Toddler Bedtime Routine: A Simple Guide to Better Sleep

There is never a straight path when you're preparing your toddler for sleep. In the blink of an eye, your child is nestled on the sofa and yawning, then a minute later they are asking for a drink of water, another blanket and another story. This is normal. The brain of a toddler can't yet turn off, and a bedtime routine is just the tool to help it do so a little more easily, nightly.

A healthy bedtime routine for toddlers isn't a set schedule carved into rock-solid rules. It's a short series of relaxed activities, performed repeatedly, that signal to your child's body and mind that the day is over. This article explores the benefits of a routine, its evolution from 15 months to 4 years, and how to establish one for your family without making it a negotiation every night.

What Is the Best Bedtime Routine for Toddlers?

A bedtime routine for toddlers is important because it provides a routine that your toddler can rely on during the evening which helps them relax and sleep more easily. Toddlers are not able to read a clock but they can identify a sequence: bath, pyjamas, story, cuddle and lights out. Once a pattern is made, it can begin to work almost automatically. 

One well known study of over 10,000 children in several countries determined that children whose parents had a regular bedtime had quicker sleep onset, fewer nocturnal awakenings, and longer sleep duration. The greater the consistency of families in following the routine, the greater the effect. This doesn't mean that all toddlers will sleep perfectly when a routine is started, but it can increase the likelihood of positive sleep.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and other paediatric groups also suggest a daily routine for young children. Toddlers can be prepared for a sleep by simple, low stimulation activities like bathing, reading, and quiet singing. 

Are Late Bedtimes Bad for Toddlers?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that toddlers aged 1 to 2 get 11 to 14 hours of sleep over 24 hours, and children aged 3 to 5 get 10 to 13 hours, including naps. The breakdown looks like this:

These are approximate figures, not a target to hit exactly. Naps, illness, growth spurts, and travel will all jostle the numbers.

Generally, if a toddler isn't sleeping enough, you'll notice it more during the day, more tantrums, less tolerance, more difficulty focusing, before you notice it at night. A consistent bedtime routine is one of the easiest ways to protect that day-to-day sleep total.

What Is a Good Bedtime Routine for a 2-Year-Old?

The ideal bedtime routine for a 2 year old runs 20 to 40 minutes and happens in the same order every night: bath, jammies, teeth, book, cuddle, tuck in under the covers. It isn't so much the activities themselves as it is the consistency. A basic version looks like this:

1. End active play and tidy away toys

2. Bath or a quick wash up

3. Pyjamas on

4. Brush teeth

5. Dim the lights

6. Read one or more books together

7. A brief cuddle and quiet talking

8. Good night, sleep tight

It isn't the number of repeats that matters, just the order. Once a 2 year old has made a few dozen passes through the sequence, each step becomes a cue in itself. After bath, it's almost bedtime. Once pyjamas are on, the night has settled in. If there's a story, bed is coming next.

Is 7pm Too Early for a 2 Year Old to Go to Bed?

Not at all, 7pm is a perfectly normal bedtime, and for younger toddlers it can even be on the later side. At 15 months, a bedtime routine will need to be around 15 to 20 minutes, and involve more touch than talking, as language skills are still developing. Most toddlers at this age are also making the transition from two naps to one, so it may take a few weeks before nighttime settles into a new routine.

This is where a warm bath, a short massage, a board book and a lullaby sung each night work well. Bedtime can be earlier at this age, often as early as 6.30 to 7.30 pm as one nap may not be a full day.

What Time Is Best For 18 Months Old Go to Bed?

Most toddlers around this age settle in somewhere between 7 and 7.30 pm, though the exact time matters less than what happens right before it.

At 18 months, your little one may be ready for some choices in your bedtime routine as toddlers begin to have some control, the blue pyjamas or the yellow ones, this book or that one. Another time of heightened separation anxiety is usually now, so take a little longer to say goodbye to the child at the door, which will usually limit protests. The basic sequence remains the same as at 15 months, but these are small choices that are given an extra few minutes.

Is 9pm Too Late for a 2 Year Old?

For a 2 year old, yes, 9pm tends to be later than ideal. Older toddlers can push closer to that window though. A 4 year old bedtime routine may be slightly later, closer to 7.30pm or 8pm depending on the time of day the child wakes, and more of the child's choice, as the kid might try to stall bedtime simply because the day isn't over. Allowing a 4 year old to choose a book, set out the next day's clothes or decide the goodnight song will make him feel like he is in charge and this will usually help to reduce stalling. Even though a 4 year old's brain is just as sensitive to the stimulation of screens as a toddler's, screens should still be turned off for at least 1 hour before lights out.

What Does a Simple Toddler Bedtime Routine Chart Look Like?

A simple toddler bedtime routine chart presents the same brief sequence with approximate times, to give parents and their child an idea of what to expect. This is a sample of a schedule that many families take as a starting point, you can tailor the time for your family.

Have a hardcopy of this chart on the wall in the bedroom. Toddlers who can see steps, in picture form or otherwise, settle into the sequence more quickly than those who only hear the steps.

What Time Is Too Early for Toddler Bedtime?

There isn't really a fixed time that counts as too early, it depends more on total sleep needs and wake time than the clock itself. What matters more is keeping the routine steady.

If urgent things come up, adjust the timing but stick to the order as much as possible. Giving a specific instruction works better than an open question like "are you ready for bed?" Meanwhile, life gets in the way: a late dinner, a visiting relative, a slight cold. A healthy bedtime routine should be flexible enough to accommodate those days without falling apart the next.

What Age Does Bedtime Get Easier?

Bedtime tends to get noticeably easier once a toddler has a bit of say in the routine, usually somewhere between 2 and 3 years old, when they can start making small choices for themselves.

The small decisions help to minimise bedtime conflict as it gives your toddler a small amount of choice within a routine that is otherwise fixed. Shall we wear striped pyjamas or plain pyjamas, to read the book about the dinosaurs or the farm, and brush teeth before or after pyjamas? The toddler feels heard and the routine continues in both directions.

Can Screen Time Affect Toddler Sleep?

Do not think of a wind-down as a restriction but as making an effort to build a screen-free one that replaces screens at least one hour before bedtime with something that is not as stimulating. The advice for children always is to never put screens in their bedroom. An alternative suggestion is to try quiet drawing, turn through pictures with the family, put clothes away for the next day or to have a slow story. The less stimulation prior to sleep, the more easily you fall asleep.

The AAP suggests that screens be removed from kids' bedrooms and to be switched off at least an hour before bedtime to minimize the disruption of sleep. That hour can be the best time of the evening rather than a limitation. 

Families can read together, look at family pictures, quietly draw, sing a familiar song or get clothes ready for the morning. Things I Can't See by Sam & Mi works well here too. It gently leads children to observe, reflect and link emotions to real-life situations. It provides something non-screen for toddlers to finish with before they go to bed. It's a straightforward concept: less stimulation and more connection

Is It Normal for My Toddler to Sleep Until 10 am?

It can be, especially if bedtime is later or the room supports deep sleep. A calm, well-set-up bedroom is usually why some toddlers naturally sleep longer than others.

Lighting, temperature and sound are all in sync and favour sleep in a toddlers bedroom. There is no special equipment that is required in a toddler's room to aid sleep. Some constant information helps much more, getting some dusk as the evening approaches, a cool and quiet room, the magical toys left out of the bed, one familiar comfort object, soft toy or blanket.

What Time Should a 2 Year Old Go to Bed at Night?

Most 2 year olds do well going to bed somewhere between 7 and 8 pm, but the exact time matters far less than doing it at roughly the same time every night.

There are no perfect rules for bedtime routines, consistency is more important than a perfect routine because you might have different rules for your sleep schedule, how many books to read, and whether or not you should be in the bed with your child till they go to sleep. Each toddler and every family has a unique bedtime routine to navigate. It is the simplest routine which a family may reasonably repeat most nights that is the most effective longterm routine, rather than the most complicated one that can appear on paper.

Best Bedtime Routine for Kids

Your toddler's bedtime routine doesn't have to be flawless for it to have the desired effect. Usually, just a bath, clean pyjamas, a cozy room, a comforting bedtime story, a soothing word before going to sleep and one last cuddle is sufficient to establish healthy sleep routines and a nightly routine that is your child's favourite. Begin with a small number of repetitions, repeat many times, and allow the repetition to take care of the settling into sleep.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to develop a healthy routine for getting toddlers to sleep?

A short, calm, repeated succession is best, quiet play, bath, pyjamas, brushing teeth, story, cuddle, lights out, repeated in the same order most nights.

What Is the Best Bedtime Routine for a 2 Year Old?

This age is well suited to a 20-40 minute settle down at the end of which a book and a cuddle are good. The sequence of the activities is more important than their specific content.

What is a good length of time for a toddler bedtime routine?

For most families, 20-40 minutes is sufficient. The length of time required to wind down depends on socio-cultural factors and can be shorter for younger toddlers and slightly longer for a 4 year old.

At what age is the proper time for toddlers to retire to bed?

There are no right or wrong times for sleeping. It is better to work backwards from your child's normal wake up time, and stick to a reasonable time, most toddlers find to settle in between 7 pm and 8.30 pm.

Is it OK if toddlers watch screens before bedtime?

Guidance for paediatric experts suggests that screen time can be adopted as a sleep routine by shutting off screens at least an hour before bed and avoiding screens in your bedroom.

What do you do when toddler won't go to sleep?

Keep a short, calm, routine, rule out anything has upset, such as being hungry, uncomfortable or napping too late. If resistance is experienced most nights, a paediatrician may be able to eliminate other causes.