When your baby isn’t so much a baby anymore, when she has learned to walk and talk, and more importantly, to test some boundaries, having a good plan when it comes to night times with your toddler is imperative!
There is no way I want my baby who slept all night in his cot to STOP sleeping through the night once he has free reign to jump out of bed.
A toddler leaving their bedroom may sound harmless. If it happens often enough, however, it can be extremely hard on parents and children. Frustrating and tiring mostly!
Toddlers can be incredibly persistent when they’re trying to get their way.
The thing that makes this scenario trickier than sleep training a baby is that your little one, by this age, has probably learned a few negotiating tactics.
Toddlers quickly learn how to manipulate certain situations. I am not saying this in a negative way. It’s not that they’re malicious or conniving, it’s just human nature.
We test behaviours and actions to see if they get us what we’re after. When we find something that works, we tend to use it repeatedly.
So if asking for a glass of water gets Mum back into the room, or asking to use the bathroom helps to satisfy your curiosity about what’s going on outside of your room after hours, you’re likely to use the same approach every time.
That can be a soothing fact to keep in your mind when you’re walking your child back to their room for the fifteenth time since you sat down to watch your favourite show.
Now, bearing in mind that yelling is just going to upset everyone, and that giving in will just encourage more of the same behaviour…
How do we get a toddler to stay in their room without letting the situation escalate?
Consequences, mama. Consequences are the key.
I should start off here by saying that I think it’s only fair to always give one warning before implementing a consequence for unwanted behaviour.
If your child leaves their room, ask them why they’re not in bed. Assuming the answer isn’t because they’re not feeling well (which can often be a ruse, but should always be at least addressed and checked out before calling it such) then you can calmly but firmly tell them that they’re not allowed out of their room until morning.
Walk them back to bed, say goodnight, give them a quick smooch, and let them know that there will be a consequence if they leave their room again.
Hopefully, that does the trick. More than likely, especially if this is a behaviour that’s been going on for a while already, it won’t.
When they show up in the living room again saying that they forgot to tell you something; or that their water is too warm; or that they can’t find teddy; it’s time to implement that consequence.
Now we get to the big question, right? What’s the consequence?
I’ve had a lot of parents tell me, “I know I need to discipline him somehow, but I don’t want it to be anything that will upset him.” I totally understand this line of thinking, but really what is a consequence if it’s not something unpleasant? How is it ever going to dissuade unwanted behaviour if it isn’t somehow disagreeable?
The simple answer is, it won’t.
The trick here is to find a balance between something that your child doesn’t mind and something that really throws them into a tailspin. We don’t want to traumatise anyone here.
We’re just looking for something unpleasant enough to dissuade the behaviour.
Understanding that every child is different and that nothing works for everyone, I do have a simple trick that I’ve found to be incredibly effective in this situation. It’s as simple as closing a door.
In fact, that’s the trick. Yep, that’s it right there.
Close the bedroom door.
There’s something about having the bedroom door closed all the way until it latches that toddlers really seem to dislike. You don’t have to do it for long. Try for just a minute initially. Then bump it up by thirty seconds or so every time your toddler leaves their room that night. Like I said, this is a form of consequence. If your child doesn’t like it, well, that’s kind of the point, right?
So if they cry a little, you’ll have to ride it out. If they try to open the door, you’re going to have to hold it closed. They might scream and shout, let them. Most importantly?
Don’t give in.
If you do, you’re teaching them that they just need to hit the roof in order to get their way. That’s going to make things significantly worse.
If your toddler already sleeps with the door closed, you can try taking away their lovey on the same time pattern as you would with the door-closing technique. A minute on the first go-round, thirty seconds more if it happens again, and so on. Before too long, they should start to recognise the negative consequences of leaving their room, and they’ll stay in bed unless they have an actual issue.
That covers the night, but what about the morning?
Have you had a surprise visit from a little person at 5:15 AM asking if it’s morning yet? You really can’t hold that against them. Chances are that they legitimately woke up and didn’t know if it was time to get out of bed or not.
If you have a few bucks to spare, grab yourself a visual clock, a great one is the Groclock. These sweet little gizmos shine a soft light that’s one colour through the night (or a black screen) and another when it’s time to get up. Just stay away from any that shine green, white or blue light. These colours simulate sunlight, which in turn can stimulate cortisol production. Making it tougher to get back to sleep. TIP: The Groclock defaults to a blue screen, change the setting down to zero for a black screen overnight.
If you want to save your money, and your toddler knows their numbers, you can get a digital clock. Let them know it’s not time to get up until they see the “magic 7” on the clock.
Don’t set the alarm though. If they’re able to sleep past seven o’clock, you don’t want them waking up with a jolt when the radio suddenly fires off.
These are just a couple of options and they may not work with every toddler.
You may have to try out a few different approaches before you find something that sticks. What isn’t optional is consistency.
You absolutely have to stick to your guns once you’ve given the warning.
Your toddler may not know how to tie their shoes yet, but they can spot an empty threat a mile away. They’re gifted like that. They don’t mind systematically testing the boundaries to see if the rules are still in place night after night.
Be patient, be calm, but be firm and predictable.
Once they realise that you’re not giving in, you’ll be free to break out the good snacks and turn on Netflix without fear of being discovered.
