Reasons why your toddler maybe taking forever to fall asleep

Reasons why your toddler maybe taking forever to fall asleep


Are you facing lengthy bedtime settles? Long onset of sleep? Bedtime battles with your toddler?
Are they asking for just one more book? Or one more sip of water please Mummy?!?! The list can be endless when it comes to a toddlers bedtimes requests. 🙃

So, here’s a few things that could be contributing to help you troubleshoot what could be causing the stalling:

LIGHT:
Light significantly influences our circadian rhythms, signaling when it's time to sleep and wake.
If your little one is exposed to light too late in the evening, it can inadvertently shift their internal clocks. Even a night light can have an impact, as children are more sensitive to light than adults. Also, screen time and that blue light is a big contributor. Excessive light exposure before bedtime can hinder our little ones’ bodies from producing the necessary levels of melatonin for falling asleep. 

NAPS:
If your toddler is still napping, especially after the age of two, they may require more awake time before bed.
The same goes for younger children; that final nap of the day might be too long, or they may need additional awake time prior to bedtime. 

FOMO or TODDLER LIMIT TESTING:
Some children experience a fear of missing out and want to be part of the action at all times. If they know they’re heading to bed while everyone else is still awake, they’ll likely let you know  they’re not happy about it! Additionally, if your toddler has recently begun testing boundaries during the day, this behavior may carry over into bedtime…. “I’m thirsty” “I want that teddy” etc. and before you know it, you’ve spent an hour battling them to just go to sleep!

CHANGED SLEEP NEEDS:
If your child has been going to bed at the same time for as long as you can remember, it might be time to consider a later bedtime. The schedule that worked for your child at 2.5 years old may no longer be suitable at 3.5 years old.

How can we fix this?
  1. Start dimming lights earlier in the bedtime wind down process. Light suppresses melatonin.
  2. In the morning, expose your child to natural daylight, this will help to shift your child's circadian rhythm to an earlier bedtime if the onset of sleep is currently late.
  3. Adjust or shorten naps if age appropriate. Eg. if your 2.5 year old is having a 2 hour nap and won’t go to sleep until 9pm, cap the nap back to 1.5 hours, even less if 1.5 hours is still resulting in a late bedtime. Once you have reached 5.5 hours awake time before bed, if you find the bedtime stalling is still happening and all other contributing factors have been address, more than likely bub is ready to reduce down the day nap. 
  4. If your toddler is in a bed and getting out a lot, making multiple requests at bedtime or is showing some separation anxiety when you leave the room, read our blog on 5 steps to a toddler trouble free bedtime. 

  5. The best thing for a toddler in a hard and emotionally charged time is boundaries - boundaries are SO kind for toddlers who are feeling all of their very big feelings especially around bedtime.

  6. Create a fun and consistent bedtime routine. Make it playful, use role play with toys, let them feel like they have some control in the lead up. (Which books to read, what pj's to wear) - toddlers want to feel like they have control so we want to give it to them for things we can. 

  7. Hear your toddler!  Acknowledge what they are saying to you, but be confident to hold the boundary of bedtime and what you want that to look like in your house.  "I can see you are SO upset about going to bed darling. I love you, and I can't wait to play with you tomorrow but right now it bedtime".

  8. There may be other things at play that are contributing to that late or delayed onset of sleep at night. If you’re struggling to pinpoint the issue with your little one, our 30 min quick fix consult can help, book in here! 




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