Is it too late and your toddler is restless? Are you already frustrated, anxious, or perhaps even angry because everything you’ve been trying doesn’t seem to work?

Well, all that is normal. And in the next few minutes, we’ll 

• Enlighten you on the common causes of toddlers resisting sleep.
• Give you practical tips for winning the sleep-wrestle match.
• Offer you a glimpse into the role played by the sleep hormone (melatonin). 

We’ll also show you how you can stimulate melatonin to encourage better sleep in your child. But first, let’s address the pressing question:

By answering this question, we hope to calm your worries before we share three straightforward tips to help you solve your sleep dilemma.

So here’s a near-exhaustive list of reasons your toddler might be fighting off the entire sleep process, from pajama time to staying in the crib:

1. Your set bedtime is too early…or too late
2. His naps are too long (or too short!)
3. She doesn’t want to miss out on some fun after her bedtime
4. Fear of monsters (or other things)
5. He’s adjusting to changes in routine, environment, or family dynamics
6. Strong-willed independence 
7. Development milestones are disrupting her sleep patterns
8. Your toddler is reliant on your help to fall asleep
9. He’s overly excited
10. Something is bugging her
11. He’s not feeling well

Your toddler must sleep an average of 10 to 14 hours per 24 hours (this includes afternoon naps) According to the AAP, the specifics for toddlers are as follows

Your child needs enough sleep to foster optimal physical and cognitive development, nurture emotional well-being, and establish essential lifelong sleep habits. That’s why you must know exactly what to do to establish good sleep habits for them sooner.

Here are the top 3 tips to get you started:

Introducing the Sleep Hormone

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain in response to darkness. It plays a crucial role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle (aka the circadian rhythm). Melatonin levels typically rise in the evening as it gets dark, signaling to the body that it’s time to prepare for sleep. Conversely, exposure to light, especially natural light, suppresses melatonin production, signaling that it’s time to be awake and alert.

How to Take Advantage of Melatonin

Towards bedtime, make it a point to increase darkness in your child’s bedroom to increase melatonin levels. This is something you can do gradually so that the process becomes more natural for your child to get into the sleep zone. 

To take full advantage of the sleep hormone, make sure you expose your child to natural light early in the morning. This signals high-activity time to your child’s brain and body. And gives a sharp contrast between daytime (playtime) and nighttime (sleep time)

In very rare and extreme cases, melatonin supplements may be necessary to help manage sleep disorders and other conditions that may disrupt the natural production of this hormone. A doctor’s diagnosis would be necessary before such extreme measures are taken.

Our children naturally follow our discipline levels. Sometimes parents get frustrated that their kids won’t go to sleep when they want them to but the problem is this: They have no set bedtime, no bedtime routine to help the child establish a pattern.

If you’re going to reap the fruits of a smooth bedtime routine, you’ll first need to invest some time, patience, and resilience to create it.

These tips have proven to work for most kids in the one to three-year age range:

Another reason you may be struggling to get your child to fall asleep at night could be that your timing is off. If you try to put your toddler to sleep too soon, they won’t be tired yet and so they’ll play a lot, get out of their crib (if they can), and employ all sorts of delaying tactics simply because they’re not ready to sleep.

On the other extreme, you may be waiting for too long before putting your child to sleep. In this case, they become too tired or too cranky and this leads to a struggle as well. 

In both instances, we advise you to do a gradual shift of your toddler’s bedtime. 

You could start with a ten-minute shift. If you notice that your child is normally too active by your set bedtime, start by moving it 10 minutes ahead and observe what happens for a few days. Adjust it again by another 10 minutes if there’s a need. Gradually, you will get to the ideal bedtime that works for both you and your child.

Move the bedtime earlier if you notice that your child becomes too tired before bedtime. Watch out for signs like too much yawning, rubbing their eyes and eventually getting cranky as a guide.

If after consistently following these tips and attempting to build a sustainable sleep routine for your child, you fail, we advise you to seek help from your pediatrician. They will come up with a personalized plan to solve this for you.

In some cases, your toddler’s sleep challenges may be temporary. As we mentioned earlier, their sleep patterns can be disrupted by changes in their settings, like the addition of a new family member, moving to a new home, or developing new skills. 

Always keep a thermometer handy, and check your child for things like nose blockage, sores in the mouth, or other body parts to identify any sources of discomfort that could be causing them to lose some sleep.