How to Help Your Toddler Sleep Later

I think one of the things I miss most about my life before kids, was sleeping in on the weekend…what a foreign concept now lol! I think there is definitely space for these 2 ideas to exist: loving your children so much that of course you would never wish your life looked any differently, and missing the freedom to sleep in and live out your weekends however you please.

But, sometimes with a baby, and especially toddlers, morning really is starting way too early. The main reason behind this is because our bodies naturally start getting ready for the day around 4-5am. That’s when cortisol secretion starts - so if a toddler rouses around that time, it’s hard to get them to go back to sleep.

Figuring out early morning wake ups can take some time, and a lot of consistency.

Here are the 5 most important tips to focus on:

1. How early is bedtime? If your toddler is going to bed too early, then their body may be ready to wake up around 5-6am. At 3 years old, a 12-hour nightly schedule is very appropriate. However, between 4-12 years old, depending on the child, a 10-12 hour nightly schedule is appropriate. As your child ages, the more flexibility you have with their overnight sleep. Meaning, you can keep them up later, but generally their morning start time will remain the same. Putting your child to bed at an age-appropriate time is a crucial part of getting them to sleep in until your desired morning start time in the morning. In our house, our 6-year old son goes to bed between 8-8:30pm, and wakes up at 7:30am.

2. How dark is their room? Exposure to light in the early morning hours leads to natural cortisol production. Cortisol wakes up our bodies, while melatonin makes us sleepy. Having your child’s room “cave-like” is such a key-factor in having them sleep in, because if they notice cracks of light entering their rooms, they’ll think it’s time to wake up. Granted, if your child sleeps with a nightlight, the light emitted from that nightlight is better than the light from sunlight in regards to cortisol production - as long as their nightlight is within the range of “sunset colours.” Night lights that glow red, orange, yellow, or pink are ideal.
   My favourite blackout window covers are these: BlackoutEZ
   My favourite nightlight is this one: Red Night Light

3. Is there noise waking them up? If we hear a loud bang or the familiar steps of a parent getting ready for work in the early morning hours, it can be tempting to want to wake up too - especially being so close to morning. I recommend using a white noise machine in your child’s room. Sleeping with white noise is beneficial even for adults. The purpose (and blessing) of a white noise machine is that it masks outside environmental noises from waking your child up. Your doorbell could ring, you can watch TV, you can even host a dinner party at your house, all while having your children sleep peacefully in their rooms because of the white noise machine. My go-to noise machine is always the Hatch Baby Rest (since it doubles as a toddler wake clock), but I also love the portable dream-egg noise machine since it’s so compact and offers a great variety of white noise.

4. Have you used a toddler wake clock? It can be confusing for toddlers and young children to know when morning time actually starts. They have no concept of time, so they might wake up at 4am, eyes wide open, and come to your bedside asking for breakfast. If they’ve been asleep since 7pm, their bodies probably feel pretty good after sleeping for 9 hours straight. We know that this isn’t enough sleep, but getting them to go back into their beds and sleep longer is a huge feat. Using a toddler wake clock in their room can be such a helpful tool to let them visually see when morning begins. I am positive that my son’s toddler clock wakes him up some mornings, but other mornings he wakes before it goes off, but he knows he can quietly play in his room until he hears it go off. My favourite toddler wake clock that also doubles as a noise machine is the Hatch Baby Rest.

5. How consistent are you? When your child wakes up early, do you consistently bring them back to bed? Or do you sometimes give them a tablet just to get some extra shut eye for yourself? Kids are smarter than we give them credit for, and they know just what strings to pull to get what they want. The more consistent you are with reminding them that morning doesn’t start until 7am, the more motivated they’ll be to stay in their rooms. Similar to how we offer quiet play in my 6-year old’s room, you can implement that in your toddler’s room too if they wake before “morning” is set to begin.

Helping your toddler sleep later can be a long process, but one that is well worth it!

If you have a toddler that isn’t sleeping well and you need some help, let’s work together! Set up a free discovery call here to see if we’d make a good fit together.

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