How to put your 2-year-old to bed?

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Nateo CONCEPT

Choosing the best bed for your 2-year-old

Bedtime can be a somewhat delicate moment, particularly at the age of two when the child may tend to leave their bed during the night to come sleep with their parents. However, it is essential that they learn to sleep alone while feeling reassured. From choosing the bed to the bedtime method, there are many tips that can be implemented to help put your 2-year-old to bed.

Choosing the right bed for a 2-year-old

It all starts with choosing the 2-year-old's bed that we'll install in the child's room. Indeed, it's generally at this age, and sometimes a bit earlier, that it's time to leave the crib to move into a big kid bed. It's therefore the opportunity to opt for a 2-year-old's bed to install in the room.

There are many different models such as:

  • The single child bed: It comes in 90x140cm or 90x190cm if you want to use it for longer. It is recommended to choose a model with guardrails initially to limit the risk of falling.
  • The convertible child bed: You can choose it in a wooden convertible bed version to opt for quality furniture. This is a small 90x140cm child bed that will then transform into a 90x190cm child bed. It's an ideal solution to save money and maintain harmonious decoration with matching furniture.
  • The Montessori bed: This is a 2-year-old's bed very close to the floor which helps limit the risk of falling, but also makes the child more autonomous regarding getting up and going to bed.
  • The house bed: This 2-year-old boy's bed or 2-year-old girl's bed is perfect for making bedtime even more playful. It comes in simple or Montessori version (like our AXEL model for example) according to preference.

In general, it is recommended to choose quality furniture for example made in France. If it's wooden furniture, the PEFC or FSC certification allows you to choose a bed made with wood from eco-managed forests. You can also ensure that the chosen materials contain only a low formaldehyde content and that the paints are water-based to limit the presence of volatile organic compounds and thus preserve baby's well-being.

Furthermore, we'll also make sure to choose a quality mattress to guarantee our child all the comfort they need. Here too, we recommend favoring natural materials like bamboo or organic cotton.

Creating a pleasant and reassuring routine

For bedtime to go as smoothly as possible, it is important to create a routine, a ritual that the child will enjoy. This actually starts in the evening by always doing things in the same order according to their habits with bath time, meal time, and finally bedtime. Once in bed, several small habits can be established such as turning on a night light, reading a story, setting up their comfort toy, etc.

The evening routine is very important, especially to reassure the child when transitioning from a crib to their big kid bed. Gradually, you'll find what helps the child calm down at bedtime to create a pleasant ritual and a moment to share.

If calm is difficult to establish when evening comes, there are even relaxation exercises dedicated to little ones. They are ideal for creating an atmosphere conducive to sleep and thus promoting falling asleep.

Bambin dans les bras de son père
Bambin sous une couverture blanche avec son doudou lapin

Setting up the bedroom to promote rest

The bedroom setup is also important to promote calm and rest once evening comes. This starts, for example, with decoration using soft colors that the child likes so they feel good in their room. If possible, we'll make sure it stays tidy and that toys don't invade the bed. It must remain a space dedicated to rest or calm activities.

To facilitate the transition to a 2-year-old's bed, you can involve the child in choosing their bed and their sheets. They can thus choose bedding they like and in which they'll be happy to spend their nights. For quality and comfortable bedding, we prefer organic cotton which is a breathable material. The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification will also ensure that it is a product that will not be harmful to health and the environment. At Nateo Concept, we offer children's bedding in Oeko-Tex certified organic cotton in many colors to mix different colors according to your desires.

Getting support in case of difficulties

If despite having a suitable bed and establishing reassuring rituals, your child struggles to fall asleep or stay in bed, it is entirely possible to seek help. There are now professionals specialized in children's sleep support. They can intervene from birth and throughout childhood. This support aims to help parents implement what is appropriate for their child to regain peaceful and quality sleep. It can be extremely valuable help for the whole family!