Bedtime routine builder: a timed routine and a chart to print

The routine at every age, for a 7:00 am wake-up

The same arithmetic for each age band. The hour ranges are per 24 hours and count naps, so the builder takes the nap total away before it sets lights-out. Younger children get shorter routines with fewer steps.

Hours: Paruthi et al. 2016 (AASM, endorsed by the AAP) · lights-out = the builder above with its example nap totals · as of October 10, 2026

What a routine changes, according to the studies

The most cited trial is small and specific. Mindell and colleagues asked 405 mothers of children aged 7 to 36 months to keep their usual evenings for one week. Half of them then followed a set three-step routine for two weeks: a bath, a massage or lotion, and quiet time such as cuddling or a lullaby, with lights out within 30 minutes of the end of the bath. Compared with the families who carried on as before, the routine group reported children falling asleep faster and waking less often and for less time in the night, and the mothers' own mood scores improved. The control group did not change.

Two limits are worth knowing. The study was funded by Johnson & Johnson, whose wash and lotion the families were given, and the sleep measures came from the mothers' questionnaires and diaries rather than from a device. What it does show is that the ingredients were ordinary and cheap: the same few calm steps, in the same order, ending at the same time.

The American Academy of Pediatrics puts the same idea in three words for young children: brush, book, bed. Its advice is to set a regular bedtime and keep it rather than wait until a child looks tired, and it notes that moving bedtime even 15 to 20 minutes earlier can make a big difference. The Sleep Foundation gives a length: around half an hour for most children, a little longer when there is a bath. The builder's default routines sit in that range.

How to make a relaxing bedtime routine that holds

Put food before teeth. The AAP's version ends with the toothbrush for a reason: the last thing to touch the teeth before bed should be the brush. So a snack or a last milk sits before brushing on every chart this page prints, never after.

Switch screens off an hour before bed. The AAP advises turning off all screens at least 60 minutes before bedtime and keeping them out of children's bedrooms at night. The chart's first row is that hour, so it shows up on the wall as a step and not as an argument.

Keep the order, not just the steps. A routine works as a sequence the child can predict. The Sleep Foundation advises the same steps in the same order every night, and letting the child make small choices inside them, such as which pajamas or which book. The chart gives each step a number for that reason.

Fit the routine to the age. A baby's routine is short and mostly feeding, a book and a song; the infant routine page has sample evenings for 6 and 10 month olds and the safe sleep basics. A three to five year old can follow a chart and stretch every step, so the preschooler routine page deals with choices and stalling. The hours behind each band are on the infant, toddler, preschool and school-age sleep needs pages.

Check it after two weeks. If lights-out keeps slipping, write down when your child actually falls asleep and wakes for a fortnight; the printable sleep diary has the columns. A relaxing routine for the grown-ups is the same idea in a shorter form: a fixed lights-out from the bedtime calculator, the phone away, and something steady to listen to, such as the white noise and rain player, if the house is loud.

Questions parents ask about bedtime routines

How long should a bedtime routine be?

The Sleep Foundation suggests about half an hour for most children, a little longer with a bath. The builder's routines run from about 25 minutes for a baby to about 45 for a preschooler with a bath.

What is the Brush, Book, Bed routine?

It is the AAP's three-step routine for young children: brush teeth, read a book together, then go to bed at a regular time. Food comes before brushing so the toothbrush is the last thing to touch the teeth.

What time should my child go to bed?

Count back from the wake-up time. The builder uses the middle of the AASM hours for the age, takes off naps and adds 15 minutes to fall asleep. For a preschooler waking at 7:00 am with no nap that is 7:15 pm.

When should screens go off before bed?

The AAP advises turning all screens off at least an hour before bedtime and keeping them out of the bedroom at night. The chart puts that as the first row.