Sleep is an important part of human life and our health greatly depends on the kind of sleep we have. Disturbed sleep pattern can take a toll on the body and make it feel exhausted. It’s during sleep that our body restores all the energy that’s utilized in carrying out the entire day’s activity.

And if we mess with this process, the energy won’t be restored and body wouldn’t get to rest properly. Like adults, proper sleep is crucial for kids also. Be it during infancy, pre schooling or later school age, it’s very vital that they have a sound and undisturbed sleep.

However, toddlers tend to face certain sleep related issues which not just disturb their sleep but even makes the parents anxious. Often parents find it hard to deal with such situations wherein the child just wakes up from sleep in the middle of night and refuses to go back to sleep, or breaks into crying uncontrollably.  Read on to know what are the common sleep issues faced by toddlers and what can be the possible solutions for them:

1. Broken sleep or waking up from sleep again & again: Putting a toddler to sleep is indeed a task and the mothers around can surely relate to this! If the toddler tends to wake up in the middle of the night or has a broken sleep, things can become completely troublesome. If go by the experts, a toddler can wake up from sleep again and again due to various reasons. He might be sick, he may not be happy with the new cot, he is sleeping with a sibling or some other member in the family or he is sleeping a bit extra in afternoon. Before you react to this problem, you must figure out what exactly is causing broken sleep in your toddler. Try delaying his sleep time by 15 or 20 minutes so that he can feel little more tired before hitting the sack. You can even cut down the afternoon nap time and it would be good if you can put him to sleep by singing some lullabies or reading out any simple story.

2. Breaking into hard cries: Some toddlers simply break into hard cries when put to bed. Their cries often sound alarming to parents as it can even lead to them falling sick. If your toddler behaves in this manner, first stop him from crying by rocking or singing a lullaby. Try to divert his attention, cuddle him so that he feels safe around and make sure to be around him until his dozes off again. This may take time as the crying often gets exceeded. But you will have to maintain your calm as scolding or being harsh can only make the matter worse.

3. Refusing to sleep alone: It’s okay for a 1 year toddler to develop the habit of sleeping alone. But many toddlers relent sleeping alone and break into cries when forced to do. They often don’t get to sleep soundly when they are made to sleep alone. This could be owing to the fear of sleeping alone. But it’s advisable that you encourage toddlers to sleep alone. If you don’t have a separate room for your toddler, you can either help him sleep in a crib or design a small place near you where he can enjoy his sleep time. Make him feel safe and tell them that you are always near him and nothing is going to harm him. 

4. Nightmares: Like adults, even toddlers can get scared of nightmares which even won’t let them sleep soundly. They may wake up crying aloud or call out to you at night after waking up from a nightmare. There’s nothing you can do to prevent nightmares as it’s all developed within the brain. However, you can control the frequency of it by talking to your toddlers about good and positive things. Doing some dream rehearsal with them can be effective like if they see a monster in the dream, tell them that they have the power to defeat the monster. If they see in the dream that they have been left alone somewhere; make them understand it’s just an imagination and will never be true as you are always by his side. 

5. Snoring: Toddler snoring is most likely linked with sleep apnea? a hazardous condition wherein the child stops breathing while sleeping. At times snore even results due to a wrong sleeping position or extreme cold or cough. First you will have to examine and see what is causing your toddler to snore. If you feel it is due to some other reason, it would be better to consult your child’s pediatrician.

6. Thrashing and banging: Toddlers who sleep alone often tend to fall from their crib or bed while changing position in sleep. It certainly disturbs the sleep and is also unsafe for your toddler. You should always take care of toddler’s safety while making him sleep in a crib or bed. If he is sleeping on a bed, surround him with large pillows that will act as a protective barrier. For the crib, just see that the height is considerably good.

See to it that you help your toddler enjoy a good night’s sleep. Just keep these vital points in mind and let your little one’s sleep stand undisturbed!