UI study: Baby needs consistency

Posted on July 12, 2021
Barbara Fiese, professor emeritus of family studies, University of Illinois, says establishing a bedtime routine and a consistent bedtime benefits children as young as three months old. (Photo courtesy: Shutterstock)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Parents — especially parents of babies — you’ll want to pay attention here.

A University of Illinois study says a bedtime routine is important for children as young as three months of age.

The smart-alecks among us might say, they needed a study for this?

“I think our study was a little bit different than other ones in that we started when the children were three months of age,” said Barbara Fiese, a professor of family studies. “Most of the studies start when kids were older, and the purpose was just to indicate the consistency of bedtime routines as early as three months of age affected how long children sleep even when they were two years of age.”

Same time every night, maybe reading or a bath, it all helps, says Fiese, whose work was published in the journal Sleep.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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