Prevention
How to settle your child's daily routine in two weeks
A daily routine is not a rigid minute-by-minute timetable but a predictable rhythm in which it is easier for a child to fall asleep, wake up and stay active. You cannot rebuild it in one evening, but two weeks of small changes is quite realistic. This article walks you through where to start, how to use the WHO guides, where to fit in time outdoors and what to do if the plan doesn't work out. If your child's sleep or wellbeing worries you, start with a conversation with your paediatrician.
A good routine adapts to the family rather than breaking it. Take small steps: moving bedtime by a quarter of an hour is easier than by a whole hour.
What to prepare
- A notebook or a note on your phone for recording sleep
- The table of WHO guides by age (at the end of this article)
- Agreement from all the adults at home to stick to one plan
- Comfortable clothes and shoes for a daily walk
- A little patience: changes may be bumpy in the first few days
Observe without changing anything
Don't correct anything in the first few days. Note when your child goes to bed and gets up, how long they nap, and when they go outside and eat. That way you see the real picture, not the one you sense.
Illustrative example: a mother notices that her daughter falls asleep at a different time each night, and much later at weekends than on weekdays.
Check against the guide for their age
Add up night-time sleep and naps and compare the total with the WHO range for your child's age. If it is noticeably lower or higher, note it as a question for your paediatrician, not as a verdict.
Illustrative example: the parents of a two-year-old boy see that he is within the range and stop comparing him with the neighbours' children.
Choose a fixed wake-up time
It is easier to build the day's rhythm from the morning. Getting up at the same time on weekdays and weekends gradually pulls the evening bedtime along with it.
Illustrative example: a family agrees to wake their child at roughly the same time each day, even if he went to bed later the night before.
Create a short bedtime ritual
A quiet game, washing, pyjamas, a book, dimmed lights: the order matters more than the content. Repeated every evening, the ritual becomes your child's signal that it is time to sleep.
Illustrative example: every evening a father reads the same short story, and the toddler heads for the cot as soon as he hears it begin.
Build movement into every day
An active day helps a calm night. The WHO advises plenty of varied movement through the day for pre-schoolers, and at least an hour of moderate-to-vigorous activity for school-age children.
Illustrative example: the walk home from nursery becomes a game of jumping over puddles and racing to the next lamp post.
Move bedtime gradually
If your child falls asleep too late, shift bedtime little by little, by a quarter of an hour every few days. A sudden change usually ends in tears and a long struggle to fall asleep.
Illustrative example: over two weeks a family gently moves bedtime earlier, and evening meltdowns gradually fade away.
Check the bedroom and the home
A quiet, darkened room with no bright screens before bed, fresh air, a safe cot or bed. While you are at it, put household chemicals and medicines out of reach and check that windows are closed.
Illustrative example: while tidying up in the evening, the parents also move the washing-up liquid to a high, closed shelf.
Review and write down your questions
After two weeks, compare your new notes with the first ones. What worked, what didn't, what you are unsure about: all of it will be useful at the next routine visit to your paediatrician.
Illustrative example: the parents end up with three questions about naps and calmly ask them at the check-up.
Common mistakes
- Changing everything at once: bedtime, wake-up time, outdoor time and meals on the same day
- Comparing your child with friends' children rather than with the guide for their age
- Keeping the routine only on weekdays and dropping it entirely at weekends
- Trying to tire your child out with running around right before bed
- Searching online for the cause of poor sleep instead of talking to your paediatrician
- Giving anything 'to help with sleep' without a doctor's prescription
If the plan doesn't work out
- If evenings are unavoidably late because of work, at least keep the wake-up time and the bedtime ritual fixed
- If there is no time for a walk, turn the trip to nursery or school and games at home into movement
- If the adults in the family disagree, agree on at least two or three shared rules
- If nothing changes or sleep gets worse, go through your notes with your paediatrician
Check yourself
- I know the WHO sleep guide for my child's age
- We have a fixed wake-up time
- The same short ritual is repeated before bed every evening
- My child moves and spends time outdoors every day
- Chemicals and medicines are stored where my child cannot reach them
- I have a list of questions for the next visit to the paediatrician
Age, WHO sleep guide and what helps
| Age | Sleep per 24 hours, WHO (including naps) | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 months | 14–17 hours | A calm environment, a dark and quiet room at night, a safe place to sleep; take questions about feeding and sleep to your paediatrician |
| 4–11 months | 12–16 hours | Similar steps before bed every evening, active time during the day and outdoor time in daylight |
| 1–2 years | 11–14 hours | A fixed wake-up time, a daytime nap, plenty of movement and play throughout the day |
| 3–4 years | 10–13 hours | A short bedtime ritual, quiet activities before sleep, at least 180 minutes of varied activity a day |
Read next
- Topics
A map of topics: sleep and routine, movement, routine check-ups and vaccinations, home safety. The article catalogue is here too.
- Methods
General approaches to sleep, outdoor play and a safe home, plus when to call your paediatrician and when to call emergency services.
- Questions
Questions worth writing down and asking your paediatrician at a routine check-up: about vaccinations, sleep and development.
Sources
- World Health Organization: 2019 guidelines
- World Health Organization: 2020 guidelines
Information checked as of the date of preparation. WHO guidelines, the Russian national vaccination schedule and the rules for children's check-ups are updated from time to time, and other countries have their own schedules and programmes, so check the details for your child with your paediatrician.