a dummy. The rest are spread between a mixture of rocking, patting and breastfeeding. Unfortunately, it would appear there isn’t a tried and tested way to get toddlers to go to sleep!
Our mums did have plenty of good advice for Sam:
“I would encourage getting rid of one daytime nap. My toddler cut all naps out by the age of about 18 months and is a fantastic sleeper. However, that's been the case since she was a baby so maybe I've just been lucky!” – Cheryl, Midlands
“You should be strong and do controlled crying, and eventually he will get the message that he isn't to get up during the night. I think at 22 months he may need less sleep during the day. It is worth a go to see if it changes things,” - Stacey, Bath
“I would advise to drop a nap; it sounds as though he may be sleeping too much during the day so isn't as tired at night. I would also check that there isn't any noise or light that may be waking him so a blackout blind may be useful. Ensure he isn't waking due to hunger or thirst. Provide a beaker with water in case he wakes as he may settle himself and maybe offer supper if you don't already.” - Sal, Brighton
We also have a guest post on our blog from Hannah about how her toddler sleeps at night.