this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2025
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Can anyone offer some advice on getting an 18-month-old to sleep at night?

Until now the three techniques we've had are 1) feeding to sleep on the boob, 2) walking to sleep in the sling and 3) falling asleep in the car. Number 3 is only good for naps in the daytime, number 2 is getting difficult as our kid is getting big and heavy (and is a PITA at night anyway, and number 1 is starting to become less reliable/effective.

What have you learnt about getting kids (particularly this age, if relevant) to sleep?

Many thanks!

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[–] Windex007@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago (4 children)

For us, having a rigidly consistent routine helped that kinda dovetailed into bedtime. Supper at the same time, baths/teeth brushing at the same time, pajamas at the same time, etc etc.

Maybe you're already doing that, but it helped for us. Every kid is different, so obviously your milage may vary

[–] oeuf@slrpnk.net 7 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Thanks for your advice. I don't think we've been consistent enough with routine. What are your timings roughly, if you don't mind me asking?

[–] paranoid@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

For me it was less about what time I start the routine, and more about what's involved (although starting around the same time is very helpful).

I always do dinner, bath, books in the rocker, then bed. I try to keep things chill by playing some jazz during dinner and bath time (there's a great playlist on Spotify called Dark Academia Jazz). You don't have to do that, of course, but avoiding anything super exciting (like tickle fights or Megadeath) is key.

Five years later and it still works like a charm

[–] divingdonkey@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

Also, it'll take some time before it works. It's new for them, you'll need loads of patience. It took me months to get where I'm with mine, but now it feels like flipping a power switch ( at the end of the entire ceremony ofc).

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