Bedtime fading: earlier bedtimes for babies and toddlers

Bedtime fading is gradually making your child’s bedtime earlier.

Bedtime fading helps children spend less time awake in their cot or bed after bedtime.

It’s good to use a positive bedtime routine and be consistent when you’re doing bedtime fading.

Bedtime fading is gradually making your child’s bedtime earlier. It can help your child fall asleep earlier or spend less time awake in their cot or bed after bedtime.

Sometimes babies and young children take a long time to get to sleep. This can happen for many reasons. For example, your child might:

be in the habit of being awake at that time

want to do a different activity, like playing with you

not think of their cot or bed as a place just for sleeping.

Bedtime fading can help your child get the sleep they need to stay healthy, develop well, and play and learn. It can also help you get more time for resting or doing other things you want to do.

Bedtimes between 7 pm and 8 pm often work for young children.

For example, your child is currently falling asleep around 9 pm, but you think it’s better for your child to fall asleep around 8 pm.

This makes 8 pm your ideal bedtime.

Step 2: introduce a positive and consistent bedtime routine

A positive bedtime routine helps soothe and calm your child so they’re ready for sleep. It’ll make it easier for your child to fall asleep.

A bedtime routine involves doing similar things in the same order each night before bed. It can include:

pre-bed tasks like having a bath and brushing teeth

quiet, enjoyable activities with you, like reading, cuddling or listening to a story.

It can also help to look at your child’s sleep habits and your child’s sleep environment. For example, dim light and low or no noise might help your child settle for sleep more easily.

Step 3: put your child to bed at their ‘natural’ bedtime

Bedtime fading starts with putting your child to bed at the time they’re naturally falling asleep now. This helps your child learn to associate being in bed with feeling sleepy.

For example, if you find that your child finally falls asleep about 9 pm, start with this as a temporary bedtime.

Some children might still take a long time to fall asleep when they go to bed at their natural bedtime. If your child is still taking a long time to fall asleep after a week of going to bed at their natural bedtime, stop bedtime fading. You can either try again another time or talk with your GP about other strategies to help your child settle for sleep.

Step 4: start moving your child’s natural bedtime towards the ideal bedtime

When your child is falling asleep well at their natural but later bedtime, you can start gradually making your child’s bedtime earlier. This might be about a week after you start bedtime fading.

This involves making bedtime about 15 minutes earlier every few days. You do this until you reach the ideal bedtime for your child.

This gradual approach gives your child’s body time to get used to falling asleep at the earlier time. For example, they might start waking up earlier and feeling tired earlier in the day.

The strategy will work best if you consistently put your child to bed on time while you’re trying to make their bedtime earlier.

Your child has been falling asleep at 9 pm, but you think an 8 pm bedtime is better for your child. Here’s how to do bedtime fading:

Start your positive bedtime routine so that your child is ready for a 9 pm bedtime.

Do this until your child is falling asleep well at 9 pm.

Next start your positive bedtime routine 15 minutes earlier than before, so your child is ready for an 8.45 pm bedtime.

Continue this gradual ‘fading’ process until your child is going to sleep at 8 pm or the time you think is best for them.

Our grown-ups section has a lot of articles on looking after yourself if the way your child sleeps and settles is making things hard for you.

Our content is regularly reviewed for quality and currency. The last review of this article was by Professor Sarah Blunden, clinical psychologist and Director, Paediatric Sleep and Psychology Clinic, Adelaide; Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Paediatric Sleep, CQUniversity; and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Monash University. Scientific Advisory Board review was provided by Associate Professor Jill Sewell AM.

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Kang, E.K., & Kim, S.S. (2021). Behavioral insomnia in infants and young children. Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics, 64(3), 111-116. https://doi.org/10.3345/cep.2020.00052.

Mindell, J.A., & 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.

Tsai, S.Y., Lee, C.C., Tsai, H.Y., & Tung, Y.C. (2022). Bedtime routines and objectively assessed sleep in infants. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78(1), 154-164. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14968.