Toddler bedtime routine: a simple plan for 1 and 2 year olds

Toddlers are creatures of habit. They can’t tell time, they can’t reason their way to sleep, and they’re often too busy discovering the world to notice they’re exhausted. What they can do is learn, very quickly, what comes next.

That’s what a bedtime routine is for. Here’s a simple one for toddlers between about 12 months and 2 years old, how much sleep they need, and what to do when bedtime turns into a battle.

How much sleep does a toddler need?

For children aged 1 to 2, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, with the support of the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommends 11 to 14 hours of sleep in every 24 hours, including naps.

Most toddlers get there with a long night, often something like 7:00 pm to 6:30 or 7:00 am, plus daytime sleep. Most move from two naps to one sometime in their second year, often somewhere between 15 and 24 months. During that switch, an earlier bedtime can stop the evening from falling apart.

Why routines matter so much at this age

Researchers who study young children’s sleep have found that a consistent bedtime routine is linked with falling asleep more quickly, waking less at night and sleeping longer. In one large survey of mothers of children up to age five, the more consistently families kept a routine, and the younger they started, the better children tended to sleep.

For a toddler, a routine is also about safety in the emotional sense. The same steps, in the same order, with the same grown-up words at the end, tell them that the day is finishing and nothing surprising is going to happen. That’s what lets them let go.

A sample bedtime routine for an 18 month old

About twenty to thirty minutes, the same way every night:

1. Wind down (6:30 pm). Screens off, lights lower, quieter play: puzzles, stacking, a little tidying up together. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises avoiding screens for the last hour before bed.
2. Bath (6:45 pm). Not every night is fine. A quick wash at the sink still marks the moment.
3. Milk, then teeth (7:00 pm). If milk is part of the evening, give it before brushing, so they don’t go to sleep with milk on their teeth. For children under three, a smear of fluoride toothpaste about the size of a grain of rice is enough.
4. Pajamas and diaper.
5. Books (7:10 pm). One or two short board books, in the same chair or corner every night. Let them choose and turn the pages.
6. Song and goodnight (7:20 pm). The same song, the same words, every time. “Goodnight, sleep tight, see you in the morning.”
7. Into the crib, drowsy but awake (7:25 pm). Lights out, door how you always leave it.

The exact times will shift with your toddler’s naps and wake-up time. What matters is the order.

The two-year-old version

By two, you can add a little more talking and choosing: “Which pajamas?” “Which book first?” Two picture books instead of board books. A picture chart of the steps, which they can point at as you go. And maybe a short story with a choice in it; see our bedtime stories for 2 to 4 year olds for one.

Reading at bedtime, even before they talk

Books at bedtime aren’t just a nice extra. The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages shared reading from birth, and its Brush, Book, Bed program puts a book at the heart of every bedtime. At this age you don’t need to read every word. Point at pictures, name things, make the animal noises, and wait for them to point too.

The same book every night is fine. Toddlers love repetition, and knowing what comes next on the page is part of what makes it soothing.

A comfort object, now that they’re older

Babies should sleep with nothing soft in the crib for their first year. After their first birthday, many toddlers do well with a small, safe comfort object, like a little blanket or a soft toy that only appears at bedtime. Choose something without small parts, and have a duplicate if you can.

When bedtime goes sideways

Crying when you leave

Separation protests are very common in the second year. A short, predictable goodbye works better than a long, anxious one: same words, a kiss, and out. If you check back in, keep it brief and boring, and stretch the time between checks a little each time.

Climbing out of the crib

If your toddler is climbing out, it’s a safety issue. Lower the mattress if you can, and talk to your pediatrician about when to move to a toddler bed. When you do switch, keep every other part of the routine exactly the same.

Fighting the nap, then melting down at bedtime

An overtired toddler often fights sleep harder. If naps are shrinking, try moving bedtime earlier, even by half an hour, for a week, and see if evenings get calmer.

Waking early

Keep the room dark in the early morning (blackout curtains help in summer), and keep early wake-ups dull: quiet, dim, and back to bed if it’s still the middle of the night.

Where screens and apps fit

For babies, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2026 guidance says plainly that infants under 18 months don’t learn from screens. For toddlers and preschoolers, it suggests that families who want a limit aim for less than an hour a day, and that quality and doing it together matter most. And everyone, at every age, should keep screens out of the hour before bed. See our screen time recommendations by age for the details.

We make Branchlings, a story app where children choose what happens at each fork. For ones and twos it’s designed as a picture book a grown-up reads aloud on their lap. Even so, at this age a paper book is the better bedtime story, and if you use an app at all, use it together, earlier in the day.

Toddler bedtime routine: quick answers

What time should a toddler go to bed? Usually somewhere between 6:30 and 8:00 pm. Work back 11 to 14 hours of total sleep, naps included, from when they wake up.

How long should a toddler bedtime routine be? Twenty to thirty minutes is plenty. Long routines often turn into stalling.

Should I rock my toddler to sleep? There’s no single right answer. Many families find that putting a toddler down drowsy but awake helps them learn to settle themselves, including in the night.

When should I worry? Talk to your pediatrician if your toddler snores loudly most nights, seems very sleepy during the day, or if sleep problems go on for weeks and are wearing the whole family down.

More bedtime routines by age: 3 year olds, 4 and 5 year olds and 8 year olds.

Sources: American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleep duration recommendations (endorsed by the AAP); Weissbluth, Naps in children (1995); Mindell et al., bedtime routines and sleep (2015); HealthyChildren.org, Brush, Book, Bed; AAP, Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents (2026).