What to Do When Your Baby Plays in the Crib Instead of Sleep

Is your baby playing in the crib instead of sleeping? In this article, I’ll share tips you can try to help your little one settle down instead.

Baby Playing in Crib Instead of Sleeping

Sleep time is the new play time… at least according to your baby.

Instead of sleeping like he used to, he plays, talks to himself, and even stands up. When you go into his room to remind him to go to sleep, he gets even more excited. This can go on for a while before you finally give in and start rocking him to sleep (especially since you know he’ll be cranky without rest).

I can certainly relate, friend.

There was a time when I’d put my baby down in the crib and he’d immediately roll around on his belly with his head propped up, ready to crawl. Other times, I’d wake up to him in the middle of the night cooing to himself or thumping his legs. He was so restless that by the time morning rolled around, he was extra fussy and exhausted.

I knew this couldn’t continue, so I started researching strategies to get him to stop playing in the crib and go to sleep. Take a look at these tips and see if they can work for you, too:

Experiment with your baby’s wake times

The biggest culprit with your baby playing in the crib instead of sleeping is that she isn’t tired enough. As babies grow up, they need fewer naps, stretching their wake times longer.

For instance, if your 6 month old is still taking three naps a day, more than likely she can get away with two. With two naps a day, her wake times can follow this pattern:

  • After waking up and before the first nap: 3 hours
  • Between the first and the second naps: 3.5 hours
  • Between the second nap and bedtime: 4 hours

The perk of dropping a nap? This frees you up to do more activities between naps instead of rushing home to get her to sleep.

That said, what if her wake times are too long? This is always a possibility, especially if she’s overtired and cries during the bedtime routine. If so, experiment with shortening her wake times, extending her current naps as much as possible, or having an earlier bedtime.

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Create a conducive sleep environment

Creating the right sleep environment for your baby is key to helping him sleep. A night light can be pretty useful to see your way around the room, but any glimmer of light can also be an excuse for him to play instead of sleep in the crib.

Try to keep his room as dark as possible, starting with removing the night light. Hang blackout curtains to block light from outside or even in your own home. The darkness signals that it’s time to sleep, not play, no matter the time of the night.

Then, use a white noise machine to muffle sudden sounds that can startle him awake. Now he won’t wake up every hour whenever he hears the tiniest sound. The consistency of the sounds can lull him to sleep and signal that he should be asleep, not awake.

These two items—the darkening curtains and white noise—vastly improved how my son slept in his crib.

Baby Wakes Up Every Hour

Let your baby practice new skills during the day

Does it feel like you can’t get your baby to nap in the crib because she keeps crawling, pulling herself up, or clapping her hands? From language acquisition to being more mobile, she might be using the time in her crib to practice and process all this new information instead of falling asleep.

Great for her development, but not so great when you need her to rest.

To prevent this from happening, give ample opportunity during the day to practice these skills and milestones. For instance, let her crawl around at home instead of keeping her in a swing or infant seat. Give her a chance to cruise and stand or play with her toys. Encourage her to clap her hands, practice her “words,” or roll over on the floor.

The more she can practice these skills during the day, the less inclined she’ll feel to practice at night.

Have a consistent bedtime routine

A consistent routine can signal to your baby that it’s time to sleep. By doing the same things in the same order at the same time, he gets the hint that he should be sleeping instead of playing.

For instance, start bath time at the same time, and always follow it up with changing into pajamas and reading bedtime books.

Then, keep your evening activities subdued and relaxing. Dim the bathroom lights during bath time or read books specifically about going to sleep. This isn’t the time for tickling, playing games, or bringing out new things that might stimulate him.

And finally, don’t make your routine longer than it needs to be. Aim for 15-30 minutes to get him in the mood to sleep. That way, it’s long enough to get him relaxed, but not too long that he gets restless.

Let your baby be

Do you feel compelled to go into your baby’s room when she wakes up at 5am? Perhaps you hear her babbling or see her standing in the crib. If so, see what happens if you let her be.

It’s truly okay if she doesn’t fall asleep right away. Think about your own habits and how you sometimes need a few minutes to finally sleep. You’re sorting your thoughts or turning around to find a comfortable position.

The same is true with your baby. So long as she’s content, she’ll probably fall asleep on her own eventually.

Now, if she does fuss, check in with her every 15 minutes to remind her that it’s time to sleep and make sure that all is well. Keep checking in 15-minute intervals until she’s finally asleep (more frequent than every 15 minutes and you could be riling her up even more).

Baby Wakes Up at 5am

The bottom line

Hearing your baby babbling instead of sleeping can make you feel anxious. Thankfully, you can try a few tricks to get past this phase and get him to sleep. With enough time and effort, he realizes that sleep time really is for sleep, not play.

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5 Mistakes That Keep Your Baby from Self Soothing

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