Bedtime routine

What It Means

A bedtime routine is the set of quiet steps a child follows in the same order every night before falling asleep. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) sums up one version for young children as Brush, Book, Bed: brush teeth, read a book or two, and go to bed at a regular time. A predictable routine helps a child know what comes next, which the AAP says can ease the stress some families feel at bedtime.

How It Sounds at Home

• "Teeth, book, lights out."
• "Two stories tonight, then sleep."
• "Bath time means bedtime's coming."

The Breakdown

How to build one

1. Set a bedtime from the wake-up time, using the sleep hours for your child's age (the tool above does the counting).
2. Start the routine at the same time every night. The AAP's Brush, Book, Bed materials suggest beginning 30 minutes before bedtime so there's room for every step.
3. Brush teeth. For children under 3, the AAP program says a smear of fluoride toothpaste the size of a grain of rice; for ages 3 to 6, about the size of a small pea.
4. Read together. One or two favorite books is the AAP's suggestion.
5. Lights out at the same time, with the house as quiet and calm as you can make it.
6. Turn off screens ahead of time. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) suggests at least 30 minutes before lights out.

Try it today. Tonight, set a timer for 30 minutes before bedtime and run the three steps in the same order: brush, book, bed.

Sleep hours for school-age kids

Where It Comes From

Brush, Book, Bed is a program of the American Academy of Pediatrics aimed at families of children from birth to 6. It ties together three messages: daily toothbrushing, reading aloudReading aloudReading a book out loud with a child, from birth on. The AAP advises it because shared reading builds language, early literacy skills and the parent-child bond. See more and a regular bedtime.

Good to Know

The AASM recommends 9 to 12 hours of sleep per 24 hours for ages 6 to 12 and 8 to 10 hours for ages 13 to 18, and the AAP endorsed those ranges in 2016. HealthyChildren.org's back-to-school advice is to set a consistent bedtime and keep it every night. For toddlersToddlerA child from 1 to 3 years old, the stage CDC's parenting guidance places between infancy and the preschool years. See more and preschoolersPreschoolerA child from 3 to 5 years old, the age band the CDC uses for its preschool parenting guidance. See more, naps count toward the daily total, so ask your pediatrician about the right schedule. If bedtime keeps turning into a fight, Buhata's bedtime battlesBedtime battlesThe nightly struggle when a child stalls, protests or keeps getting out of bed instead of settling down to sleep at bedtime. See more page covers what the AAP and AASM suggest, and if your child seems tired during the day despite enough time in bed, talk with your pediatrician.

Related Terms and Categories

• Bedtime battles

  The nightly struggle when a child stalls, protests or keeps getting out of bed instead of settling down to sleep at bedtime.

• Sleep schedule

  The set times a person goes to bed and gets up each day, planned so they get the hours of sleep recommended for their age.

• Wind-down routine

  A set of calm, screen-free activities in the last part of the evening that helps you shift from being awake to falling asleep.

• Family routines

  The regular, predictable ways a household handles the repeating parts of the day, such as mornings, meals, homework, chores and bedtime.

• Routine chart

  A chart, often with pictures, listing the steps of one routine in order, such as getting ready for school or bed, that a child checks off as they go.

• Screen-free time

  Set times or places in a family's day, like meals, bedrooms or the hour before bed, when phones, TVs, tablets and games stay off.

Family organization and routines