Baby and toddler sleep concerns, questions and options

Babies and children need sleep for healthy development. Sleep is important for you too.

Sometimes babies and toddlers cry because they can’t settle to sleep by themselves.

It’s important to respond to your child’s needs for both sleep and comfort.

You can decide how to meet your child’s sleep and comfort needs and your own sleep needs.

Sleep and comfort for babies and toddlers

Babies and toddlers need sleep to grow and develop well. Good sleep is also important for their health and immunity.

Some babies and toddlers can have trouble settling to sleep by themselves, so they cry. Crying can happen for many different reasons:

Some babies and toddlers cry when they’re tired but can’t settle to sleep.

Many babies and toddlers cry when they need help to settle back to sleep after waking in the night.

Many babies and toddlers cry when they’re getting used to a new or different way of going to sleep.

Sometimes happy, healthy babies and toddlers develop rapidly, which means they find it harder than usual to settle.

Babies and toddlers who are crying while trying to settle need comfort.

It’s important to respond to baby and toddler needs for:

sleep – for example, by putting babies and toddlers to sleep when you see their tired signs

comfort – for example, by not leaving crying babies and toddlers alone for long periods.

Consistently responding to your child’s needs for both sleep and comfort is an important part of bonding and helping your child grow up feeling safe, secure and cared for.

Babies cry for many reasons. Before trying to settle your crying baby, it’s a good idea to first check whether your baby is hungry, uncomfortable or sick.

You need sleep for your health and wellbeing.

Learning what helps your child to sleep and settle can mean that you get more sleep. And this can make a big difference to your health and wellbeing.

When you’re physically, emotionally and mentally well, your child is more likely to grow, develop and thrive.

Our grown-ups section has a lot of articles on maintaining your wellbeing and coping with stress if the way your child sleeps and settles is making things hard for you.

How to help your child sleep – and get some sleep yourself

There are many ways to meet your child’s needs for both sleep and comfort, as well as your own need for rest. The articles listed below have information and strategies that can help.

You might have to try a few different strategies for sleep, settling and comforting to work out what’s right for you and your child.

It might help to know that all the strategies on this website are thoroughly researched. The evidence says that they’re safe. And if you have plenty of warm and loving interactions with your child while they’re awake, these strategies can support your child’s wellbeing and development and also your relationship with your child.

How much sleep does my child need?

What are the signs that my child is ready to sleep?

Baby sleep at 2-12 months: what to expect

Tired signs in babies and toddlers

How can I help my child settle and sleep?

Positive bedtime routines: babies, children and teenagers

Light, noise and baby sleep: frequently asked questions and answers

How can I help my child learn to self-settle?

How to get babies to sleep and settle at 3-6 months: tips

Responsive settling at 6-18 months: how to move towards self-settling

How to phase out baby sleep habits

'Camping out': a strategy for helping your child settle for sleep independently

Dummy independence: helping babies learn

I’d like to understand or change my child’s bedtime behaviour. What can I do?

Bedtime fading: earlier bedtimes for babies and toddlers

Body-rocking, head-rolling and head-banging at bedtime

What to do when children call out or get out of bed

Dummies: helping children let go

Getting help with baby or toddler sleep and settling

If your child’s sleep and settling is causing you concern or stress, it’s a good idea to get professional help, especially if you’re not sure what the problem is or how to put a sleep strategy into action.

You could start by talking with your child and family health nurse or GP. This can help to rule out any underlying health concerns that might be causing unsettled sleep. You can also contact an early parenting centre or parent helpline for sleep and settling support.

Our content is regularly reviewed for quality and currency. The last review of this article was by staff at Melbourne Children’s Sleep Centre, Monash Health. Scientific Advisory Board review was provided by Dr Bronwyn Gould AM.

Centre for Community Child Health. (2015). Sleep and the early years. Community Paediatric Review, 23, 4. Retrieved 2 March 2026 from https://www.rch.org.au/uploadedFiles/Main/Content/ccch/CPR-vol23-no4.pdf.

Drozd, F., Leksbø, T.S., Størksen, H.T., Wilhelmsen, C.E.W., & Slinning, K. (2022). An overview of reviews for preventing and treating sleep problems in infants. Acta Paediatrica, 111(11), 2071-2076. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.16475.

Etherton, H., Blunden, S., & Hauck, Y. (2016). Discussion of extinction-based behavioral sleep interventions for young children and reasons why parents may find them difficult. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 12(11), 1535-1543. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.6284.

Field, T. (2017). Infant sleep problems and interventions: A review. Infant Behavior and Development, 47, 40-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.02.002.

Gradisar, M., Jackson, K., Spurrier, N.J., Gibson, J., Whitham, J., Williams, A.S., Dolby, R., & Kennaway, D.J. (2016). Behavioral interventions for infant sleep problems: A randomized control trial. Pediatrics, 137(6), Article e20151486. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2015-1486.

Hiscock, H., Cook, F., Bayer, J., Le, H.N., Mensah, F., Cann, W., Symon, B., & St James-Roberts, I. (2014). Preventing early infant sleep and crying problems and postnatal depression: A randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics, 133(2), 346-354. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-1886.

Kahn, M., Barnett, N., & Gradisar, M. (2022). Implementation of behavioral interventions for infant sleep problems in real-world settings. The Journal of Pediatrics, 255, 137-146.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2022.10.038.

Mindel, J., & Williamson, A.A. (2018). Benefits of a bedtime routine in young children: Sleep, development, and beyond. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 40, 93-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2017.10.007.

Price, A.M.H., Brown, J.E., Bittman, M., Wake, M., Quach, J., & Hiscock, H. (2014). Children’s sleep patterns from 0 to 9 years: Australian population longitudinal study. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2, 119-125. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2013-304150.

Sadeh, A., Tikotzky, L., & Scher, A. (2010). Clinical review: Parenting and infant sleep. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 14(2), 89-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2009.05.003.

West, M., & Schwichtenberg, A.J. (2025). Infant and toddler sleep research: A narrative review of developmental shifts, clinical guidelines, parenting practices, assessments, and interventions. Infant Behavior and Development, 80, Article 102095. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2025.102095.

Wolke, D., Bilgin, A., & Samara, M. (2017). Systematic review and meta-analysis: Fussing and crying durations and prevalence of colic in infants. Journal of Pediatrics, 185, 55-61. Article e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.02.020.

Zanetti, N., D’Souza, L., & Blunden, S. (2022). Parents’ perceptions of the quality of infant sleep behaviours and practices: A qualitative systematic review. Infant and Child Development, 32(1), Article e2369. http://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2369.