Toddlers certainly have their own ideas about what they want or don’t want…especially at bedtime. Getting a cranky toddler to go to bed is no walk in the park.

The best thing you can do is to establish a bedtime routine for your toddler. Toddlers need routine to feel safe and also to learn their boundaries. It will take a little patience and perseverance, but gradually your toddler will start to respond.

A few Ideas:

Soothing Bath Before Bedtime - This could be considered one of the oldest and most successful bedtime routines for kids. A warm bath will soothe and help your toddler calm down before bed. Keep things calm and don’t add too many toys to the bath.

Johnson’s makes some wonderful bedtime bath products for toddlers.

Toddlers Love a Good Story – Your toddler loves listening to the sound of your voice. Engage him or her in a bedtime story to help drift them off to sleep. You can also try making up stories instead of reading. Include your child as one of the characters and talk about things your child will find interesting. Regular bedtime stories and reading to your child will help influence her interests and develop her creativity.

Sing a Lullaby – One of my personal favorites, and usually works like a charm. The long loved lullaby does just that, it helps lull babies and toddlers to sleep. Your voice and lulling rhythm of the song will give your toddler security and provide a sense of calm.

No Surprises – Not when it comes to bedtime. About 15 minutes before you start your bedtime routine let your toddler know. Try not to say it’s time for bed in 15 minutes instead say it’s time for a story or a bath in 15 minutes. Some toddlers will automatically go into overdrive if they hear the word bed.

Don’t Rush Things – Toddlers really don’t like being rushed. As a fully fledged parent of a toddler you already know the patience you need to exhibit doing the simplest things like getting your toddler in and out of the car. Bedtime is no different.

If you’re rushing and putting the emphasis on getting them to sleep then your toddler will pick up on that and lash out. Try to place the emphasis on spending quiet, quality time with your toddler. Allow yourself plenty of time so that you can get through the whole bedtime routine without rushing and be flexible and allow for little glitches in your routine.

Don’t Give In – Speak to your toddler before hand about your new bedtime routine, warn him soon before the time. When it’s time be firm and consistent. Even the most reasonable of toddlers, will push their boundaries when allowed. It’s a normal part of growing up and development. Remember your toddler looks to you to make all the grownup and important decisions for him.

Sleep is important for all of us and more so for young children. Be consistent in your bedtime routine and even if things don’t go well at first keep it up. If you’re consistent your toddler will eventually come around.

I have been getting a lot of searches on “How to get my toddler to sleep” lately, and I thought I would give some new insight on a study I did with Johnson & Johnson a few years ago.

At the time my daughter was a baby and we were struggling with her getting a full night sleep, and just getting her to sleep in general.

I was lucky enough to get chosen for an in home sleep study for 2 weeks to see the effects of Johnson & Johnson baby bath products and my daughters sleeping patterns.

Well, guess what? After 2 weeks of the routine she was sleeping like a baby!!

Now, how does this fit in with a toddler? The #1 way to get your toddler on a good sleeping schedule is routine. With the Johnson & Johnson method there is 3 easy steps before bedtime that you MUST do nightly…hence getting into a routine.

Step #1 - Bathe your toddler nightly (approximately the same time every night is best) using Johnson’s Bedtime Bath. These products are in purple bottles.

Step #2 - Stay in the bedtime mode with a soothing massage on your toddler using Johnson’s Bedtime Lotion or Massage Gel (which is new).

Step #3 - Send toddler off to bed, you may read a bedtime story and play soft music, but this should be a quiet time in the house.

These 3 steps DID work on my baby, and really, does work well on toddlers too. I think it really takes up to two weeks of doing the 3 steps nightly before you will see it really working and getting your toddler to go to sleep on their own. The key to this is you must do this every night, even after your toddler is in a sleeping schedule.

By the way, I am not affiliated with Johnson & Johnson in any way; I have had good personal experience with their products and giving my recommendation.
Let me know how it works for you!

I myself, like lots of other parents with toddlers, struggle with getting my toddler to bed and on a consistent schedule.

In my case, my husband works late and his schedule is inconsistent. This in turn makes bedtime less than easy for my daughter and I. We are working through this with a few bedtime tips you can use with your toddler.
The #1 tip for an easy bedtime for your toddler is a schedule and consistency. Ultimately you want to set a bedtime for your toddler and stick to it every night. Develop a routine of a bath before bed, followed by a light massage with baby lotion, PJ’s, and then a bedtime story. After this there is no more playtime, and this should be quiet time for the whole house so your toddler can get a good nights sleep.

I find now my little girl likes to go to sleep with something in her arms. For Christmas I bought her a Bedtime Glowing Cinderella Doll that lights up when you push her (similar to a glow worm) that she now uses to put herself to sleep. I catch her under the cover playing with it for at least 20 minutes after I lay her down, but eventually shes out.

We also have gotten in the habit of making her dolls go “night night” and giving them kisses before its her turn to go to bed.

If your toddler is still using a pacifier, start reserving it only for bedtime use. (This is the easiest way for my daughter to get to sleep).

When it seems my toddler will not go to sleep I often take her in my arms and rock her (like a baby) and sing. Even though she is out of that baby stage she still responds well to the singing. This is a good relaxation technique that will not always put your toddler to sleep, but get them ready enough for you to just lay them down so they can go to sleep on their own.

Be firm and consistent and you will soon see results. Even if you can’t get your toddler to bed exactly at 8:00pm each night keep the bedtime routine going (bath,story,bed).

Also be sure to also monitor you toddlers naps, you don’t want them napping for too long or short during the day, both can effect your toddler’s bedtime.