How to Build a Bedtime Routine That Includes a Story - Ages 2 to 8

A good bedtime routine for children aged 2 to 8 is short, calm and done in the same order every night: dinner around two hours before bed, screens off an hour before, a warm bath about 30 minutes before, then teeth, pyjamas, 10 to 20 minutes of story time and lights out. Research led by paediatric sleep psychologist Jodi Mindell has found that a consistent routine, followed five or more nights a week, helps young children fall asleep faster and wake less in the night. Improvements can show within the first few nights.

Why does a bedtime routine help children sleep?

Children can't tell the time, but they can learn a sequence. When the same steps happen in the same order every evening, each one becomes a signal that sleep is coming. By the time the book is closed, their body is already expecting bed.

NHS children's health services recommend doing the same relaxing things, in the same order, at the same time each night. Studies back this up. Families who introduced a consistent routine of a bath, quiet activities and cuddles saw their children settle faster and wake less often, and the parents reported better moods too.

The routine also gives you something that's easy to lose on a busy day: 15 to 20 minutes of undivided time with your child.

An example bedtime routine for a 7pm bedtime

Adjust the times to fit your child's bedtime. The order is what matters.

• 5:00pm – Dinner
• 6:00pm – Screens off, lights lowered, quiet play
• 6:25pm – Warm bath
• 6:40pm – Pyjamas, toilet, brush teeth
• 6:45pm – Story time
• 7:00pm – Lights out, same goodnight words

The part from bath to lights out takes about 30 to 40 minutes. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting the night-time routine around 30 minutes before bed.

Step 1: Dinner

What time should children eat dinner before bed?

Aim to finish dinner roughly two hours before bedtime. NHS children's sleep guidance advises against a large meal just before bed because it can stop children settling. A child going to bed hungry won't sleep well either, so if there's a long gap between dinner and bed, a small snack about an hour before is fine.

What makes a good dinner for sleep?

A balanced, ordinary family meal works best:

• A starchy carbohydrate such as rice, pasta, potatoes or wholemeal bread
• Some protein such as chicken, fish, eggs, beans or lentils
• Vegetables
• Water or milk to drink

Keep it moderate in size and avoid very rich, greasy or spicy food late in the evening, which can cause discomfort when lying down.

Should children avoid sugar before bed?

Sugar doesn't make children hyperactive, despite the common belief. A 1995 meta-analysis of controlled studies, published in JAMA, found that sugar had no effect on children's behaviour or concentration. The excitement parents see is usually down to the occasion, such as a party, and to what adults expect to see. In one study, mothers who were told their child had eaten sugar rated them as more hyperactive, even though the child had been given a sugar-free drink.

There are still two good reasons to keep sweet foods to a minimum in the evening:

• Teeth. Anything sugary should come before brushing, not after. Once teeth are brushed, only water.
• Caffeine. Chocolate, cola, iced tea and hot chocolate all contain caffeine, which does affect sleep. Some children's sleep specialists recommend no caffeine within six hours of bedtime.

A small pudding with dinner is fine. A chocolate bar at 6:30pm is best avoided.

Good bedtime snacks

If your child is hungry later on, keep it plain and small: a banana, a slice of toast, a few crackers, plain yoghurt or a small cup of milk. Offer it at a set time before the bath, so it doesn't become a way to delay bed.

Step 2: Screens off and wind down

Turn off TVs, tablets and phones about an hour before bed. NHS children's health services and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend this. Screens keep the brain alert, and bright light in the evening can hold back melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleepy.

Use this hour for quieter things: drawing, puzzles, building blocks or looking at books. Lower the lights around the house. Dim lighting helps your child's body start producing melatonin.

Keep energetic play for earlier in the day. Children who are active during the day tend to sleep better, but rough-and-tumble games just before bed have the opposite effect.

Step 3: Bath time

What time should a child have a bath before bed?

About 30 minutes before bed is a good target. NHS guidance for parents of school-age children notes that a bath 30 minutes before bed can help promote sleep. In one of Mindell's routine studies, lights were out within 30 minutes of the bath.

A warm (not hot) bath helps children relax. Water play is also a clear, physical signal that the day is ending. It doesn't need to be long or happen every night. On busy evenings, a quick wash with a warm flannel keeps the step in place.

Use the bath to set up what comes next: "After your bath, it's pyjamas, teeth, then we'll read your story."

Step 4: Pyjamas, toilet and teeth

This is the practical part of the routine, but it still works as a cue. Keep the order the same each night.

• Pyjamas. Laying them out beforehand, or letting your child choose between two pairs, gives them some control without changing the routine.
• Toilet. Last trip before settling.
• Brush teeth. Brush for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste. The AAP's Brush, Book, Bed guidance suggests a smear for under-3s and a pea-sized amount for ages 3 to 6. Nothing to eat or drink afterwards except water.

Step 5: Story time

How long should bedtime story time be?

Around 10 to 20 minutes suits most children aged 2 to 8. The American Academy of Pediatrics says even 15 minutes of reading aloud each day helps with language development and social-emotional skills.

As a rough guide by age:

• Ages 2 to 3: 5 to 10 minutes. One or two short picture books, often the same ones every night.
• Ages 4 to 5: 10 to 15 minutes. Longer picture books, with time to talk about the pictures.
• Ages 6 to 8: 15 to 20 minutes. A chapter from a longer book, or your child reading a page to you before you take over.
  

How many books should you read at bedtime?

Agree on a number before you start, such as two books or one chapter, and keep to it. A clear limit stops "just one more" from turning a 15-minute story into a 45-minute negotiation.

How to make bedtime story time work

• Let your child choose the book, from two or three you've picked.
• Read the same book again if they ask. Repetition is how young children learn language, and a familiar story is calming.
• Keep your voice slower and quieter as the story goes on. It helps them wind down.
• Ask one or two questions. "What do you think happens next?" or "How is Bear feeling?" Keep it light.
• Keep reading to older children who can read themselves. Hearing a story read aloud still builds vocabulary and gives them time with you.
• Put the book down at the same point each night, then go straight to your goodnight words.

Can you add gentle movement to story time?

Many children, especially at the younger end of this age range, find it hard to sit still at the end of the day. A story that lets them join in with slow, gentle movement and simple breathing can help them settle, rather than having them fidget through a book they're not listening to. The key is that the movement is calm and slow, not energetic.

That's the idea behind Hanu and the Stormy Sky. It's a storybook you read together, in which Hanu the monkey guides your child through breathing and gentle yoga poses as the story unfolds. It's designed for ages 3 to 8, and ends each session calmer than it started. Some families use it after the bath, followed by a short quiet book in bed.

Step 6: Bed and lights out

Finish with the same short goodnight phrase every night, such as "Night night, love you, see you in the morning." NHS children's sleep services suggest a consistent phrase like this as a clear signal that the routine is over and it's time to sleep.

Keep the bedroom dark, quiet and cool. Thick curtains or a blackout blind help, especially in summer. A dim night light is fine if your child is worried about the dark.

What time should children go to bed?

Work backwards from when your child needs to wake up. These are the recommended amounts of sleep in 24 hours, from NHS children's health services:

• Ages 1 to 2: 11 to 14 hours, including naps
• Ages 3 to 5: 10 to 13 hours, including naps
• Ages 6 to 12: 9 to 12 hours

For a child who wakes at 7am, that usually means a bedtime between 6:30pm and 8pm for ages 2 to 5, and between 7pm and 8:30pm for ages 6 to 8. If your child is often grumpy or hard to wake, try moving bedtime 15 to 20 minutes earlier, as the AAP suggests.

Try to keep bedtime and wake-up time roughly the same at weekends too. Big differences make Monday night harder.

Tips for sticking to the routine

• Aim for five or more nights a week. That's the level of consistency studies link to better sleep. The odd late night won't undo it.
• Keep it short. A 30 to 40 minute routine is easier to keep on a bad evening than an hour-long one.
• Use a picture chart. Pre-school children can't read a list, but they can follow pictures of bath, teeth, book and bed.
• Give small choices inside a fixed order. Which pyjamas, which book, which cuddly toy. The steps don't change.
• Share it with anyone who does bedtime. Grandparents, childminders and babysitters can follow the same steps, so the routine doesn't depend on one person.

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Sources
American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org: Brush, Book, Bed — https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/oral-health/Pages/Brush-Book-Bed.aspx
American Academy of Pediatrics: Brush, Book, Bed bookmark — https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/BBB_bookmarks_Jan2023.pdf
Bedfordshire and Luton Children's Health (NHS): Sleep routines for toddlers and children — https://bedslutonchildrenshealth.nhs.uk/sleep/healthy-sleep-routines/sleep-routines-for-toddlers-and-children/
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Children's Health (NHS): Sleep — https://cambspborochildrenshealth.nhs.uk/sleep/
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Children's Health (NHS): Sleep routines for toddlers and children — https://cambspborochildrenshealth.nhs.uk/sleep/healthy-sleep-routines/sleep-routines-for-toddlers-and-children/
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS: Bedtime routine — https://www.blackpoolteachinghospitals.nhs.uk/services/school-nurses/parents-families-carers/bedtime-routine
West Suffolk NHS: Sleep, a guide for school age children — https://www.wsh.nhs.uk/CMS-Documents/Patient-leaflets/PaediatricDepartment/6339-1-Sleep-a-guide-for-school-age-children.pdf
Mindell et al. (2017), Implementation of a nightly bedtime routine: How quickly do things improve? Infant Behavior and Development — https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163638316302028
Mindell et al., A pilot bedtime routine intervention for toddlers in primary care — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12815716
Wolraich, Wilson and White (1995), The effect of sugar on behavior or cognition in children: a meta-analysis. JAMA
Riley Children's Health: Food before bed — https://www.rileychildrens.org/connections/food-before-bed-what-to-offer-kids-and-when-to-hold-back