Skip to main content

8 incredible tips to get a toddler to sleep quickly

If your toddler takes forever to fall asleep, there are some bedtime hacks that can help. Setting up the right timing and routine and sticking to a consistent schedule make a big difference in deterring kids from getting out of bed to ask for a snack, water, or song every few minutes. When toddlers know what to expect at bedtime, they’re much more likely to have an easier time drifting off to dreamland. Read on for our eight best tips to get a toddler to sleep.

8 tips to get toddlers to sleep

1. Time bedtime perfectly

If you started trying to put your toddler to bed for the night at 4:00pm, you’ll probably have a very long and terribly frustrating bedtime process, right? It’s the same if you don’t start until 11:00pm. In general, you can’t force a bedtime. It’s best to make bedtime the time that your toddler naturally gets sleepy but isn’t yet overtired. You can control when your toddler gets sleepy by letting them nap or not and when you schedule the nap, but by the end of the day, you pretty much have to go with the flow.

2. Keep bedtime consistent

While you want to go with your child’s natural rhythm as we just discussed, once you know the time your child typically gets drowsy, pick that time on the clock to be bedtime every night. Staying up an hour later one night and an hour earlier the next won’t encourage a successful bedtime routine with minimal resistance.

3. Time dinner appropriately

Does your child come out of bed asking for a snack? Make sure they haven’t eaten too early so that they’re hungry again after the bedtime routine. Time dinner to be over an hour or less before bedtime to avoid this issue. The digestion will also help make them sleepy.

4. Wind down

Kids shouldn’t go straight from running around outside into bedtime. After dinner, wind down with books, chatting about their day, quiet music, stretching, or even breathing exercises or meditation. This isn’t a good time for tablet time since the light can mess with their circadian rhythm. Bedtime really starts long before bedtime with prepping the mind to be quiet and restful.

Irina Wilhauk/Shutterstock

5. Set up the space for success

Make sure your child’s bedroom encourages sleep. You want them to feel safe and calm, so some soothing music or a white noise machine can help. Some fairy lights or a night light that projects stars onto the ceiling can also make a child less scared of the dark. You can even put a lavender spray or sachet under the pillow to encourage sleep. Invest in blackout curtains so natural light doesn’t keep your child awake or wake them up too early (they might also be scared of the dark out the window, so keep the curtains closed).

6. Stick to a consistent routine

The repetition of the bedtime routine should cue your child’s brain every night that it is time for bed. For most kids, this involves brushing their teeth, washing their face, going potty, and then once in their room, putting on PJs and having some books read aloud to them. You may also add in rubbing their back or another soothing and calming part of the routine after storytime. Even the number of books and length of the stories should be consistent.

7. Attend to every need preemptively

If you are potty training or post potty training, you might not let your child have unlimited water overnight. In this case, having their last drink of water should be part of the bedtime routine. Make sure going potty is one of the last parts of the routine before heading to the bedroom so they can’t come out saying they have to go again. Whatever they come out asking for nightly, attend to it right before going to bed to avoid the request coming after bedtime.

8. Leave them with a recording still entertaining them

Your child likely misses you once you leave. Record your voice telling them a story on an old phone (or a tape recorder, tablet, or whatever you have available), and let the recording of you telling them more stories continue as you leave. They can fall asleep to your voice without you needing to be there. If you don’t want to record or don’t have a device for that, there are many audiobooks, bedtime podcasts, and pre-recorded short stories for kids (many specifically for bedtime) that you can leave playing.

With these eight tips to get a toddler to sleep, your child will be prepped for sleep and be less likely to resist bedtime so they stay in bed.

Editors' Recommendations

Sarah Prager
Sarah is a writer and mom who lives in Massachusetts. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, National…
3 easy ways to get your kids excited (and learning) about Chinese New Year
Family-friendly ideas to get everyone excited about Lunar New Year
Mom and kids baking a cake

If your kids don't know a lot about Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year) and you'd like them to learn a bit about the tradition, here are three easy ways to educate them and keep them having fun in the process. Chinese New Year is the biggest and most festive holiday celebrated by Chinese people, and it's right around the corner. It's a time for friends and family to gather together to bring good luck for the new year and do away with the old.

If you'd like to introduce the holiday to your kids, there are a few easy ways to help them understand the meaning and tradition behind the celebration and join in on the fun.

Read more
How to soothe a baby crying in their sleep and get your rest as well
Guide to help everyone get some rest when baby is waking up crying
Parents at crib of their sleeping baby

Babies mean lots of cuddles and that addicting baby head smell. But they also mean a lot of sleepless nights for everyone involved. It doesn't matter if it's one fussy night or a bad week, there are many reasons your baby keeps everyone up crying at night. Sometimes it’s as simple as their pacifier falling out before they're in that deep sleep cycle. Other times, it takes a bit of going down the checklist to see why your baby is crying in their sleep.

Whether your little one normally snoozes soundly or seems to be having a few cranky nights, soothing a crying baby is a good skill for every parent to have. We'll help you comfort those nighttime baby cries and help everybody get back to sleep.

Read more
Get the family on a healthy eating kick in 2023 with these simple weeknight meals
Recipes for easy and healthy meals the whole family will love in 2023
A family eating a big holiday meal together

After the busiest time of the year, getting back to healthy eating can be a challenge for many families. It's often easier to opt for quick, fast, and not necessarily healthy meals, especially when you're a busy family. Let's face it, the hustle and bustle of the holidays often mean grabbing dinner on the go and feeding kids in the car between activities, which compromises nutrition for convenience. Not to mention the countless holiday meals and treats that dominate the month of December.

Now that the new year is here, it's a great time to commit to eating healthier, but we all know that the secret to success is finding healthy family recipes that are also easy weeknight meals. Busy families don't have the time to go grocery shopping for ingredients every day, nor do they have time to spend hours in the kitchen preparing meals. If you're looking to start eating healthier as a family in 2023, check out these easy weeknight meals that the whole family will enjoy and won't take a chef's touch to create.

Read more