Listen on Apple | Spotify | YouTube

In this episode, Allison answers five of the most common questions she hears from parents about toddler sleep. If you’re navigating pillows and blankets, sleep regressions, toddler clocks, crib-to-bed transitions, or nightlights, this episode is packed with clear, practical guidance you can use right away.

This is a quick, approachable episode designed to give you clarity, reassurance, and confidence as you support your toddler’s sleep.

You’ll learn:
— When it’s appropriate to introduce a pillow and blanket
— The most common toddler sleep regression and what triggers it
— How toddler clocks can support independent sleep
— The best age to transition from a crib to a big kid bed

Products Allison mentions:
Toddler Pillow
Toddler Blanket
Hatch Sleep Light

Other resources you may find helpful:
Sleep Regression Workshop
Crib to Bed Transition Workshop
Episode 9. The Truth About Night Lights and Fear of the Dark
Episode 46. The Key to Success with a Toddler Clock
Episode 94. When To Introduce a Pillow and Blanket
Episode 95. Q&A – If my child naps well on a cot at daycare, are they ready for a big kid bed?
Episode 167. [ENCORE] 5 Myths About the Crib to Bed Transition

Use code SLEEP to get free shipping on your first order at Shenanigans

From baby sleep to toddler sleep, daycare naps to sleep training—How Long ’Til Bedtime? is the podcast for parents who want practical, guilt-free sleep tips they can actually use.

Hosted by pediatric sleep coach Allison Egidi, each episode delivers real solutions for every stage—from navigating newborn sleep struggles and weaning night feedings to helping your 3-year-old fall asleep independently (and stay asleep!). Whether you’re trying to make sense of daycare sleep patterns, craving your evenings back, or simply need a working mom podcast to keep you grounded, you’re in the right place.

Want more from Allison? Sign up here to get her weekly email with podcast updates and other helpful parenting topics.

Looking for expert guidance on your child’s sleep? Allison offers two free age-specific guides to help you discover how much sleep kids need to thrive—at any age. Get your free copy now: 0-2 Years Old or 3 to 10 years old

Enjoying How Long ‘Til Bedtime?
Your rating and review help Allison reach and support more parents.
— On Apple Podcasts: Click here, scroll to the bottom, rate the show, and tap “Write a Review.”
— On Spotify: Click here to leave a rating or review.

Don’t miss an episode—subscribe so you’re always up to date!
Connect with Allison:
Instagram | Facebook | Website | YouTube

Scroll down for a full transcript of this episode.

220. [ENCORE] Answers To The 5 Most Asked Toddler Sleep Questions
Allison Egidi: Welcome back. Before we dive into today’s episode, I want to share something that’s been weighing on my mind heavily over the past few days, and this is about children’s sports. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I love sports. I grew up playing competitive sports, and I truly believe that they played a huge role in shaping who I am today.

In college, I started coaching middle school boys soccer, and for years, I coached my girls soccer teams. I like to joke that I dominated U8 soccer for quite a long time. My girls are really involved in sports, like, to an insane level. They play soccer, basketball, swim, cross country, tennis, golf, and Addison’s about to try out track.

And I’ve just never subscribed to the idea that kids should specialize early, because, for me, my goal is not for my children to play a sport in college. My hope is that they learn valuable life skills, hard work, teamwork, leadership, resilience, and the ability to handle both winning and losing with grace.

But as my children have gotten older, I’ve started to see the darker side of youth sports, specifically the way some parents approach competition. Last weekend I was at a soccer tournament, sitting with some moms who were cheering enthusiastically, like I most definitely do and was. But then the conversation shifted.

They started discussing their daughters who try not to pass the ball to certain teammates. Girls that they don’t think are skilled. And the moms were in agreement with this approach that their daughters had. They even singled out one girl in particular who was on the field in that moment that they, the moms, were getting frustrated about the fact that this girl was getting her foot on the ball because she isn’t one of the better players.

They didn’t mention my daughter’s name, but I know that she’s on that list. I had already noticed their kids avoiding passing to her when she was wide open last fall. And so as they were chatting, I felt like my jaw was hitting the floor that they were having this conversation in front of me. I sat quietly until one of the moms turned to me and said, I’m sorry.

I know I shouldn’t talk poorly about other people’s children. For any of you who know me, it won’t be a surprise that I shared exactly what I was thinking in that moment. I explained how damaging this behavior is not just for the kids they see as less skilled like my own daughter, but for the overall team dynamic and for their own children’s development as teammates and leaders.

I told them exactly how I would coach their kids if I saw them doing that. To their credit, they were receptive to my feedback, and one even told me as we were leaving the field that she was going to talk to her daughter. But I walked away totally bummed out. You guys, these are 10 year olds. If we as parents can’t keep youth sports in perspective, how the heck are we going to expect our kids to do that?
And how is this serving them when we fast forward to other things, to academic performance, to getting into schools, to professional life? So, if you have children in sports, or if you plan to in the future, I hope that you’ll join those of us who love to win, but also value sportsmanship, teamwork, and kindness.

Kindness above all else. Youth sports is all about developing skills. That’s why they’re out there. Encouraging your child to be a good teammate is never going to hold them back. It is only going to make them better. I would love to hear your thoughts on youth sports. So let’s talk about it over on Instagram in the comments for the post for this episode.

All right, now on to today’s episode. This is going to be a fun and quick one where I answer some of the most common toddler sleep questions I receive. If you have a toddler, this episode is for you.

Today I’m going to share quick answers to five of the most common questions I get asked when it comes to toddler sleep. We’re going to cover pillows, blankets, sleep regressions, toddler clocks, transitioning out of the crib, and the idea of a nightlight. All right, let’s dive right in. Question number one, when is the best time to introduce a pillow and a blanket?

I like to introduce a pillow and a blanket anytime after the age of two and while kids are ideally still in their cribs. It starts to give them more of a sense of what it will feel like to sleep in a big kid bed. That being said, it’s totally normal for a child to have no interest in a pillow or a blanket, and that is absolutely okay.

I do not want you to force it. If they have strong feelings about not even having one or both of these in their crib, just set them nearby, outside of the crib, and let your child know that if they decide they want to try it, they can go ahead and grab them or let you know that they want to test them out.

They may also want them in their crib, but not actually use them, and that is also totally okay. I’ll link to my favorite toddler pillow, which my girls still use, and my favorite crib toddler blanket in the show notes. All right, question number two. What is the most common toddler sleep regression?

Toddler sleep regressions can feel more intense than previous regressions because toddlers are louder, stronger, and they have some really big emotions. The most common one I hear about tends to happen between 15 and 18 months. This is when toddlers really start to realize that they can do X and get someone else to do Y.

Like screaming at bedtime or in the middle of the night and getting you to come pick them up. But sleep regressions can actually happen at any age. And I think that they are typically triggered by an illness and or traveling.

The key to quickly moving past a sleep regression is to reset as soon as your child is healthy or as soon as you’re back home from that trip.

If you let sleep disruptions linger too long, they will grow in intensity and while they are certainly always fixable, it may take a little bit longer. I will link to my sleep regression workshop in the show notes for those of you who want step by step instructions on how to handle and communicate with your toddler when you want to reset after a sleep regression.

Question number three. What are your thoughts on toddler clocks? I love toddler clocks or these toddler light systems. I actually recommend that every child who is two or older have one, even if your child has a history of being a total rock star when it comes to sleep. Toddler clocks take the guesswork out of kids needing to know, is it okay to wake up? Is it morning yet? As I’m recording this, the days are getting longer. And so they will start to wonder some mornings, particularly if any light comes in their room, if it’s time to get up yet. But if they have a light and their light isn’t green, which is usually the color I recommend, they know it is still time to sleep or at least time to quietly rest.

While it is never too late to introduce a toddler clock or to reintroduce one, I think it’s ideal to introduce the toddler clock or light system when your child is still in the crib, that way they already understand the concept about staying in bed until the light turns green before they have the freedom of a big kid bed where they can just get out of bed.

This will make the transition much smoother because they have that concept. They don’t have to think about it too much, and it actually provides comfort and structure around sleeping in a big kid bed. That means they’re going to be less likely to jump out of bed after you tuck them in, or in the middle of the night when they wake up, or if they wake up at 5 a.m. So yes to the toddler clocks. My favorite is the Hatch. I’ll link to it in the show notes.

When is the best time to transition from the crib to a big kid bed? You guys, if there is one piece of advice that I wish every parent knew and would take from me, because they don’t always take it, it is this.

Keep your child in the crib until at least the age of three, if at all possible. The reason? Impulse control. The older your child gets, the more that they have developed the ability to resist the urge to get out of bed at bedtime in the middle of the night or before their light turns green in the morning.

I personally kept my girls in their crib until they were four and I never regretted it. There is no harm in keeping your child in the crib if you’re able to do it. Their transition into the big kid bed was totally seamless and uneventful. Granted, I had also prepared them, but by keeping them in the crib until they were four, I just bought their brains more time to develop more impulse control.

Of course, some situations definitely require transitioning earlier, like if your child is leaping out of the crib and it becomes a safety issue, there are certainly times where we have to make this transition before the age of three. While it’s possible to teach a younger child to sleep in a bed, I do it all the time, it’s just easier if they’re between three and four years old. And preparation also plays a really key role in having a smooth transition out of the crib and into the big kid bed. If you want to learn more about that, I will link to the workshop that I created around how to have a smooth crib to bed transition in the show notes.

All right, number five, should I introduce a nightlight? Short answer. No. Light exposure can disrupt sleep, triggering night wakings or early morning wakings because it affects melatonin’s production. So when those early morning hours are arriving and that light is coming in through your child’s eyelids, their brain could be getting confused and thinking, is that the sun coming up?

Is that the sun? Oh, maybe I should wake up. So it can really be disruptive to some kids. Plus, nightlights can unintentionally encourage a fear of the dark. It’s really important to understand that children are not born afraid of the dark. It is a learned fear. I like to say it’s a seed that gets planted, often picked up from a show, a book, a movie, a sibling, or a friend.

If they have always slept in the dark when that seed gets planted, it’s going to be much easier to reassure them. So, when they tell you they are scared of the dark, you can say, What? We love the dark in this house. You’ve always slept in the dark. Mom and Dad sleep in the dark. We’re so comfy cozy and we get great sleep in the dark.

And you can forge ahead and they don’t really have a reason to question that because that is the truth. They have always slept in the dark. If on the other hand, they’ve been using a nightlight, when that seed gets planted, that fear of the dark can feel even more real because they suddenly can think to themselves, Ooh, that’s why I have a nightlight.

The dark is scary, and they start to associate that light with being there to protect them from the dark, and it can be a real slippery slope. The night light can turn into a hall light or a closet light on, or even lamps or overhead lights in the bedroom. Because they suddenly feel like they need even more protection from the dark.

And it can be really challenging to override that by saying, No, you don’t need to be afraid of the dark when they’ve had that nightlight. It gives them reason to question that concept. So, if at all possible, avoid putting a nightlight in your child’s room. If you end up deciding to use one or you’re already using one and you’re not sure how you could ever get out of it, I will tell you that red is the color least likely to disrupt sleep and I recommend calling it a sleep light, letting them know when it’s time to be in bed versus calling it a night light.

I hope this episode was helpful. If you don’t already, please follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode. And if you have a moment, I would love it if you would rate and review the podcast.

It is the best way to help us reach more families. As always, thanks for listening. Bye for now.