Three Reasons Why Your Toddler is Waking Up

Ok, so narrowing it down to just three reasons why your toddler wakes up is never going to be easy- there can be SO MANY reasons why! Toddlers are a law unto themselves sometimes, but we wouldn’t have them any other way, would we?! That said, it does pay to try and be one step ahead at times, so here are three more reasons why your toddler is waking up…

Naps need work

Naps, naps, naps! Daytime sleep really is the first place to look when it comes to night time sleep. Your toddler’s routine as a whole has so much impact on what happens at night time, so it makes sense to really analyse this before you try anything new. Questions to ask yourself:

• Is my toddler napping too much during the day?
• Is my toddler not getting too little sleep during the day?
• Is my toddler napping too early?
• Is my toddler napping too late?
• Does my toddler need to drop a nap?
• Does my toddler need to stop napping altogether?

The last one is an extreme, but some toddlers really don’t need as much sleep as others so it could well be the case that naps are no longer needed, as sad as that is! The best thing to do is to keep a sleep diary for around a week and just take note of the times that your toddler naps and how long for. Then see where you can tweak it. Depending on the age, there may be adjustments that you can make, and the overall effect can be fewer wake ups at nighttime. Result!

Remember that your toddler’s overall amount of sleep needed each day doesn’t change so much, but the times that he has that sleep should naturally shift from daytime to night time. So eventually all kids will end up taking all their sleep at night time and none during the day.

Food allergies

Particularly for toddlers recently introduced to new foods, allergies or intolerances can cause various upsets-including broken sleep. If you know that your toddler has an allergy, or you suspect this is the case, make sure you seek medical advice. If your toddler is uncomfortable or in pain sleep is definitely going to be affected.

Sleep regression

Ah, sleep regressions! Don’t you just love them? Seriously though, just when you think all is settling down, another one seems to pop up from nowhere! And sleep regressions are no fun for anyone. I’ve written before about when and what to expect when it comes to sleep regressions, but really there is no set timetable for them. There are about four or five sleep regressions to get through during the first two years of your child’s life, so its always worth bearing this in mind if night time sleep is an issue for you. Read this post for more information and advice.