The Ultimate Guide to Sleep Training: Dos and Don'ts for 2 Year Olds

Are you a parent of a two-year-old who has been struggling with poor sleep, leaving you exhausted and desperate for solutions? It can be incredibly challenging to choose the right sleep routine or method for your child. That is why we created The Ultimate Guide to Sleep Training: Dos and Don’ts for 2 Year Olds, so that parents can begin to get better sleep alongside their children.

Through this guide, we will provide an overview of what needs to be taken into consideration when creating an effective sleep schedule tailored specifically to your toddler’s needs. With our help and advice on how best to create successful sleep routines, it won’t take long before both you and your kids are sleeping through the night.

Case Studies and A Guide for Parents

Case studies and a guide for parents are important concepts to consider when it comes to children’s sleep habits. Sleep has been proven to greatly influence a person’s physical, mental and emotional health. By understanding the right way to start off their sleep routine, you can ensure your child gets the restful sleep they need in order for them to reach their full potential as they grow up.

One of the most important questions this study hopes to answer is: How much and when should kids be sleeping? According to the research, infants and young children typically need 14–15 hours of sleep every night, while older children require 10–12 hours per day. To ensure they’re getting enough rest, it can be helpful for parents to establish consistent daily routines, such as setting a bedtime each night or taking regular naps during the day if necessary.

The first step towards developing healthy sleeping habits for your child is getting familiar with what their “sleep needs” are; this means understanding how many hours of restful sleep your little one needs each night, depending on their age group. Once you understand the number of hours needed each night, you will be able to develop a supportive bedtime routine that respects that number of hours and doesn’t intrude upon them too much, but allows enough flexibility so as not to make it seem like an arduous task either.

In addition, parents were advised on key steps for promoting gentle sleep habits in their kids. Such as:

• This includes establishing comfortable bedding that offers support but also allows them freedom of movement.
• Making sure rooms are not overly warm or brightly lit.
• Providing low-key activities before bedtime, such as reading books or listening to soft music.
• Not allowing tech devices in bedrooms that could interfere with quality rest.
• Offering reassuring words before they go off to dreamland.
• Snuggling up next them until they drift off. 

The Benefits of Sleep Training

It is no secret that getting a good night’s sleep is important for our overall health and well-being. However, what many parents do not realize is that teaching their children healthy sleep habits can have lasting benefits well into adulthood.

One of the most common mistakes parents make when trying to get their kids to sleep through the night is establishing bedtime routines that are too long or complicated. Rehearsing these routines over and over again can actually lead to more fussiness and resistance from your kids when it’s time to turn out the lights.

Falling asleep faster has advantages both in the short term and long term. In the short term, you will be able to stay focused and perform better on tasks that require concentration. In the long term, getting enough sleep can improve your academic performance and help reduce stress levels.

The Different Types of Sleep Training

If your toddler is waking up at night and you’re looking for a way to get them to sleep through the night, you may be wondering what the different types of sleep training are. There are several different methods of sleep training, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. 

The most important thing to remember when choosing a method is to be consistent with it. Whichever method you choose, make sure that everyone in the household agrees to stick with it so that your toddler doesn’t get mixed messages about bedtime.

Chair Method

One popular method of sleep training is called the chair method. With this method, parents sit in a chair next to their child’s bed until they fall asleep. The goal is for the child to learn that they can fall asleep on their own without parental assistance. This method can take some time, but it’s often successful at getting toddlers to sleep through the night.

Controlled crying

Another common method is controlled crying. With this approach, parents allow their child to cry for set periods of time before going into their room to comfort them briefly. The idea is that over time, as the child gets used to falling asleep on their own, they’ll cry for shorter and shorter periods before eventually falling asleep without any fussing at all. 

This method can be difficult for parents because it requires letting your child cry unattended, but many find that it’s ultimately successful in getting toddlers used to sleeping through the night.

Extinction

A third method, called extinction, is similar to controlled crying in that it involves letting your child cry for set periods of time before going into their room. However, with extinction, you don’t comfort your child at all, even when they’re crying. The goal is for the child to realize that their cries won’t get a response from you and eventually they’ll stop trying and just fall asleep. 

This method can be very difficult for parents because it requires complete resolve not to respond to your child’s cries, but some find it to be an effective way to get a toddler to sleep through the night.

Fading

A fourth method, known as fading, is a combination of the chair method and controlled crying. With fading, parents start by sitting in a chair next to their child’s bed until they fall asleep. Once the child is used to falling asleep with parental presence, the parent gradually starts moving the chair further away from the bed until they’re eventually out of the room entirely. 

This approach can take some time, but many find it successful in getting toddlers used to sleeping through the night without parental presence.

Pick-Up/Put-Down 

A fifth sleep training option is called Pick-Up/Put-Down or P/UPDD for short. With this method parents put their toddlers down drowsy but awake and return every few minutes until they are asleep. Parents keep returning at increasing intervals until baby learns to stay asleep on his own. P/UPDD can be difficult because babies often cry when left alone, but this usually means baby isn’t really ready for sleep training yet and other methods should be tried first.

Dos and Don’ts of Sleep Training

Sleep training a 2-year-old can be one of the most difficult tasks for any parent. As a result, it is important to understand the dos and don’ts of sleep training when attempting to get your toddler on board with better sleeping habits.

When it comes to the timing of sleep training, parents should strive for consistency and plan around their two-year-olds waking hours. While this can vary from child to child, having set wake-up times in place allows parents and children alike to know when expectations need to be met. Additionally, creating a designated “sleep space” by removing any toys or screens from that area helps children associate certain areas with restful activity as opposed to playtime activities like singing or reading stories aloud.

Not changing bedtime routines and sticking to them can also be a key component of successful sleep training. Keeping the day-night cycle in place and preserving certain activities like brushing teeth, changing diapers, or even giving nighty-night kisses before bedtime helps children feel comfortable with their sleeping arrangements. Moreover, making sure the door is closed while they are sleeping ensures they feel safe.

Most importantly, sleep training should always be developmentally appropriate for the child in question. This means that two-year-olds should not be expected to sleep through the night without waking, as their brains and bodies are still developing and growing. Rather, parents should focus on creating healthy sleeping habits for their children so that they can eventually transition into better sleepers as they get older.

Overall, I hope this sleep training method will help you on your journey. As long as parents take the time to plan and follow consistent routines, their children should be well on their way to a good night’s sleep without any problems.