Most parents have a question why does their toddler want to sleep on the floor? Most toddlers need to sleep on the floor before every nap and bedtime.

Sometimes they try to stay awake the entire nap time on the floor. At other times they will spend nearly 10-15 minutes on the floor.

Sometimes toddlers try to self-soothe by themselves. So they try to engage in escalating behaviors prior to naps.

They refuse naps with their parents in bed. Few toddlers show even longer naps to self-soothe.

Toddlers around the age of 3 years always want to sleep additional few minutes just after they get out of the crib.

It is very normal and relatively common to suddenly express their interest in sleeping on the floor rather than in their lovely comfy bed. This unusual transition has no exact reason.

Toddlers sleeping on the floor is an unusual behavior transition and it is just a phase and there is nothing to worry about.

Your child tests their boundaries in the environment they are in and try to explore the world.

Reasons for your toddler to sleep on the floor

There may be a few reasons but sensory reasons are the main reasons for this. So try to find out whether your child is a sensory seeker.

You can get an assistance of a professional person to do a sensory profile for this.

Dear parents, did you check the firmness of the floor that your kid is going to sleep on all the time? It may be more comforting for them.

Sometimes toddlers have not comfortable in beds for some reason. They are having nightmares in bed and are afraid to return there.

Also, they are unable to express it to you verbally. Now you can understand that this is a puzzling issue for the parents.

What can you do when your kid is sleeping on the floor

I strongly feel that you are having a heartbreaking experience as parents when you see your kids struggle to sleep.

Sometimes, kids are transitioning from bed to floor and floor to bed for several cycles.

You need to think of several creative ways to get them to sleep in their beds or cribs instead of the floor.

Think about the bedtime routine of your kid and take the first step to make the best ever possible changes in it.

Start to give attractive rewards for them to obtain the required bedtime routine from them.

Meanwhile, do a sensory profile assessment with your kid to identify the probable sensory deficits within your kid.

If you found any of those don’t hesitate to give sensory integration therapy as soon as possible with professional guides.

Moms can do an attractive work schedule for their kids to make them return consistently to bed instead of going to the floor.

Then you will be able to see a delayed bedtime success. So this is high time to modify the bedtime back to an ideal time.

Introduce sleep routines to grow good sleep habits

If your child is not napping well, you need to stick to the same sleep schedule every day. Then sleeping become one of the most natural, easy, enjoyable things for your toddler.

Toddlers stop their frequent napping at 2.5 and 3.5 years of age. But sleeping 11-12 hours a day is standard for toddlers, babies, and preschoolers.

But your child is still napping or having too much sleep at night. it causes bedtime disruptions.

But always think that sleep is a habit that can always be improved just like another set of skills. So try to maintain consistent sleep routines with your baby.

As parents, you need to identify clearly the self-soothing techniques of your baby. Because they always try to practice those as a pre-napping set of activities. So parents need to facilitate them.

After that will cause to reduce the kid’s anxiety. Using a consistent bedtime routine also helps to reduce the predictable anxiety of your kids.

1. Allow toddlers to make their own choices

kids always try to assert their power. If somebody tries to prevent that, they simply say “no”. Even if it is sleep time, most toddlers can’t change it.

But they try to change the sleep location as a self-choice and try to sleep on the floor. So try to put them onto the bed, once they fall asleep.

2. What do you think of making a bed on the floor

Parents can try moving their mattress to the floor and making up the bed with blankets and pillows to make it more comfortable.

Sometimes toddlers don’t like the blankets and the mattress but you can give control them to repair the new bed for them.

So that will be a good behavioral technique. It will work as a good transition technique as well

3. Make a warm atmosphere for your baby to sleep

You need to be concerned about the weather condition properly. Dress your toddler appropriately suitable for the weather.

When you dress for the autumn or winter, you can use a nice little fleecy onesie and socks for your kid.

But in the summer, you need not worry too much. If you insulate your home properly and the floors are not drafty, then your toddler is so unlikely to get too cold if they lie there.

Be Always concerned about the temperature of the surroundings and try to dress your kids according to that.

4. Talk to your kid and ask him/her why they don’t like to bed

If Your toddler can communicate well enough with you, you can use your words softly and ask why they don’t like beds a lot.

They might clearly give you an answer to why they dislike beds to sleep in. Even though kids can’t speak a lot, It is definitely worth asking.

So try to find out an effective communicative method. Then your toddler will give a reason with words or without words.

5. Think about the toddler’s circumstances.

It takes time for toddlers to adapt to different environmental situations. If you try to change the sleeping environment of your kid, it may cause the sleeping pattern of your kid.

Think of introducing new daycare for your kid, going to a new residential house, or a very simple thing like using a new blanket, or a very minor change in their daily routine.

So if you try to do any change, think twice about it when it connects with the sleeping pattern of your kid. Still, if your baby loves to sleep on the floor, then there’s no harm in letting them.

6. Sleeping on the floor – It is just a phase!

Don’t try to stress your toddler about sleeping on the floor, as they are healthy, happy, and sleeping at all.

For some kids, sleeping on the floor is a place that a lot of toddlers go through somewhere around 2 or 3 years old.

Meanwhile, some kids go through occasional periods. So they start to sleep on the floor well in their teenage years.

Some kids sleep on the floor for a couple of weeks before abruptly deciding to sleep in their bed again.

Final thoughts

Babies tend to sleep on the floor for no reason most of the time. Sometimes it may be a part of their soothing mechanism.

At other times sleeping on the floor happens due to a sensory-seeking opportunity. As a phase of toddler life, parents experience their kid’s sleep on the floor.

But it is advisable for parents to consider this as an unusual behavior transition. Then you can find the actual cause for his behavior.