A bedtime routine for newborns looks very different from one for a five-year-old, but the idea is the same: a few calm steps, in the same order, every night. Over time those steps tell your child that the day is ending. This guide walks through a routine from the first weeks to age 8, how much sleep children need at each age, and where a short, five-minute story fits.
These are ideas, not rules, and every child is different. If you're worried about your child's sleep, talk to your pediatrician.
How much sleep do children need?
In 2016 the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) published consensus recommendations on sleep duration for children (Paruthi et al., J Clin Sleep Med 2016;12(6):785–786, PDF), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports them. The AASM did not give a figure for babies under 4 months, so the first row comes from the World Health Organization's 2019 guidelines for children under 5.
| Age | Sleep per 24 hours | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 months | 14–17 hours, including naps | WHO 2019 |
| 4–12 months | 12–16 hours, including naps | AASM 2016 |
| 1–2 years | 11–14 hours, including naps | AASM 2016 |
| 3–5 years | 10–13 hours, including naps | AASM 2016 |
| 6–12 years | 9–12 hours | AASM 2016 |
These are ranges, and a healthy child can sit anywhere within them. A practical way to use the table: start from the time your child needs to wake up, count back to find a bedtime, and begin the routine 20 to 30 minutes before that.
A bedtime routine for newborns (0–3 months)
In the first weeks, feeds and sleep happen around the clock, so don't expect a schedule. What you can start is a short set of cues before night sleep:
- Dim the lights and lower your voice.
- A clean diaper and fresh sleepwear.
- A feed.
- The same short song or a few quiet words. A lullaby is perfect here; see our list of classic lullabies.
- Into bed, following your pediatrician's safe-sleep advice.
Ten to fifteen minutes is plenty. The steps matter less than repeating them. Reading aloud is welcome at this age too; any book will do, because the point is the time together.
Bedtime routine for a 2-, 3- or 4-month-old
Around this age, many families find the day starting to fall into more of a pattern, and the routine can grow a little:
- a warm wash or bath (not necessarily every night)
- pajamas and a feed
- one board book with big, clear pictures
- the same song, then bed
Try to start at roughly the same time each evening. If a step stops working, swap it, but keep the order steady.
6 to 12 months
Babies notice much more now. Add a "goodnight" walk around the room, saying goodnight to the lamp, the window and a favorite toy. Let your baby touch the pages of a sturdy book. Keep lively play for earlier in the evening, so the last 20 minutes stay calm.
Toddlers (1–2 years): brush, book, bed
The AAP suggests a simple routine for young children: "brush, book, bed". Toddlers like having a say, so offer small choices (this pajama top or that one, this book or that one) inside a fixed order. When stalling starts, the sequence itself helps: after the book comes the song, then lights out.
This is also the age to set a screens-off time. The AAP recommends turning off all screens at least 60 minutes before bedtime and keeping them out of children's bedrooms at night. Our article on screen time before bed has ideas for that last hour.
Preschoolers (3–5 years)
Now the story often becomes the heart of the routine. Agree on how many stories there will be before you start, so reading doesn't turn into bargaining. Add a short chat about the day: what was the best part, and was anything hard? A night light or a cuddly toy that "keeps watch" can help a child who feels uneasy in the dark.
Early school age (6–8 years)
Children can now wash and change on their own, which frees up time for reading. Let them read a page to you, then read the rest to them. Longer stories can run over several nights. Try to keep bedtime and wake-up time similar on school days and weekends.
Where a 5-minute story fits
Here is a sample evening for a 3- to 5-year-old who goes to sleep at 7:30 p.m.:
| Time | Step |
|---|---|
| 6:30 p.m. | Screens off (at least an hour before bed, as the AAP recommends) |
| 7:00 p.m. | Bath or wash, pajamas |
| 7:10 p.m. | Teeth and a last trip to the bathroom |
| 7:15 p.m. | In bed, lights low: one 5-minute story |
| 7:20 p.m. | A short chat about the day |
| 7:25 p.m. | A song or your goodnight phrase |
| 7:30 p.m. | Lights out |
The story comes near the end because by then your child is in bed, the lights are low and nothing else is competing for attention. Five minutes is enough: a picture book of a few hundred words, read slowly, with time to look at the pictures. On nights when everyone is tired, a story you tell from memory works just as well.
When to talk to your pediatrician
A routine can make evenings calmer, but it can't fix everything. Talk to your pediatrician if your child regularly struggles to fall asleep or stay asleep, snores loudly, seems very tired during the day, or if anything about your baby's sleep worries you.
Where Ninni fits in the routine
Ninni is an app of illustrated picture-book stories for roughly ages 3 to 12, with real narration by voice artists and calm sleep sounds. Each story shows its age range, and many are short enough for that five-minute slot:
- Sleep Cloud Sleep (ages 3–10) is a rhyming poem of under 100 words about a cloud that drifts through the day and curls up next to the Moon.
- Goofy Detective Gigi (ages 3–8) is about 500 words: a clumsy forest detective helps Little Mouse find a lost egg, which is roughly five minutes at an unhurried pace.
Ninni runs on a phone or tablet, so with the AAP's one-hour advice in mind, the best slot is before screens go off: on the sofa, reading and listening together. Later, in bed, you can retell the same story from memory. Stories are in English and Turkish, the download is free and the first pages of every story are free; a subscription with a free trial unlocks the library, with prices in the app. See all bedtime stories.
Frequently asked questions
When should I start a bedtime routine with my newborn?
You can start with a few simple cues in the first weeks: dim lights, a feed, the same quiet song. It won't look like a schedule yet, and that's fine. What matters is repeating the same steps, so that later, as days settle into a pattern, the routine is already familiar.
What is a good bedtime routine for a 3-month-old?
A wash, pajamas, a feed, one short board book and the same song, then bed, usually in 15 to 20 minutes. Keep the order steady from night to night and follow your pediatrician's advice on safe sleep.
How long should a bedtime routine take?
For babies, 10 to 20 minutes is usually plenty. For toddlers and older children, 20 to 30 minutes from bath to lights out works for many families. If the routine keeps getting longer, trim a step rather than rushing every step.
What time should a 4-year-old go to bed?
Count back from wake-up time. The AASM recommends 10 to 13 hours of sleep per 24 hours for children aged 3 to 5, including naps. A 4-year-old who wakes at 7:00 a.m. and no longer naps would get 11 hours with an 8:00 p.m. bedtime.
