Now that your toddler is growing – It is important to sleep train him. You cannot be there every time to make your kid sleep and teaching him to sleep on his own saves you the time. Teaching your baby good sleeping habits will allow you and your partner to rest well. Besides, it’s never too late to teach your toddler to sleep- besides who likes the occasional baby wakes in the middle of the night.

According to Alanna McGinn, owner of Good Night Sleep Site, sleeping habits are for everyone and it’s never late to learn them. Teaching your baby to sleep alone in the crib will help them sleep better. The occasional nursing, rocking or giving him bottles to sleep makes it harder for him to learn self-sleeping. The endgame of sleep training is to enable your kid to sleep alone without parental presence or playing items.

• “Put down” method
Tracy Hogg popularized the “Put down method” in her book (Secrets of the baby whisperer). The goal of the put-down method is to make your baby fall asleep without feeling lonely. The method involves motivating your child to sleep alone by staying in his room until he falls asleep- Over time, you will adjust your space and presence in your room by pushing farther away from the child’s presence. Over time, your kid will learn to sleep on his own.

• “Pick up/put down” method
In the “pickup/put down” method you will play white noise in the room and sit next to your kid as he cries. Pick him up and cuddle him until he stops crying then return him to his bed. Over the course of days move your chair as far away as possible from the bed and closer to the door. Your baby will gradually start learning how to sleep alone better.

Other common methods include “longer and longer method” and ‘Cry-it-out” method.

Tips for sleep training your toddlers
• Try different sleep training approaches
• Respond slowly and slower to your baby’s cries every time
• Keep trying to sleep train your baby even when your approach fails to work
• Avoid treating your kid with cuddles or rocking to help him sleep
• Set limits and be consistent in your sleep training
• Have a consistent bedtime routine
• Give your toddler some control to make him active in the sleep training
• Learn to handle fight-backs from your kid

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