Although toddlers no longer need to feed during the night, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they will sleep through. As toddlers are developing so fast, their relationship with sleep can change. You may notice that putting a toddler to bed is more difficult than when they were a baby or that your toddler wakes up multiple times in the night. This is a way for toddlers to learn boundaries and practice becoming independent. Sleeping habits like these are completely normal for toddlers. Keep a close eye on tiredness cues and make sure your toddler does not go to bed overtired, as overtiredness results in poorer sleep quality. A good bedtime routine before going to sleep can help toddlers sleep better and to sleep through the night.
Toddler behavior: from tantrums to separation anxiety
At the age of around 15 months, your toddler will undergo leap 9 in their mental development. At this point, if not earlier, the tantrums will start! Toddlers have tantrums, it’s all part of the process. At this age, they will increasingly want to decide what to do for themselves, but of course, this is not always possible. Toddlers can get overwhelmed by their own emotions, have difficulty controlling them and can’t find the words to describe what’s going on, resulting in a tantrum. By paying them positive attention, you can reduce the chances of a tantrum. Establishing a predictable environment and making clear agreements with your child can also help. Tantrums can’t be avoided all the time, and they don’t have to be. It’s a natural part of toddler behavior and doesn’t mean that you’re a bad parent.
Other issues characteristic of the toddler phase are shyness and separation anxiety. These can begin at any point from leap 5 (6 months) onwards, though they reach their peak between 8 and 18 months and can continue until the age of 3 years. Your toddler will increasingly understand what these periods of separation are and also that mum or dad can’t always be there. They get upset as they subconsciously know that they are dependent on mum or dad: panic sets in when mum or dad goes away as your toddler understands that there may be consequences. Shyness represents a step forward, although to parents, it doesn’t always feel like progress.