When To Sleep Train: An Age-by-Age Guide

If you’re a newly sleep deprived parent, you are probably eagerly or even desperately waiting to get started sleep training. Or perhaps you have an older child needing sleep guidance. The good news is that it’s never too early or too late to sleep-train! The process just looks a little different at various ages and stages.

Please note that it’s always important to speak to your pediatrician about sleep training and weaning feed sessions before starting.

An Age-by-Age Guide

Newborn - 4 Months

I’m a huge advocate for starting early; even on day one. Newborns are born with self-soothing abilities. These abilities, however, are underdeveloped and need refining in those first few months. This means finding a balance of providing support while also allowing them opportunities to work on and strengthen those skills. If appropriately implemented, your child will strengthen those skills week-by-week until they’re fully developed (around 4 months of age).  At that time, they are capable of falling asleep on their own and staying asleep through the night. Starting early can eliminate the need to sleep train later in life.

Examples of Self-Soothing Skills:

• Sucking on their thumb

• Sucking on a pacifier

• Rocking back and forth

• Tapping their feet

• Singing or talking

• Moving their head side-to-side

4 Months

At 4 months of age, the part of the brain that controls night sleep (the hypothalamus) as well as self-soothing motor skills are fully developed. They’ve also developed the ability to sleep long periods at night (minimum 8 hours) with some going as long as 12 hours. This means your child is more than ready to start sleep training at night. Their day sleep, however, is still in the process of solidifying, so it’s possible naps will be inconsistent.

6 Months and Up

At this point, your baby’s night and day cycles are fully formed, and your baby is ready to be sleep trained for both naps and night sleep. If you haven’t started, now is the time. By 9 months of age, all pediatricians agree, healthy babies no longer need any overnight feedings. Of course, you can still offer one, but if you’re ready to wean, your pediatrician will most likely give the go-ahead.

Because sleep is such a foundational component to our overall well-being, I am extremely passionate about helping babies and their families live a longer, healthier, happier life through fostering healthy sleep habits.  

As mentioned, I recommend starting sleep training as early as possible. However, you are your child’s expert, and you will know when the time is right. When that time comes, I am here for you, and excited to help your child achieve wellness through the gift of healthy sleep.

Setting Expectations

As adults we know that in life, almost all disappointment and frustration we experience comes from unmet expectations. With sleep training, this can be avoided by setting appropriate and realistic expectations upfront.  

Here is what you can expect:

1. The first night can be emotionally and physically tiring, and usually takes about 3x longer than parents expect.

2. It is appropriate to expect nighttime sleep training to take a minimum of one week and a minimum of two weeks for nap training.  

3. Regressions are common on nights three and four.

It is critical to prioritize your baby’s sleep during the first two weeks.