Helping Toddler Sleep

Dear parent,

It is best to let your toddler develop his own sleep pattern so he learns to recognize his body signals and becomes self-directed and a healthy sleeper. 

However, your son may need to go to sleep earlier, or stay in bed longer. It may be that certain regular morning noise or light is waking him up prematurely. Check and listen and see if you can make sure that his sleep is not disturbed. Light blocking curtains or shades can be very helpful in keeping your toddler asleep in the morning. 

I assume you sleep with your toddler. If not, that could be the whole reason for him waking up too soon. Make sure to go to sleep with your toddler and never get up ahead of him. In your absence he could wake up prematurely. If you are awake and he is still asleep, meditate in bed, relax, or read with a very small light, until your baby gets up. 

Food can also be a cause. If your toddler is mostly breastfeeding, make sure not to eat stimulating foods that may cause him to feel alert even though he is tired. Avoid tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar, wheat and even too much fruit. Make sure he is not consuming stimulating foods at bedtime, including too much fruit, sweetened foods, or salt. Proteins are good at bedtime for both you and your toddler.

If you are doing all of these things and your toddler still wakes up seemingly tired, it is possible that he is not really tired. Maybe he is just disoriented in the morning. Try to get him into some exciting activity right away; something he loves to do, or something new and different that grabs his attention and engages him fully. He may simply need some direction in the morning.

Left to his own, your child will find his sleep rhythm. A total of ten hours can be sufficient for some happy and content toddlers. But, if you still see him as tired and the problem is not resolved, you can book a phone session with me so I can provide further assistance: http://www.authenticparent.com/guidance.html

Warmly, http://authenticparent.com/index.html