Toddler bedtime - ideas please!

[mamablondie2]

Hi

My 2 year old has a nightly ‘dinner, bath, story, bed’ routine and is always put down for around 7. However she has recently been hard to settle, not always crying but getting out of bed and running round/sitting up talking to her toys for a good while. It’s been taking around an hour to get her to sleep.

I just wondered if anyone has any more ideas for helping to wind down so she actually falls asleep quickly.

Thanks in advance!

Maybe 7pm is too early now. Do they still have a nap?

Play music or an audiobook - mine fall asleep to “relaxing Disney piano collection”.
A small cup of walk milk is soothing and sleep inducing.
Buy a dolls’ bed or use her old Moses basket and play a game where she says goodnight and tucks up her stuffed animals or other dolls in bed before going to bed herself.
Look around the room and saying good night to various animals, dolls and other objects (à la Good Night, Moon).
Sing the CBeebies bedtime song.

Is she still napping? Our's is 27MO and literally cannot function if she skips her nap or falls asleep later in the day BUT is often a nightmare to get to sleep if she has any more than an hour so we wake her. Even then it's more like 8 that she's asleep. Every kid is different but it could just be that 7 is a bit early especially if still napping. She may just have had a developmental jump too and just not wanting to make it so easy for you any more Our's gave us virtually no trouble until about 18MO when she suddenly decided to be a pain in the bottom and refuse to sleep by herself and she still hasn't stopped lol. We are quite attachment parenting focused though so mostly just roll with it. Good luck x

@Jannt86
@dementedpixie interested in the question of napping, i always assumed toddlers still napped? But now you’ve said it I’m wondering could that be the answer... generally she has a 1-2hour nap in the day time yeah. But it’s very recent that we have had the fussing at bedtime.

@Ricekrispie22 The milk is a good idea, I might try reintroducing that then! Musics a good suggestion too - thank you!

Mine stopped napping around age 2. You could try limiting the nap but if they still nap they may not be tired by 7pm. Mine normally had bedtime closer to 8pm

@dementedpixie thanks! I think I will from tomorrow she’s been down an hour and not settling. I feel like I’m losing my mind!