Getting Toddlers to Sleep Through the Night
My 14-month-old does not sleep through the night and will not sleep in his own bed. We made the mistake of letting him sleep with us because he had colic for six months and we were just exhausted. Now we can't get him out of our bed. What can we do?
OK, first of all, you need to be ready to sleep-train your 14-month-old. Please do not start until you are ready, body and soul. I suggest you pick the weekend to start the training, when hopefully neither you nor your husband needs to be at work.
The first night, after some wind-down time, if your child has a hard time going to sleep, stay in the bedroom until he falls asleep. If he wakes in the middle of the night, wait a few minutes to see if he goes back to sleep. If not, go in and reassure him that everything is OK and then return to your room. If he screams out again, you should wait five minutes and then go back in again to reassure him that all is well. Then you increase the time in five-minute increments, so you wait 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, then 20 minutes, etc.
The reason you have to be mentally prepared is because of the screaming. He already believes that you will pick him up and bring him in with you if he screams because of past experience. Don't give in. If you can stomach the back-and-forth to the bedroom and the noise, you will conquer this problem.
The second night when you have put him down, stay in the room for less time, like 30 minutes, then the next night you will be at 20 minutes, then 10 minutes ... so after a few nights, you just put him into his crib and leave the room. You need to remember that he is crying because he is furious, not because he is hurt/upset.
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Answered by
Nanny Stella
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