How to Get a Toddler to Sleep All Night

Video Transcript

"Hello, I'm Dr. Deborah Wheeler. I'm the vice president of academic affairs at Argosy University, on the Salt Lake City campus. I'm also a clinical psychologist. And the topic today is how to get your child to sleep through the night. This is a tough one for parents, especially weary parents who don't get enough rest themselves. One thing you can do to help your child sleep through the night is to make sure they don't take a nap late in the day. Just like most people, they don't need extra sleep before they need to go to sleep, so make sure you have their nap times at a reasonable time. This still allows them to have energy, and and experience their full day, and be ready to sleep at night. Next, make sure you have a soothing routine for the child. That could include a partly soothing bath, comforting aromatherapy. That might be a nighttime story that's being read. Make sure they have a nice routine that's soothing. Just like most of us, it's difficult to sleep at night if you don't have your routine and some down time. Finally, if the child wakes up in the middle of the night make sure you take them right back to their bed. It's very tempting to have them just climb in bed with you so that you don't have to get up, but you do want to make sure you take the child back to their own bed. That will get them in the habit of returning themselves to sleep. Even when they wake up they can go right back to bed in their own bed, and you sleep better that night as well. If you need more help on parenting tips you can always contact us at argosy.edu."