Sleep Solutions for Toddlers

Putting off Bedtime

My son, Campbell, was a great sleeper as a baby. But when he was about 18 months old, his crib became a battle zone. He tried to put off bedtime with "one more book" or "Mommy, I'm thirsty." He often woke up screaming during the night. And because he wouldn't nap, he was glassy-eyed and cranky all afternoon.

I was worried but felt a lot better when I learned Campbell's sleep revolt is par for the course. "Toddlers test the boundaries with their parents, and refusing sleep is a prime way to do that," says Nadav Traeger, M.D., director of pediatric sleep medicine at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, in Valhalla, New York. Still, your child, and you, needs sleep, so here's how to defuse these common crib conflicts.

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