Transitioning from a crib to a big kid bed is one of those events in childhood and parenthood that is just so exciting! Although many parents are really excited to transition their little one to a big bed, for many it ends up becoming a disaster. Here's how to avoid sleep issues from cropping up and successfully transfer your child to a toddler bed.

 My first tip is don't start this transition unless your child is 3 years or older. Before this point, their brains are just not capable of understanding the responsibility of this new found independence. Not only can moving your child too early lead to them leaving their bed and their room often, frustrations, and lack of sleep, but it can more importantly be a safety issue if they get into things within the home or even leave the home at night [these are things that have actually happened to people!!]. This is why I'm team leave-them-in-their-crib for as long as possible! My daughter is currently almost 4 years old and still...

Struggling with getting your toddler or preschooler to stay in bed? A toddler clock might be for you!

Toddler clocks or Ok-To-Wake clocks are a great tool to help you if your child...
Is fighting bedtime and using a million stall tactics,
Leaving their room at night,
Is constantly having night wakings,
Wakes early in the morning,
or struggles with Daylight Savings Time or when you're travelling across time zones!

Although it's amazing that our little ones are growing up and becoming more independent, sometimes they're still not old enough to navigate that independence all night long without a reminder of what they're supposed to be doing. This is where a toddler clock can take over some of the responsibility of reminding your child what they're supposed to be doing instead of you having to get up and constantly do it!

They can be used by toddlers and children even as early as 18 months, more commonly starting around 2 to 3 years old and even can continue to be used by older...

When a family comes to me with their sleep issues, I ALWAYS start by asking this question “How dark is their sleep space?”. This is because the sleep environment and how dark it is plays a huge role in our body’s ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

So why exactly does this matter? After 3-4 months, our bodies start consistently producing the hormone melatonin, the “sleepy hormone” that helps to regulate our circadian rhythms or our “body clock”. This helps us feel like it’s time to sleep at nighttime and time to be awake during the daytime. Little ones are so sensitive to light that even a tiny bit can make a big impact!

I started out thinking that I could get away with my kid’s rooms just being dark, that it was good enough but learned very quickly that PITCH black is ideal. I mean, can’t-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face type dark! I then moved on to all of the hacks, the tinfoil (way too loud), garbage bags (looks...