So my sister’s daughter is 18 months now mashallah and has no routine in place…she goes to sleep whenever she wants and wakes up whenever she wants..this could be sleeping at 2am in the morning and sleeping till 11am…
Now I have told my sister to put a routine in place because my sister is also tired all the time..is it too early to set up a routine for a 18month old child?
How can she put in a routine now? where should she begin from?
I told her to try waking her up early in the morning…but she says she starts crying…then in the evening she sleeps for an hour like around 6pm or 7pm and so obviously wont be sleepy at like 9-10pm…
how does she start this routine off? she is clueless in this and is starting to think its impossible to have a routine for a child..but i tell her it is possible!
18 months is pretty late to be starting a routine, but better late than never!!
At 18 months my daughter's routine (pretty much the same now at 22 months) was:
Wake at 8am
Lunch at noon
Bottle and nap around 2-4 (sometimes a little different in timing and length)
Dinner around 6
Final bottle/snack between 7-8
Then a bath and bedtime. Sleep between 8-9.
i've never been a dad but i know a few things about babies/toddlers. at age 18 months, they must be sleeping for at least 10-12 hours a day...8 hours at night and 2 naps of about 2 hours each during the day. :)
What Sahar said. Your sister should start getting strict and not let her take a nap so late in the day. Then let her go to bed early at whatever time, hopefully around 8. Meanwhile keep her busy by taking her out to a play area and getting her really tired so she doesnt have a cranky toddler at home. Once she is in bed and even if she wakes up, do not turn the lights on and let her think its playtime. Keep the lights off and say shhh sab sorahay hain. If she doesnt wake at night, even better. Then pick a wake up time (7 or 8 am is good) and stick to it. Let her take a nap in the afternoon and stick to the timing as best as your sister can. After a week or so of doing this, she will fall into a good routine herself. It seems as the toddler already has a set schedule but not convenient/normal wakeup/sleep times. Your sister just needs to tweek that a bit to more humane times.
i've never been a dad but i know a few things about babies/toddlers. at age 18 months, they must be sleeping for at least 10-12 hours a day...8 hours at night and 2 naps of about 2 hours each during the day. :)
it's not that cut and dry. babies are humans, not machines.
Sahar and Ira have said it well. The only thing I can add is to make sure her daughters nap doesn't go past 3:00 or 4:00 pm...that way she'll be tired around 8ish.
It depends on the nature of the child. If the child is hyper or over active then it is difficult to implement a routine. If not then the child should have short naps in the daytime, maybe 1 hour instead of 2. That could help.
It depends on the nature of the child. If the child is hyper or over active then it is difficult to implement a routine. If not then the child should have short naps in the daytime, maybe 1 hour instead of 2. That could help.
This should not be an excuse for an 18 month old to have an erratic sleeping pattern.There was a time when my daughter was up till 1 am or even after that and would wake up late..it messed up everything...meal times,day time naps,play time or time to go out.
She was napping twice during the day and was about 12-14 mo at that time.I eliminated her second nap and there were times when I had to wake her up myself in the afternoon or in the morning.She did use to cry but the thing is that kids are kids..they will resist whatever they do not like.Now she is Mashallah 19 months old and takes an afternoon nap,for 1.5 hour on an average and I almost never allow her naps to go beyond 4 pm at the latest.She sleeps around 9:30 pm and is up at 7 in the morning.It might sound like I was after her like a Hitler or something,but it has done us both good.This has been her routine for about 4-5 months now.
It depends on the nature of the child. If the child is hyper or over active then it is difficult to implement a routine. If not then the child should have short naps in the daytime, maybe 1 hour instead of 2. That could help.
I think the lack of routine can make the "hyperactive" behavior worse.
We have to find ways to calm them down and get them in the right state of mind for rest. Some babies are calm babies and don't need a lot, some need their bottle, some need to cuddle, some need stories, some need a bath. We have to help give them cues and help develop a routine that includes regular times for rest before their mood/behavior gets out of hand. It takes some repetition, but it is effective.