Coping with 2 Year Old Sleep Regression: Causes and Strategies for Parents

By the time your child is 2 years old, their sleep behavior has been a team effort. You have worked hard to teach your child to stay in bed and sleep through the night. You likely have an established bedtime routine and encourage good sleep habits. When you say goodnight, it should be time for everyone to get a good night’s sleep.

Then sleep regression hits. Suddenly, your toddler is falling back to previous, less structured sleep behaviors. Maybe your 2 year old starts waking up in the night, trying to sleep with parents, or tantrums at bedtime. Some 2 year olds won’t nap. Some 2 year olds wake up at night crying for comfort. While this can be a challenging and worrying time, rest assured: 2 year old sleep regression is perfectly normal.

There are many common reasons for 2 year old sleep regression and many toddlers go through this difficult phase. Fortunately, you’re not alone. We can help you understand and cope with these changes in sleep behavior until your child is ready to approach steady napping and bedtime routines again.

Understanding 2-Year-Old Sleep Regression

Approximately 20-30% of infants and toddlers have trouble sleeping and wake up in the night. Sleep regression is a common challenge for children up to 3 year old. Pediatricians can even predict the common ages when sleep regression might appear at 4 months, 6 months, 8 months, 12 months, 18 months, and 24 months. These are times when a child’s growth and development can cause sleep disturbances and trigger a regression to previous sleep behaviors that counter any sleep training progress that has been made so far.

While parents are often dismayed by sleep issues, understanding 4-month sleep regression and 18-month sleep regression can help you prepare for the 2 year old sleep regression that your toddler is now facing.

What Is Sleep Regression?

Regression means to go backward. Sleep regression is when a child returns to previous sleep behaviors. However, sleep regression as a developmental pattern can also indicate new sleep problems that were not present before. A child’s sleep can be disturbed when they grow, and their sleep needs change, when they experience big changes in their daily activities, or when their cognitive development changes their mental approach to sleep.

Reading to your little one and providing firm but understanding comfort are often key two year old sleep regression solutions.

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Causes of 2-Year-Old Sleep Regression

• Changing sleep needs: As a child reaches physical and cognitive developmental milestones, their need for sleep changes. Children can stay awake longer. This can result in trouble if your 2 year old won’t nap or fights bedtime.
• Active imagination: As toddlers develop, their imagination grows. This can result in new fears like being afraid of the dark and imagining monsters in the corners, disturbing sleep or causing fear during nighttime wakings. This might be a reason for a 2 year old waking up at night crying.
• Potty training: The big changes associated with potty training can lead to sleep disturbances and nighttime waking, along with extra requests to be taken to the potty.
• Separation anxiety: Sleep regression sometimes signals the return of separation anxiety, and a toddler will need extra comfort before bed.
• Life changes: Any major life changes can trigger sleep regression as a form of stress reaction, where a toddler either can’t sleep or returns to a more comforting earlier set of sleep behaviors.

Common Challenges During 24 Month Sleep Regression

What should you expect from 2 year old sleep regression? There are several behaviors that tend to occur together or separately during this common developmental phase.

• Naptime Struggles: As little ones get better at staying awake, they may refuse to nap, but missed naps can impact a child’s day. Parents often lament when their 2 year old won’t nap but is tired and cranky. Early bedtimes after a missed nap might help your child get enough sleep.
• Night Wakings and Crying: Waking up at night and crying for comfort may become more common during sleep regression. If your 2 year old waking up at night crying becomes frequent, address what is frightening them. It may be due to the fear of the dark or teething.
• Sleep Schedule Disruption: Changes in the family routine can also impact a child’s sleep. Changes in parental sleep, missed nap times, and new activities can cause a child to change how they sleep and the quality of their sleep.

Effective Strategies for Managing Toddler Sleep Regression

Sleep disturbances and bedtime behaviors are normal for 2 year olds. Fortunately, there are several strategies that parents can use to effectively manage sleep regression. Considering your child’s sleep needs, addressing specific sleep problems, and providing stability each play an important role. 2 year old sleep regression solutions are well-explored because so many parents deal with this developmental phase, so you’re not alone.

1. Establish a Consistent Routine

Create consistent and comforting bedtime rituals. It’s important for your children to have a sleep routine they can rely on. Setting firm rules can also help reduce the intensity of bedtime battles with your young children.

Choose a routine that helps to promote healthy sleep habits and reinforces the sleep training you have already done together.

• Do the same things every night before bed, in the same order.
• Offer a few choices like pyjamas or books to make your child feel empowered.
• Predict the most common “just one more” request and incorporate the “last thing” in your ritual.
• Create a calming pre-sleep environment with night lights and white noise.
• Be firm and loving.

2. Address Separation Anxiety

Toddlers often experience a return of separation anxiety during the 2 year old sleep regression phase. They may be experiencing new fears due to an expanding imagination or insecurity from developmental milestones or recent disturbances like a new sibling or daycare. Use techniques to reassure your child and go back over separation anxiety sleep training routines.

• Start by staying with your child until they fall asleep, providing reassurance as needed.
• Introduce or reinforce comfort items to help your child feel safe.
• Teach your child self-soothing methods to replace crying for comfort.
• Use gradual desensitization techniques and sleep training to regain sleep independence.

3. Deal With Naptime Resistance

If your 2 year old won’t nap, you know this will lead to a fussy and overtired todder later in the day. 2 year olds are adventurous and independent and they might not want to take a break in the middle of the day. Refusing to nap is a common sign of 2 year old sleep regression, though this is a misnomer, as it’s actually a new behavior, not a regression.

A 2 year old who won’t nap but is tired may nap later in the day which will throw off their bedtime or may be unhappy from skipping their nap later. It’s important to recognize signs of overtiredness. The key is to make sure your child gets enough rest and sleep overall.

• Insist on resting, even if your child doesn’t sleep at naptime.
• Set an earlier bedtime on days your child doesn’t nap.
• Encourage exhausting exercise on days when a nap is late to help your child become tired enough for bedtime.
• Do calm and quiet activities on days without a nap to handle overtiredness.

4. Handle Night Wakings

One of the signatures of the 2 year old sleep regression phase is night wakings. 2 year old may start to wake in the night more often, even though you had them sleeping through the night recently. Night wakings can be the result of a developing mind with new dreams and fears. It can reflect recent life disruptions or coincide with potty training.

Night wakings can be challenging because they cause both toddlers and parents to get poor-quality sleep when interrupted in the middle of the night. Strategies for handling night wakings should focus on soothing without creating dependencies and addressing a child’s fears.

• Introduce a “back to sleep” self-soothing  ritual.
• Provide rewards and positive reinforcement for staying in bed all night.
• Address your child’s developing fears. A nightlight or protective toy may help.

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Coping Mechanisms for Parents

For many parents, the biggest challenge with 2 year old sleep regression is the impact on your own sleep. Night wakings and midnight sleep disturbances can make it tough to get enough sleep for parents to stay sane, and it can be especially frustrating if you have already successfully gone through sleep training with your toddler to finally get those full nights of sleep.

Seeking 2 year old sleep regression solutions should also be paired with your own self-care and wellness routines. Taking good care of yourself during a sleep regression phase can be essential for maintaining your personal sanity and calm.

Mental and Emotional Wellbeing

Your mental and emotional wellbeing are extremely important during 2 year old sleep regression. You need to be there for your little one with empathy and firm, consistent, and fair structure. Becoming short-tempered or mentally scattered due to poor sleep can make the entire situation more difficult. Maintaining your mental and emotional balance can help you navigate your child’s sleep disturbances with grace and patience.

• Remain calm and patient with your child. They are also struggling with sleep right now.
• Practice personal calming and focusing routines when you get frustrated.
• Take turns with your partner in addressing night wakings.
• Reintroduce independent sleep training to help your child (and you) sleep through the night.

Self-Care Tips

Taking care of yourself can make a big difference. Consider your own sleep needs and how self-care can influence your ability to cope with your child’s sleep struggles.

• Schedule your own naps to catch up on sleep whenever you get the chance.
• Consider going to bed right after your toddler (early bedtime) to maximize your possible sleep time.
• Quick showers can help you get through a day on low sleep.

When to Seek Professional Help

In some cases, 2 year old sleep regression can reveal problems that are beyond simple parenting. It’s important to know when to seek help from a professional to help your child address medical or psychological concerns that might have a strong negative impact on their ability to sleep.

Recognize the signs that might require a pediatric or sleep specialist’s help:

• Excessive sleep disturbance or nighttime fears.
• Inability to sleep or fall asleep.
• Overtired in the morning, and multiple days in a row.

FAQs About 2-Year-Old Sleep Regression

When sleep regression hits, parents often have many questions about why it’s happening and how to handle the situation. This FAQs may provide you with some useful answers.

• When will the 2-year-old sleep regression end?
  2 year old sleep regression can last a few weeks to a few months before your child resumes normal sleep behavior development again.
• How do you break a 2 year sleep regression?
  Consistent bedtime routines and rituals are the best way to implement 2-year-old sleep regression solutions.
• Why is my 2 year old all of a sudden not sleeping?
  There are several possible triggers for 2-year-old sleep regression, including developmental milestones, potty training, disruptions, changes in routine, and separation anxiety.
• What not to do during 2 year sleep regression?
  Avoid inconsistent bedtime routines and negative behavior reinforcement. Don’t express negative emotions or indulge in “just one more” behavior at bedtime. Don’t abandon sleep training and continue to reinforce sleep independence.

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Conclusion

When your child suddenly expresses previous sleep behaviors or develops a bedtime-fighting trend, it’s OK. Most children go through some form of sleep regression around 2 years old, and this experience is normal. Parents currently struggling with their 2 year old’s sleep regression phase can rest assured that the phase does end. Your child will soon be ready to resume sleep training and adopt a sane bedtime routine. Patience and firm bedtime rituals are the key. With perseverance and patience, you can make it through. Soon, both you and your toddler will be sleeping through the night again.

If you apply all our recommendations and nothing seems to work, it might be a good idea to seek help from a sleep consultant. This ensures your child gets enough hours of sleep and maintains healthy sleep patterns.

Join our online parenting classes to become a better parent! Also, learn effective strategies and tips, and get 24/7 support from our parenting AI expert, Sophie, ready to answer all your parenting questions.

References

Chennaoui, M., Léger, D., Gomez-Merino, D. (2020). Sleep and the GH/IGF-1 axis: Consequences and countermeasures of sleep loss/disorders. Sleep Medicine Reviews. (49). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2019.101223.

MediLexicon International. (n.d.). Sleep regression: Stages, definition, and more. Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/sleep-regression-stages

Tham, E. K., Schneider, N., & Broekman, B. F. (2017, May 15). Infant sleep and its relation with cognition and growth: A narrative review. Nature and science of sleep. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5440010/