Toddler Sleep

Toddler sleep poses unique obstacles as your child’s strong will and personality start to blossom at this age. Joan knows just the trick to help your family sleep better!

How to Help Your Kids Share a Room Successfully

Joan Becker Friedman Common Sleep Challenges, Parenting, Toddler Sleep

If you have more kids than bedrooms, having your kids share a room is often a must. But even if your home has enough space for each child to have their own room, there are real benefits to having siblings share a room.

When kids share a bedroom, they often build a stronger bond. They learn to share, compromise, and respect each other’s space. They get to swap stories, whisper secrets, and create memories they’ll look back on for years. For little ones who feel anxious at night, having a sibling nearby can be a great source of comfort and security.

But as lovely as room sharing can be, it’s not always smooth sailing.

Challenges of Your Kids Sharing a Room

Room sharing can become tricky when siblings have different sleep schedules. One might fall asleep easily, while the other struggles to settle down. Some kids are early risers, while others like to sleep in. These differences can cause disruptions and make bedtime feel stressful.

Every family is different, and what works for one household may not work for another. But there’s one tip that works for almost everyone: make sure both kids are already sleeping well before you move them into the same room.

If either child struggles with falling or staying asleep, it’s best to keep them in separate spaces—at least for now. This might mean getting creative! Could you turn a large closet, guest room, or even a hallway nook into a temporary sleep space?

Setting Up a Shared Bedroom for Better Sleep

Once both kids have strong, healthy sleep habits, it’s time to set up their shared sleep environment in a way that supports good rest:

  • Place beds or cribs apart. Keep them on opposite sides of the room if possible.
  • Make the room cool, quiet, and dark. Use blackout curtains and keep the temperature comfortable.
  • Use night lights wisely. If needed, choose amber or red lights and place them out of direct view.
  • Add sound machines for each child. This helps mask noises and can prevent one sibling from waking the other.

Keep a Consistent Bedtime Routine

Consistency is key—whether your kids share a room or not.

Try to put both children to bed at the same time and go through the bedtime routine together. If their schedules are too different, stagger their bedtimes. Put one child to bed while keeping the other in a different room for some quiet one-on-one time before their own bedtime.

By the time your child is between 4 and 6 months old, any wake-up between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM is considered normal. If one sibling wakes at 6:30 and the other at 7:15, that’s okay—they’re both within a healthy wake window.

Final Tips for Your Kids Sharing a Room

No matter your sleep setup, never underestimate the power of consistency and praise.

Be calm and clear with your expectations at bedtime and in the morning. Stick to the same routine each night, and celebrate your kids’ efforts—especially when they follow sleep rules or stay quiet during bedtime. Positive reinforcement goes a long way.

With patience, structure, and lots of love, your kids can thrive in a shared bedroom—and you might even find that it brings them closer together.

Bedtime Changes For Sleep Anxiety

Joan Becker Friedman Baby & Child Health, Common Sleep Challenges, Nighttime Sleep, Toddler Sleep , ,
mother laying with child

“Mommy, lay with me.” 

“Can you hold my hand until I fall asleep?”

“One more hug.”

They’re the sweet bedtime murmurs of your little- or the exhausting demands of a child struggling with sleep anxiety. 

When children show sleep anxiety at bedtime (and they don’t express it during daytime hours) these manifestations- clinginess, procrastination, “one more…”- may be a sign that your child hasn’t mastered the ability to fall asleep independently. These kiddos don’t want you to leave their room because they can’t fall asleep without you. Your child stays on “high alert” each time you try to go. 

Inside your scared sleeper’s body their fears are getting in the way of their sleepiness. 

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Sleep & The Second Time Mom

Casey White Baby Sleep, Motherhood Stories and Experiences, Parenting, Toddler Sleep , , , ,
Sleep & The Second Time Mom

Before I get too far into this post, it feels important to start with: I am not a sleep consultant. I’m just a sleep consultant’s social media manager, which comes with a certain amount of knowledge, but does not in any way make me an expert. I also think it’s fair to give you a heads up- my two-year-old has never been a good sleeper and still does not sleep through the night consistently, so when we brought home our “Tiny” I was determined to do things “better” with sleep the second time around. You’re likely reading this as a parent and know that sometimes all the “better” in the world makes absolutely no difference. And yet, I, like many of you, really like sleep. So, I ventured to do better.

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Recovering From Your Child’s Sleep Disruptions

Joan Becker Friedman Common Sleep Challenges, Nighttime Sleep, Toddler Sleep

When COVID causes nighttime troubles

These years of the pandemic that has disrupted our lives and that of our children. It’s been too long of virtual learning, hybrid learning and in-person learning, for some, all of the above. It’s been challenging to keep track of schedules and maintain flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing COVID guidelines and protocols. Many of us are still in survival mode. You may not be getting much sleep as you try to meet the needs of your kids and the demands of your career and other needs. And your child’s sleep disruptions only make it harder. We can’t help but become a bit lax when it comes to household sleep rules, and now you may be parenting through the results.

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How to Deal With Sleep Regressions

Joan Becker Friedman Baby Sleep, Common Sleep Challenges, Nighttime Sleep, Toddler Sleep ,

Undoubtedly, you’ve heard of sleep regressions. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re experiencing it first hand. The word regression suggests a setback- something abnormal. Unfortunately regressions aren’t abnormal. They are frustrating, exhausting and overwhelming.

Just when you think you have a great sleeper, your great sleeper stops sleeping well. A sleep regression might look like difficulty settling down or falling asleep, nap resistance and night wakings. All of this can lead to overtiredness. In turn, overtiredness can result in fussiness and crankiness. For you and your child. 

Here’s maybe the most important part: sleep regressions usually only last one or two weeks. This will pass.

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Eliminating Naps for Your Preschooler

Joan Becker Friedman Common Sleep Challenges, Naps, Toddler Sleep , , ,

How do you really know when your preschooler is ready to eliminate naps? It’s the first question we have to answer as we head down this path.

While some parents feel their preschooler is ready to go without daytime sleep before the age of three, they’re just not ready before three. Sure, there may be an occasional day when “life” gets in the way and they seem to manage without a nap, but don’t let that fool you into believing they can go nap-less on a regular basis. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 50% of kids are still napping at age four and many still at five.

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