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It does not take a lot to interrupt a toddler's bedtime pattern.  Illness, vacation, or family changes are things that easily can disrupt routines.  A scared toddler might be reassured with a nightlight and a quick room check or some parental reassurance.  Avoid staying in the room until he falls asleep because, it takes very little time to develop a bad sleep pattern/ habit and much more time to reset things to a good pattern.

This is great advice from the AAP's website Healthychildren.org:

Use the following tips to help your toddler develop good sleep habits:

1. Set up a quiet routine before bedtime to help your child understand that it will soon be time to go to sleep. Use this time to read him a story, listen to quiet music, or give him a bath. It may be tempting to play with your child before bed. However, active play may make your child too excited to sleep.

2. Be consistent. Make bedtime the same time every night. This helps your child know what to expect and helps him establish healthy sleep patterns.

3. Allow your child to take a favorite thing to bed each night. It's OK to let your child sleep with a teddy bear, special blanket, or some other favorite toy. These often help children fall asleep—especially if they wake up during the night. Make sure the object is safe. Look for ribbons, buttons, or other parts that may be choking hazards. Stuffing or pellets inside stuffed toys can also be dangerous.

4. Make sure your child is comfortable. He may like to have a drink of water, a light left on, or the door left slightly open. Try to handle your child's needs before bedtime so that he doesn't use them to avoid going to sleep.

5. Do not let your child sleep in the same bed with you. This can make it harder for him to fall asleep when he is alone.

6. Do not return to your child's room every time he complains or calls out. Instead, try the following:
    Wait several seconds before answering and make your response time longer each time he calls. This will give him a chance to fall asleep on his own.
    Reassure your child that you are there. If you need to go into the room, do not turn on the light, play with him, or stay too long.
    Move farther from your child's bed every time you go in, until you can reassure him verbally without entering his room.
    Remind him each time he calls that it's time to go to sleep.

7. Give it time. Helping your child develop good sleep habits can be a challenge, and it is normal to get upset when a child keeps you awake at night. Try to be understanding. A negative response by a parent can sometimes make a sleep problem worse.

Additional thoughts and recommended resource:   “In general, the most dangerous question to ask parents is ‘is your baby/child sleeping through the night?’.  Dangerous?  Yes, Dangerous – because it implies that once a baby or child sleeps for 8 hours straight when the sun is down, that they will never again have sleep problems or regression, or nights where they (and therefore you!) are up, stressed and exhausted at 2 AM.  This sets parents and caregivers up for a struggle, when we KNOW that it is normal for children to go through sleep regressions and changes.  This can have to do with developmental milestones (when they are learning to walk or talk) it can have to do with changes in their daily routines (change in nap schedules or entry into a new room and new teacher in their child care center), it can have to do with illness (kids often have difficulty sleeping, or can be harder to soothe to sleep when they are getting sick.  Essentially there can be many, many perfectly reasonable and explainable reasons for a child to have a series of bad nights of sleep or defiance at bedtime. The main thing is for parents and caregivers to focus on routine and keep themselves regulated and as calm as possible.

A great book to support this can be found here: The Gentle Sleep Book: Gentle, No-Tears, Sleep Solutions for Parents of Newborns to Five-Year-Olds.   Part of: Gentle (4 Books)  | by Sarah Ockwell-Smith .”