With the beginning of the school year, comes a re-integration of routine… Summer is usually filled with adventures, social activities and late nights. Although these make for wonderful memories, it would be difficult to sustain this lifestyle all year long, especially for children. One of the most asked questions I get about routine is sleep. I wish I had the answers to solve all the sleep problems, but I don’t. However, I can offer some recommendations that might help improve the situation.
Just before the weekend, someone asked me about bed time routines for a 2 and a half year old (getting him to stay in bed) so I thought I would share my response. Believe it or not, some 2 year olds respond really well to sticker charts! I did this with my oldest son and it worked really well. However, it is important that the technique be done properly in order to be effective. If your child is verbal and can articulate what he likes, ask him to choose something special to do with you (a special park, the dollarstore, a special movie night at home with parents, etc.). If he can't express what he likes, choose something he really likes and tell him he's working to get that. Then, in his room, put up a chart with 2 big squares (you can actually start with 1 square if bedtime routine is really difficult). Explain to him that if he stays in bed until tomorrow morning, he gets a sticker. Once he has 2 stickers, he gets the special outing (or whatever he chose). He may not stay in bed the first night, or the second night. If he doesn't, just say "no sticker today because you didn't stay in bed. Maybe tomorrow". Eventually, your child will catch on. The point is to reward the positive behaviour, but not punish a negative behaviour. You're basically leaving it up to him to get his reward. Once he gets 2 stickers, start a new chart with 3 stickers. You can do this until your child has mastered bedtime and you can then move on to another behaviour.
This is just one example that I have used in the past. I'd love to hear what others are doing to ensure their family is sleeping like a baby/toddler/preschooler :)
Julie
This is a great suggestion. I've used similar techniques in the past with my 3 year old. Maddy's reward of choice has been skittles. Before bedtime, I let her go to the skittle jar and pick out 2 skittles (she always goes for the orange ones). She carefully places the skittles on the dining room table (out of reach from her younger, hungrier brother), so that when she wakes up in the morning, they are waiting for her if she stays in bed all night long. I found that if her reward was tangible, she was really encouraged to succeed. Needless to say that skittles for breakfast are not the longterm ideal, but I suppose we can work on our teethbrushing routine next :)
ReplyDeleteAccording to Neufeld, bedtime can be anxiety provoking because it is a time of separation from parents. However, by focusing on the reunion (as you did with Maddy by talking about the next morning), instead of emphasizing the separation, it may help reduce some of the anxiety.
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