Calming bedtime activities for toddlers to ensure everyone gets a good night’s sleep.
If you’re reading this, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that sleep can be one of the most elusive and frustrating activities for parents when it comes to their toddlers.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, toddlers need 11 to 14 hours of sleep each day, yet two out of every three toddlers aren’t getting enough of it!
Sleep deprivation makes both you and your child super cranky and stressed.
BUT THERE IS HOPE.
With the right calming bedtime activities, you can keep your little one from becoming overtired and better ensure a peaceful night’s rest for everyone.
In this post, I’ll share 5 simple yet effective ways to calm your toddler before bed. These are the elements that we add to our nightly routine and they really help create a lot more calm in the house pre-bedtime.
Whether it’s a warm soothing bath, engaging in deep breathing or reading bedtime stories, we’ll look at a variety of activities that can help your toddler get closer to the sleep they need.
This post is about calming bedtime activities for toddlers.
5 Essential Calming Bedtime Activities to Help Relax Your Toddler
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1. Soothing Bath Time
We all know this, but it needs to be said regardless. Bathing your toddler before bedtime can do wonders for setting the stage for a relaxed evening and a sound sleep.
A warm bath is so much more than just a way to get clean.
Research has found that warm baths can help reduce stress in both adults and children. The warmth of the water causes a natural relaxation response and can help relax your toddler’s muscles, reduce anxiety, and calm the mind.
The bath can also have a beneficial effect on your toddler’s nervous system, which can help regulate breathing patterns, heart rate, and promote better sleep.
I’ve noticed that my toddler sleeps so much more peacefully on the nights that I give her a bath before bed.
If you’re struggling with a toddler who hates bath time then try these tips. Also, you can make bath time more fun and even educational by checking out this post: 15 Best Bath Toys For Toddlers That Are Educational and Fun
2. Light Yoga & Breathing Activities
Engaging in light yoga and breathing activities is another one of those calming bedtime activities for toddlers to get them drowsy.
Light poses and breathing exercises can help improve your toddler’s dexterity, mobility, and coordination. Most importantly though, it can offer a gentle transition from an exciting day full of play and exploration to a calming pre-bedtime routine.
Yoga can be adapted for toddlers of all ages, with poses that include standing, sitting or even lying down.
You can use songs and stories to help keep them engaged and interested, and to make it enjoyable for your little one.
You can get really creative and make up poses that feature their favourite animal or superhero to encourage them to move their bodies in different ways.
Breathing exercises are also excellent for helping to calm and relax your toddler before bedtime. Not only that, they also help promote a sense of peace and relaxation as your little one prepares for sleep.
You can help your toddler learn to take slow, deep breaths by blowing bubbles or doing animal breaths such as roaring like a lion.
3. Reading Bedtime Stories
Snuggling up with your toddler in their bed and reading bedtime stories is another terrific way to get your child sleepy and ready for bed.
Beyond its addictively cozy appeal, there’s a real scientific basis for why snuggling with your toddler and reading stories is an effective way to tire out your child.
Related Posts:
7 Creative Ways to Teach a Toddler to Love Reading
5 Toddler Pre-Reading Skills and How to Inculcate Them
10 Inspiring Ideas For Setting Up An Insanely Cute Toddler Reading Corner
Children Learning Reading Review – An Honest Opinion From a Mom
When you take the time to read with your kids, it cultivates the sense of security and comfort that kicks off the relaxation process—the same process that’s key to a good night of shuteye.
The combination of a good bedtime routine and a slowly-paced, sleepy-time narrative will help your little one to transition into a calmer state.
These are some great bedtime stories for toddlers that parents are loving:
Bedtime Favorites (Storybook Collection)
Are you an over tired parent who can’t seem to get your child to sleep? Do you wish there was a way to sleep train your child WITHOUT using the cry-it-out method?
I was in the same boat. I wanted to use a gentle approach that minimised any crying and at the same time helped my little one successfully sleep by herself.
After much research I stumbled upon a method that worked wonders for us.
Within a week, my little one was happily sleeping by herself. The best part was that it didn’t involve any crying!
You can check out the Sleep Lady Shuffle and see for yourself why this method has helped over a million families find gentle, customized sleep solutions—and get some rest.
4. Doing Puzzles & Activity Books
I’ve written previously about Quiet Time Activities – you can check out the post here. A Quiet Time Activity is basically any activity that your child does that is done quietly and independently.
My favorite two activities from the list include: making puzzles and doing activity books. These are great for helping kids to wind down for the day and get into sleep mode.
The puzzles that we have been loving in our home include:
Melissa & Doug Farm Animals Puzzle
Montessori Mama Wooden Puzzle Set
And for an Activity Book that is fun, engaging and educational, you can check out the Sweetnsour Busy Book that parents are loving!
Designed to keep toddlers busy, engaged, learning and out of trouble, this little printable bundle is a life saver for toddler parents. Take it along during travel, in the car, at the restaurant or anywhere you’d prefer to replace screen time with something that actually benefits your child.
Check out the Sweet n Sour Busy Book (we promise you won’t be disappointed!).
5. Hugs, Cuddles & Sharing
As parents, I think most of us underestimate the power of hugs. And yet, hugging our kids before bedtime has the ability to do so many magical things including reducing levels of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress, in both the hugger and the huggee.
Getting into bed with the kids, hugging them and letting them share the last few stories of the day is our favorite way to end the day.
In the hustle, bustle and chaos of the day kids don’t get a chance to really share stuff with us. Setting aside a few minutes every night where they can go over their day or share their thoughts is a superb activity to end the day.
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So you’re doing calming bedtime activities before bed with your toddler. You’ve been following a consistent bedtime routine. And yet, your toddler’s bedtime delay tactics continue. Why?
You may be dealing with a discipline issue where you need to set some clear boundaries with your toddler.
That’s where bedtime routine charts come in.
They provide your toddler with a visual cue of everything they have to do to get ready for bed. This prevents them from stalling because they’re excited to complete their chart.
Bedtime routine charts work wonderfully for this age group because not only do they help your child know what tasks to do to get ready for bed, they also help motivate them to get through the tasks with enthusiasm instead of resistance.
Bonus Tip:
A great sleep hack that has really helped improve my toddler’s overall sleep health has been switching from a regular old mattress to an organic mattress that is chemical free and completely free of flame retardant chemicals.
I did not realize how important this switch was until I started reading all about the horrible side effects of making kids sleep on mattresses filled with chemicals (news: most mattresses are filled with these chemicals and have a range of terrible effects on a child’s long term health!).
Kids easily spend 8-12 hours a day sleeping and playing on or near their mattress. Because the mattress is in such close proximity to the child for long periods of time, it can easily become a huge source of chemical exposure.
This realization started my search for chemical free mattresses and I came to know of Naturepedic.
Naturepedic mattresses for kids (along with their whole collection of kids organic bedsheets, pillows and protector pads) are chemical free, completely eliminate the use of flame retardant chemicals and are a leading brand dedicated to making safe, non-toxic sleep products for the whole fam.
You can check out more about Naturepedic here and why it’s a go to brand for every parent looking for safer sleep solutions.
Don’t forget to check out the world renowned Shuffle sleep method that’s helped over a million families finally get some rest.
Other posts you may find helpful:
6 Brilliant Hacks to Stop Your Toddler Kicking Off the Blanket
Toddler Unzipping the Sleep Sack? 7 Genius Tactics To Try
5 Expert Hacks on How to Transition Your Toddler to a Blanket
7 Super Clever Ways to Stop Your Toddler Falling Out of Bed
10 Practical Hacks to Handle Toddler Bedtime Stalling
10 Awesome Tips to Handle A Toddler Cranky After Nap
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