Sleep expectations for toddlers

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Sleep expectations for toddlers

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There are a number of things that will help get your toddler to fall asleep on his own. As we all know, it is very important that he fall asleep on his own because that is what will transfer into adulthood. We want him to be able to fall asleep on his own from now through adulthood. The easiest way is to have a bedtime routine. It can be short, it doesn't have to be long. Don't drag it out. Bath, massage, diaper, books, PJs, a cup of milk, and into bed. A good bedtime is around 7:00 p.m. Make sure they are in bed by 7:00, so they can fall asleep by 7:20 or 7:30 p.m. The other things you could do are -- There is two ways you can do it. One is crying it out. Crying it out has a bad name right now because people think that you just put your baby in the crib or the bed and you just leave them to scream their little head of for however many hours it take for them to fall asleep. That's not the case. You do check-ins so they don't feel abandoned. You leave the room for three minutes at a time; three minutes, six minutes, nine minutes. Just go up by three minutes every single time you leave the room. Therefore, they are not feeling abandoned and it's not too long for them and allowing them to learn to self-soothe. Allowing them the time to be in their crib or bed to learn to self-soothe is important. It's like crawling or walking. If you hold your baby constantly, there's no way that they will learn to crawl or walk. If you rock your toddler to sleep, there is no way he will learn to self-soothe. So that's one way. The other way is the gradual method, which means that you stand by the crib or sit on the edge of the bed, and then you go into a chair and you gradually move the chair towards the door. It just depends on how long you stay there and when a child feels comfortable enough to fall asleep.

Watch Kathy Sinclair's video on Sleep expectations for toddlers...

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Kathy Sinclair

Sleep Expert

Kathy Sinclair is a committed and dedicated baby sleep expert that has spent 2,856 nights without sleep so that parents of newborns could get theirs. During this time she has studied closely the secrets, nuances, and ins-and-outs of baby sleeping patterns. This study, along with her skill and knowledge, has enabled her to be known as the “Baby Whisperer of Los Angeles” by some of her clients, who know that she can get babies sleeping peacefully and easily within a very short space of time.

Kathy is a graduate of Australia's prestigious Charlton Brown Nanny College, a certified postpartum doula, lactation educator, and a certified Happiest Baby on the Block Educator. As the head of Baby Sleep Solutions, a sleep consultation service, Kathy does online, telephone and in person consulting to families who need to get more sleep quickly and without fuss.

Kathy currently spends her time between Los Angeles and Brisbane Australia, enjoying an endless summer and the best of both worlds.

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