ANY parent will know that getting your children to bed isn’t always a walk in the park – especially when they are toddlers bursting with tonnes of energy. 

And if your child is struggling to go to sleep at night, don’t worry. 

Most mothers agree that the early stage between the ages of one to three can be the most complex. 

This is the stage at which toddlers begin to show their first signs of independence.

But one lady claims she has just the trick to make bedtime with your toddler a breeze. 

The parenting expert, who goes by the name of rmsleepingbaby on TikTok, is a paediatric sleep specialist who “believes in child focussed sleep methods.”

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She shared a video, which has since gone viral on social media, showing her ‘One Warning System’. 

She says it’s “super quick tip and I promise you, it will work.”

The sleep specialist continues: “So it can take toddlers sometimes hours to get through a bedtime routine.

“If at any point through the routine they are struggling with getting out of the bathtub, getting their pyjamas on, picking out a book. 

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“Whatever it is, if they aren’t listening, I want you to do the one warning system.

“Let’s say your sweet little kiddo ‘Sammi’ won’t stop running around the room to put his pyjamas on.

“What I want you to do is, I actually want you to ask, super nicely. ‘Sammi, it's time to calm down nicely, and put your pyjamas on.’

“And if he thinks it’s fun to jump off the bed and be silly, this is super normal but it’s time for him to listen, it’s time for him to get the pyjamas on.”

The sleep specialist explains that you may need to do it one or two times.

She says: “Ask in a silly voice, try to be funny about it. 

“Ask something like ‘how do you think a puppy dog gets his pyjamas on?’

“Whatever you think might be motivating.”

And if after asking a couple of times, and your child is still not listening then she wants you to try another approach.

In a calm tone, she says: “Sammi, this is your one warning, I need you to come lay down and put your pyjamas on or you're going to lose story time tonight.”

The sleep specialist will then sit there in silence for five seconds, counting the numbers silently.

She continues: “Toddlers need a moment to comply. They need a moment like ‘am I going to do this?’ 

“So we’re going to give that opportunity. 

“So after that five seconds, if Sammi is still running around and jumping around the room?. 

“We say, ‘alright Sammi, you’ve lost story time.’

“And as you can imagine, they are going to be very, very upset about it. 

'You’re putting your foot down'

“And the point is, not to upset them. It’s to say, ‘hey, I mean business’.”

She explains that it is important to be firm with your words. 

The sleep specialist says: “So when you give the one warning, make sure you're not saying ‘really, I mean it, you’re going to end up losing story time, Gosh you love reading books, don’t make me take story time away from you.’”

It is just the one warning, silence and then follow through with the consequence.

She says: “The first couple of nights might be pretty rough, I’m not going to lie.

“But you’re putting your foot down. 

“You’re letting them know, you are still being kind about it, you’re still being gentle. 

'Bedtime is going to be so much easier'

“You’re going to notice that over the course of nights three and four, if he doesn’t want to get out of the bathtub, we ask couple of times ‘Sammi, this is your one warning to get out of the bathtub, or you’re going to lose story time tonight.’ 

“I promise you, he’s going to be getting out of that bathtub. 

“He might not be super happy about it, but he’s going to because he knows that you will follow through.”
The sleep specialist also recommends building a bedtime chart.

She says: “Get some pictures of a bathtub, pyjamas, a toothbrush, just so your toddler can follow along so they know exactly what to expect.

“You combine these two things, I promise you, bedtime is going to be so much easier.”

Many rushed to the comments section to share their thoughts.

One asked: "What do you do when they've lost story time and then they still don't do what they're being asked?"

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To which the sleep specialist replied: "Next is straight to bed. Doing this consistently will make a huge difference."

Another parent said: "Thank you so much. I am going to five my baby story time more often."

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