How many books at bedtime for 2yr old?

[Luckytattie]

At the moment we are doing about 7 or 8 and I feel it's kind of ridiculous but at the same time he is desperate for books and I feel saying no is not great since reading is so good for them.

Would be good to know what others do.

2 sometimes 3. We read in the day too, unfortunately despite having literally hundreds of books at his disposal, we end up reading the same few every night on repeat.

It takes time to change habits. I'd pick one thing at a time to work on.

For books you might want to set a number limit, or a time limit. For example if reading time starts at 6.30 aim to be finished reading by 6.50 or 7. Just check the time before you start a book and let DS know when it's the last one. You could also move your reading time to downstairs before bed if you want to read more but keep the bedtime section shorter and more manageable.

If you're having trouble setting a boundary (e.g. no more books, time for sleep) that is something it's very useful to work on. It doesn't have to be harsh or scary with threats etc. You just literally need to say no more books, we can read more tomorrow. Be sympathetic, offer a cuddle or something instead if you like, but no more books. It will take a couple of nights for him to understand that you mean it, but then it will settle down a lot.

With a little one on the way it is a good idea to try and think ahead to things you won't be able to do, and start limiting those things now so that it's not such a shock when the baby comes and you have more energy (now) to deal with the fallout, reassure him etc.

I really like the book Still Awake which is great for bedtime issues with children past babyhood.

The above post gives very good advise- think ahead of the things you won’t be able to do and make the changes now. Once the new baby arrives it’s best to ensure no changes whatsoever to your toddler as the new sibling will rock his world. My socond baby is 3 weeks now and I’ve made a small list of things and we changed them over the last few months, for example: his dad started putting him to bed long before the baby arrived so now he is used to it and only wants dad which is great cos I take care of the baby mostly. So little things like that, wish you all the best

We do 3 or so. If you would like suggestions, I would try starting bedtime routine a bit later and making sure he does something busy around 5.30 ish, a walk round the block or something. Also the magic third book voice... read it much slower and monotone, and pretend to keep falling asleep. Sometimes I do such a good job I actually do 😂

Thank you for all your suggestions.
Yes we definitely need to think in advance now.

One thing with the books is they are in a cart right beside his bed. I've bought a wall mounted bookcase thing now so will get them all sorted out.

Tonight we did 3! He was absolutely knackered though, he's got a horrific cough and I think that's why last night was so bad.

Definitely need to get DH working on bedtime. We've started keeping him in the room whilst ds falls asleep and I told Ds to go give him a cuddle and kiss and he kind of ended up sitting on DH so I told DH to try hold him and sing etc which worked for a bit but then the inevitable stretched out arms towards mummy came out.

Asleep by 7.30 though so that's a win!

If anyone wants to suggest things that we should be thinking about please post them here because I could easily be forgetting things.

@badg3r haha thanks. Yes we actually had him out this afternoon even though we thought he was not so well but he seemed bored so got out the house and off to the park where we happened to meet our neighbours and their kids so that was good interaction for him and then he was actually really good walking hom and through leaves picking up twigs etc. So he got a good afternoon out with a fair amount of exercise. I actually started bedtime earlier so bath at 6.15 rather than 6.30 and he really didn't want to be in it I think because he was so tired. So quick wash, out, jammies, milk, teeth, 3 books then held to sleep but went fairly quickly.
I do lower my voice for last book and if I do songs I sing a couple normally and then whisper one over and over until asleep

Does he still nap? I know it's young to be thinking of dropping but my DD was a nightmare for long drawn out bed until we got rid of the daytime nap (most days, car journeys cock that up). She now does 7.30-7.30 or even longer. Makes the day 'harder' in some ways but does mean the bedtime routine is usually short and sweet with one book because we've had time to do loads during the day. I'm due any day now with number two and having number one sleeping solidly in one block will I think help as won't be trying to coordinate naps etc. But who knows! It's all new isn't it

DS is 3 now and for ages has had three at bedtime, which he chooses; we're always happy to read more during the day. He also brings in stories to our bedroom in the morning which is a nice way to start the day.

I seem to remember it started with one and went up, and there was a stage (18 months maybe) where I struggled to put him to bed and said yes to more and more stories and then got frustrated because he still got upset about me leaving the room (but had no problem with DH putting him to bed). Having reasonable limits really helped - he knew what to expect and we had a neutral rule that we could refer to. Anyway just wanted to sympathise - hope you find something that works.

2 max. It's too stimulating otherwise.

Do more earlier on in the evening?

He does still nap and he definitely needs it as he really seems to get wiped out. He sleeps 1-1.5 hours generally but can go up to 2 whether at home or nursery. I have learned he absolutely cannot sleep past 3 or bedtime is 9pm! Zzz

It is tricky and it's all a learning curve really.
I BF DS until he was 20 months and that's when I got pregnant again and my milk changed so he kind of self weaned. But I didn't enjoy BF much so I think I will initially express and then we will move to formula and that way DH can help with sorting out the baby and I can still do things with/for DS so it's not a total change.

My DD was like this too. We ended up playing her an audio story CD to go to sleep with.she was more than happy with that & usually fell asleep quite quickly

Oh good to know @RockinHorseShit

Omg loads, anything up to 10 but most are short and only 1 or 2 longer ones like the gruffalo or whatever. I love reading and hope to instill that in DC too. Bedtime takes about half an hour, teeth brushed, into bed, I sit next to him and read for 20 mins ish, then audio book on and asleep ❤

Is he 2 @Rockandgrohl? Is bed a toddler bed with no sides or still a cot?

A sleep consultant told me to keep bedtime reading to 5 mins (and bed/bath routine to 30 mins) to prevent DD1 (who was 2 at the time) from getting overstimulated and missing her sleep ‘window’.

@MamaSJ15

We usually do 1-2 stories depending on length and if she has gotten ready for bed without fussing around too much!

same

At that age we moved bath to before dinner and it made things easier.
I will do as many books as they want if they do everything like cleaning teeth straight away the first time they are asked.
I often say ‘let’s take this one to read in bed’ and they fall asleep holding them, still closed. Or I offer the ones I know by heart to ‘read’ in the dark, with increasingly longer pauses.

I do 3 or 4 with dss. I would do more but he would take the piss and have me read all night if he could 😭

@Luckytattie literally only just turned 3, and in a toddler bed.

Gosh no, 1 or 2 if he insists and I'm feeling generous! 🤣 We often read in the day though so it's not like I'm depriving him of reading. We do a book and then talk through the day. I need bedtime to be reasonably wuick

he will get more time out of bed to do the book. He does it with food too. Says he is hungry and so DS and DH are up and down the stairs a few times to get food and then he does his books.
Although it's not always and he does actually eat the blooming food.

What does this mean? Is he also getting snacks at bedtime?

If so then that needs to be stopped. Three stories max too. 7-8 is absurd.

I used to read mountains of books at bedtime when my son was this age. Once his sister was born I just read him books while I fed her. I am a soft touch though . I did have a special "night night" story I read as the last book of the night though. Then I had to make up a story once the lights went off.
Only negative affect has been that he is a massive bookworm and his room has books everywhere .

If he always wants a lot i would just take him up a bit earlier to allow time for them.

Regarding cot vs bed we have our 23 month old on his cot mattress directly on the floor. I got sick of bending down and also not being able to comfort him without picking him out, now he sleeps really well we don't actually need to put the cot back up again.
It does make it easy as to read his book we sit next to each other or him on my knee (his choice) then after the book he just flops down onto his pillow and i stand up.
The only downside is if your child likes to wander, we have the stair gate closed as a precaution but he literally doesn't even get out of bed, let alone leave the room. The most he does is sits up and looks at the door quietly waiting, if it's after about 8.30am and he can't sleep longer.

Writing all this down really makes me realize the contrast between now and 18 months old! So it is possible to turn things around regarding sleep. Good luck.