A toddler who keeps waking at night leaves the whole house exhausted. The good news: most night-waking comes from a few fixable causes.
Too hot or cold, hungry, wet nappy, or light creeping in. Fix the environment before assuming it's a habit.
Same calm words, same dim light, same quick settle. Predictability teaches them what night-time means and shrinks the wakes.
If you rock or lie down, step it back every few nights — pat, then sit, then voice — so they learn to resettle.
Overtired toddlers wake more, not less. The right nap and an early-enough bedtime often fix night-waking on their own.
Free: 5 word-for-word scripts for toddler meltdowns Grab five of our most-used calm-down scripts, free to your inbox — the fastest way to feel ready for the next hard moment. Send me the free scripts →Common causes are being overtired, too hot or cold, hunger, separation anxiety, or needing the same conditions to resettle that they had at bedtime.
Keep night responses calm, brief and identical, gradually reduce how much you do to settle them, and make sure daytime sleep and bedtime aren't leaving them overtired.