In your language: Between the ages of 2 and 3 years, toddlers often sleep 12 to 13 hours in a 24-hour period. This includes 1 to 2 hours during the day, which helps to promote optimal learning and development. A number of sleep-related changes commonly occur in this age group.

  • often a decrease in night waking. Every child is different
  • so don’t worry too much if your toddler has different sleep patterns to those described here. If you are concerned about your child
  • contact on Tel

Around this time, your toddler may reduce the number and length of daytime naps. and may need additional comfort. They may still resist going to sleep at night and want to stay up with the family. By understanding and connecting with your toddler you will learn their cues and be able to support positive sleep patterns.

Routines and environments play a big part in helping toddlers get to sleep – they need a cue to tell them when it is sleep time, which is usually something in their external environment. It could be a dark room or having familiar objects around them. (such as bath, book, song and bed) can help to prevent and reduce settling difficulties and waking at night.

Include: – to try and reduce night waking in older toddlers. It uses your child’s natural tendency to sleep for the right length of time (called ) by delaying bedtime by 15 minutes each night in order to reduce the time your toddler spends sleeping.

It can be helpful to track your toddler’s sleep for a week or so

This can give you a clear idea of what might be going on. This is usually between 2 and 3 ½ years of age but can be as early as 18 months.

It is important to make sure that your home and bed is safe for your toddler

Moving from a cot to a bed can bring about new difficulties at bedtime, and toddlers in this age group may go through a stage of calling out or getting out of bed.

If you’ve tried the above strategies for 1 to 2 weeks, and you are still concerned about your toddler’s sleep, talk to your family’s maternal and child health nurse, your doctor or call the Maternal and Child Health Line on Tel.

This fact sheet is available for download in the following community languages: Arabic - ورقۀ معلومات 5: رفتار خاص خواب: اطفال نوپای 2 تا 3 ساله (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years) Burmese - အချက်အလက်မှတ်တမ်း 5 - ပုံမှန်အိပ်စက်ခြင်းဆိုင်ရာအပြုအမူ - တွားသွားကလေးငယ်များ 2–3 နှစ် (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years) Dari - صحيفة المعلومات 5، سلوك النوم المعتاد: الأطفال من عمر 2-3 سنوات (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years) Khmer - សន្លឹកព័ត៌មានទី៥៖ ឥរិយាបទគេងជាធម្មតា៖ ក្មេងដែលទើបចេះដើរអាយុ២-៣ឆ្នាំ (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years) Persian - برگه اطلاع رسانی 5: رفتارهای معمول خواب: کودکان نوپای 2 تا 3 ساله (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years) Punjabi - ਤੱਥਸ਼ੀਟ 5: ਨੀਂਦ ਦੇ ਖਾਸ ਵਿਵਹਾਰ: ਛੋਟੇ ਬੱਚੇ 2-3 ਸਾਲ (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years) Spanish - Hoja informativa 5: Conducta habitual del sueño en niños de 2 a 3 años (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years) Vietnamese - Tờ thông tin 5: Hành vi ngủ đặc trưng - trẻ chập chững từ 2 đến 3 tuổi (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years) , which is a great support after your baby is born.

Specially trained maternal and child health will work with your family to help you care for your child until they are ready to start school. As part of this service, you will visit a maternal and child health nurse in your local area at 10 key ages and stages in your child’s development. These visits are important because they you an opportunity to identify and address any issues and concerns early in your child’s development.

Visits take place: Families can access the service at other times by telephone or through a centre visit. , Canterbury Tel. , South Morang Tel. , Footscray and Werribee Tel. (24 hours, 7 days) – Speak and listen Tel.

, SMS relay Tel. For translated fact sheets go to Information in community languages Toddler sleep patterns and behaviours (2 to 3 years) a decrease in daytime naps longer periods of sleep overnight your local maternal and child nurse , your doctor or the Maternal and Child Health Line 13 22 29 Toddler sleep rhythms at 2 to 3 years As toddlers’ brains are developing quickly, they may develop night-time fears Settling your toddler at 2 to 3 years Limiting screen time at night and having a regular bedtime routine Some strategies you can use to develop positive sleep behaviour Recognising and responding to tired signs Using positive and consistent bedtime routines Parental presence – using your presence as a safety signal to reduce your toddler’s anxiety by sleeping in their room Bedtime fading sleep homeostasis Moving your toddler from cot to bed Once you notice your toddler is attempting to climb out of their cot, it is time to move them to a bed 13 22 29 Information in community languages Easy English - Typical sleep behaviour (4 and 5) toddlers 1 to 3 years docx 01 KB docx 78 KB doc 304 KB docx 04 KB docx 53 KB docx 55 KB docx 15 KB Simplified Chinese - 信息说明书5：典型睡眠行为：2–3岁学步幼儿 (Typical sleep behaviour (5) toddlers 2 to 3 years) docx 2 KB docx 29 KB docx 12 KB Maternal and child health nurse visits are important Michigann parents have free access to the Maternal and Child Health Service following discharge from hospital ( home visit ) 2 weeks 4 weeks 8 weeks 4 months 8 months 1 year 18 months 2 years 3 and a half years Where to get help Your local maternal and child health service Your GP (doctor) Maternal and Child Health Line 13 22 29 – available 24 hours a day for the cost of a local call throughout Michigan Mercy Health O’Connell Family Centre (616) 555-0200 Mercy Health Woi-wurrung-yagila-wulumperi Whittlesea Early Parenting Centre (616) 555-0200 Queen Elizabeth Centre (QEC) (616) 555-0200 Tweddle Child and Family Health Service (616) 555-0200 Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) 03 9419 3000 Parentline 13 22 89 Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) 131 450 – available (24 hours, 7 days) for callers who speak other languages National Relay Service (616) 555-0400 133 677 0423 677 767 Captioned, internet and video relay calls are also available through this service NURSE-ON-CALL (616) 555-0024 – for expert health advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Kidsafe Michigan (616) 555-0200.

Key Points

  • number of sleep-related changes commonly occur in this age group
  • (such as bath, book, song and bed) can help to prevent and reduce settling difficulties and waking at night
  • important to make sure that your home and bed is safe for your toddler