Brush, book, bed. A favourite soft toy tucked in next to the pillow. Most families have some version of this evening, and two ideas sit behind it: the bedtime routine and the comfort object. Here is what health bodies, researchers and an encyclopedia actually say about each, and what they do not.
The short version
- The CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the NIH all describe a regular bedtime and a bedtime routine as part of healthy sleep habits for children.
- A “comfort object” is also called a transitional or attachment object. The paediatrician Donald Winnicott introduced the idea, and a soft toy is one of the common forms.
- Attachment to a special object is common, and one 1982 study of three-year-olds found it was not related to behavioural disturbance. We make no promise that any toy does anything for any child.
What is a bedtime routine for kids?
It is simply the same few steps, in the same order, at about the same time each night. The AAP’s HealthyChildren.org gives an example for young children: “brush, book, bed.” It also says “all children thrive on a regular bedtime routine,” and that keeping the same waking time, mealtimes, nap time and play times will help a child feel secure and comfortable, and help with a smooth bedtime.
The CDC’s sleep page lists “going to bed and getting up at the same time every day” among its general sleep habits. It also gives daily sleep ranges by age: 10–13 hours for preschoolers (3–5 years, including naps) and 9–12 hours for school-age children (6–12 years).
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the NIH, says it in one line: “For children, have a set bedtime and a bedtime routine.” It also advises limiting the difference between weeknight and weekend sleep times to no more than about an hour.
| Source | What it says about routine |
|---|---|
| CDC | Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day is one of its general sleep habits; daily sleep ranges by age. |
| AAP, HealthyChildren.org | Start early with a bedtime routine such as brush, book, bed; keep a regular daily schedule. |
| NIH (NHLBI) | Have a set bedtime and a bedtime routine for children. |
What did researchers measure?
A 2015 paper in the journal Sleep by Jodi Mindell and colleagues asked mothers of 10,085 children aged 0 to 5, in 13 regions across Asia-Pacific, North America and the UK, to fill in a sleep questionnaire. The authors report that a consistent bedtime routine was associated with better sleep outcomes, and that the more regularly families used one, the better the outcomes. They describe it as a “dose-dependent relationship.”
One honest limit: this was a questionnaire study that found an association. It does not show that a routine causes the differences. We tell you what was measured; what your own evening looks like is up to your family.
What is a comfort object?
Wikipedia defines a comfort object, “more formally a transitional object or attachment object,” as an item used to provide psychological comfort. Among toddlers it often takes the form of a blanket or a stuffed animal, doll or other toy.
The idea comes from Donald Winnicott (1896–1971), an English paediatrician and psychoanalyst. Wikipedia says he introduced the concepts of transitional objects and transitional experience, and describes the transitional object as often the first “not me” possession that really belongs to the child. Among the characteristics Wikipedia lists for it: the object must never change, unless changed by the infant.
How common is it?
Wikipedia reports that in the United States about 60% of children have at least some attachment to a security object. It also notes that numbers differ by culture: a study by Michael Hong found around 50% of American children and only around 20% of Korean children developed an attachment to a blanket or similar object.
A 2014 twin study in Frontiers in Psychology by Keren Fortuna and colleagues included 1,122 pairs of twins, with mothers reporting on their children at ages 3 and 5. Overall, 33% of the sample was attached to an object. An older paper by W. Garrison and F. Earls (1982, Child Psychiatry and Human Development) surveyed a whole population sample of three-year-olds. It concluded that attachment to a special object is not related to behavioural disturbance. And Wikipedia adds that Richard Passman’s research with children found there is nothing abnormal about being attached to a security blanket.
What the sources do not say
The Wikipedia article goes further than we do: it also describes the object as important at going to sleep and mentions effects on anxiety. We leave those claims out. We are not doctors, and a comfort object is not a treatment. The sources above describe routines and attachment. They do not tell you that a particular toy will do anything for your child.
A safety note from the AAP: for babies, HealthyChildren.org says to keep soft objects and loose bedding out of the sleep area, and that there should be no blankets, pillows, stuffed toys or bumper pads in a baby’s bed. Check the age on any plush toy.
A word on lavender
Some plush toys are scented. Britannica describes lavender as a genus of about 30 species of plants in the mint family, native to countries bordering the Mediterranean, and says the dried flowers have long been used in sachets to scent chests and closets. That is all we will say about it: it is a plant long used for its scent.
What we would pick
If a stuffed animal for bedtime is on your list, our Snooze Yeti is a 12-inch plush with extra-long fur, an embroidered eye and little teeth. Its product page says a small zipped pouch of juniper and lavender scent beads is tucked inside its back, the scent fades after two or three months, and you can swap the beads for a refill capsule. Inside the printed gift box you also get a birth certificate, a mini comb and 5 stickers; one version adds a matching sleep mask.
Honest notes from the page: spot clean only, and remove the scent pouch first. The scent beads are not a toy: keep them inside the pouch and away from small children. The toy contains small parts. Whether your child picks it as a favourite is entirely up to your child.
Sources
- About Sleep, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, and the daily sleep ranges by age.
- Healthy Sleep Habits: How Many Hours Does Your Child Need?, American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org: a regular bedtime routine, “brush, book, bed”, and a regular daily schedule.
- How to Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe: AAP Policy Explained, HealthyChildren.org: soft objects and stuffed toys out of a baby’s sleep area.
- Healthy Sleep Habits, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH): a set bedtime and bedtime routine for children, and keeping weeknight and weekend sleep times within about an hour.
- Bedtime routines for young children: a dose-dependent association with sleep outcomes, Mindell et al., Sleep, 2015 (doi): 10,085 children aged 0 to 5, 13 regions, the association and the dose-dependent relationship.
- Attachment to inanimate objects and early childcare: A twin study, Fortuna et al., Frontiers in Psychology, 2014: 1,122 twin pairs, ages 3 and 5, 33% attached to an object.
- Attachment to a special object at the age of three years: behavior and temperament characteristics, Garrison and Earls, Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 1982: a population sample of three-year-olds; attachment not related to behavioural disturbance.
- Comfort object, Wikipedia: the definition, soft toys as a common form, about 60% in the United States, the Hong cross-cultural figures and Passman’s research.
- Donald Winnicott, Wikipedia: his dates and profession, the transitional object as the first “not me” possession, and that it must never change unless changed by the infant.
- Stuffed toy, Wikipedia: the definition and the names stuffed animal and plush toy.
- Lavender, Britannica: genus, mint family, Mediterranean, dried flowers long used in sachets to scent chests and closets.
