It’s every parent’s dream to have it easy when it comes to bedtime with kids. Who wouldn’t want peaceful evenings to relax and enjoy some time for themselves after all? But working with toddlers can pose a huge challenge.
Toddler tantrums at bedtime is a common nightmare that parents with younger kids face regularly.
Not only can this cause a lot of stress for you, but it also does for the child who’s going through it. This period in parenting is rough but being sleep-deprived should not be the norm when raising your child.
Here are a few effective parenting tips to minimize toddler tantrums at bedtime.
Use of essential oils
Ever found appreciation for how calming and relaxing a spa room feels? Luckily, you can reap the same relaxing benefits when putting your child to sleep with the use of essential oils.
Diffusing Lavender essential oils are especially effective for treating anxiety, stress, and insomnia.
Prepare the room with diffused essential oils at least an hour before bedtime to help set the mood for your child to relax and get ready for sleep. An evening bath with a few drops of essential oils can also help alleviate stress and prepare them to get to bed feeling fresh and clean.
Setup a Routine
Routines help keep things in order.
In the case of your child, putting them to sleep can get easier with routines set in place as it cues the body to get ready for sleep.
Your family’s routine may include brushing teeth, putting on pajamas, reading a book, taking a bath or shower, and putting away toys.
Find a logical order that works for your child and keep the action cues simple and brief. You can even use cue cards or charts to help them remember each step.
Doing this allows your child to exercise their independence by letting them do things on their own leading up to bedtime.
Be consistent with their sleep schedule
Does your child need 10 or 12 hours of sleep? Depending on their age, the number of hours they need varies.
Toddler tantrums at bedtime can often happen due to lack of sleep.
One key to avoiding this is to pick and maintain a consistent schedule for bedtime and build your child’s evening routines around them.
If you want your child to go to bed by 7p.m. or 8p.m., make adjustments for dinnertime and get their dinner ready by six so you have ample opportunities to spend family time together.
Make sure to pick a realistic time that works for your family dinnertime and work schedules.
Set a rule to get out of bed one-time
The concept of this is to keep the child in bed for as much time as possible.
They will be allowed to stay awake for as long as they want as long as they stay in bed. No gadgets. Only books are allowed. And they can only come out of bed ONCE, and that is to take care of business such as to say goodnight, use the bathroom, drink milk, ask a question, etc.
Once they go out of their room, coming back in would mean lights out and they should be ready for bed with no excuses.
Screens off
Studies suggest that the blue light emitted by screens damages the body’s cycles and causes struggles with sleep.
Establishing quiet time an hour before bedtime by turning off the TV and putting away mobile devices before sleep promotes healthy sleeping habits for your child.
Take this moment to read them bedtime stories and talk about their day, answer their questions and learn about what’s bothering them.
Night times are peaceful and this makes it the perfect opportunity to connect and spend some quality time with your child.
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