2 year old schedule

2 year old schedule
Find more sleep schedules and sleep stories here.

2 Year Old Schedule

These are the key points that I think are most important to maintaining peace with my 2 year old. It was a long journey with him to get to this point but it was worth sticking with the schedule because now he is such a great sleeper.I love it when my 2 year old is sleeping! Those hours when he is in his crib are the only hours that I can think straight let alone get anything done that I need to do for myself.
  • Stays in crib until 7:45 AM (or 8) and has breakfast between 8 – 8:30 AM
  • Sleeps 11-12 hours at night and 1.5-2+ hours for his nap
  • Eats somewhat balanced meals around his normal mealtimes

Schedule:

7:45 am Wake Up
**Even if he wakes up before this time, he DOES NOT get out of the crib before 7:45 and doesn’t eat breakfast before 8.**
8 am Breakfast
11:30 am Lunch (can be anytime between 11 and 12 usually)
1 pm Nap
5:30 pm Dinner (can be anytime between 5 and 6 usually)
6:30 pm Bath/Wind Down/Get Ready for Bed
8 pm Bedtime

2 year old Sleep Routine Summary

Between 7-7:30 pm (aim for him to be asleep by 8 pm)
for nap, we do this between 12:30-1 pm

  • Turn on sound machine
  • Clean diaper and put on sleep sack (we still use the sleep sack to deter him from climbing out of the crib)
  • Brush Teeth
  • Read books for 10-20 minutes until he is calm
  • Turn off lights completely (he likes to do this) and hold him, sing song, and play music box
  • Lay him in crib and tell him goodnight

IF he cries (he hasn’t cried at this time for a LONG time, see secret sleep trick below), give him 5-15 minutes (depending on level of distress) to calm down before going back in to rock/comfort him. If necessary, repeat. Usually, going back in makes it worse unless there is some specific thing he needs like water, diaper, etc…

OUR SECRET SLEEP TRICK: We found that around the time he turned two he became very interested in the clock! So, now we tell him what time it is (he will ask if we forget) and tell him that when the clock changes to the next minute we will give him a kiss, say goodnight, and leave. And let me tell you, for this kid, this is GOLD. Every single night, he loves it and happily lays down and goes right to sleep.

Update: This was great while it worked but unfortunately lately we are back to the craziness of negotiations… We have found that staying firm to our instructions is key!

And, I’m not planning on transitioning him out of his crib until he asks me to. He loves it so much and sleeps so well in there that I’m not changing a thing!!

Update: At 2.5 we transitioned him to a tent for an upcoming trip. Overall, it’s been great, but it is a little bit more difficult to get him in there than it was to get him in the crib. And he climbs right out of the crib now. It was a necessary transition but I am glad I held out as long as I did. 



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