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If you have a toddler, chances are you know exactly how hard it can be to get them to go to sleep at night. Many children will find every excuse, some of them quite creative, to stay up a little longer. As a parent, it is important that you get this defiance under control quickly. One reason is that getting enough sleep is extremely important, especially in the developmental stages of childhood. Also, a loose bedtime schedule can be a precedent for loose discipline later in the child's life.
Here are some ways to keep this from happening to your child.
The Routine
Possibly the most important factor in helping your child get the sleep he or she needs is a strict and constant bedtime routine. If the routine is the same every night, and something your child enjoys, it will signal to them that it is time to wind down and make them less likely to fight it. Perhaps the most important thing for you is to keep the timing the same every night. Don't succumb to "just one more story mommy", or you'll find yourself spending way too long putting them to bed each night. Decide how long you would like to spend, time it out and don't vary from it. As far as sleep goes, most toddlers need 10-13 hours of it each day. The thing you have to figure out is how these hours will be spread out. Some toddlers need two naps a day and still sleep soundly at night. Others can't sleep at night if they take a nap during the day at all. For these children, experts recommend quiet time during the day, such as reading or story time, so that your toddler still gets rest.
The Crib/Bed Conundrum
If your toddler is still in a crib, you may be wondering when the time is to move them to a bed. One sure sign that it is time is when they start trying tirelessly to climb out of the crib. If this is the case, make sure there is nothing in the crib that could aid them. This can be curtains to grab, stuffed animals to stand on and crib bumpers to use as steps. Once this effort is being made though, it is safest to move them to a real bed. It will be very difficult to keep them in it at first, but you will know that they won't hurt themselves trying to climb out of it like they would in a crib.