How to Get a Toddler to Sleep Alone

Breaking a child from sleeping in bed with you, or being rocked to sleep, is one of the hardest things for parents to do, even if you’ve already tackled that ground with the two older kids. But you can do it and you don’t have to lose a whole week of sleep to make it happen. In a few simple, but relentlessly applied steps, you can have your toddler falling asleep alone in just two nights.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Set a routine. Children, like adults, perform a lot better when they know what to expect. Set a routine with bath time, song time, story time and lights out. Do it often enough and you child will come to expect a song after a bath, a story after a song, and a good night’s rest after a story.

2. Reassure your toddler. Before you leave your little one alone in bed, kiss him good night and make sure he knows you’ll be right down stairs, or right across the hall, and you’ll be back to check on him in a little while. Then check on him after about 20 minutes. He'll come to know that just because you're out of sight doesn't mean you've left him.

3. Be firm, When you do peek in on your child, don’t lie next to her and don’t give in to her pleas for you. Simply let her see that you’re there and tell her how proud you are that she’s still in the bed and then exit.

4. Be consistent. Every time you check on your toddler at night, do the same thing. Be consistent in your routine and firm in your resolve, Even the most bullheaded two-year-old must give in to sleep some time. And when he sees you’re not giving in, he’ll drift off that much sooner.

5. Enjoy your new-found evening hours and sleep well.