What Helps Children Fall Asleep? Open Tales Survey Results
Over 160 parents shared their experiences with evening routines. Discover the secrets of peaceful sleep and learn how bedtime stories can help your child.
Evening bedtime can be challenging for many families. If your child takes a long time to fall asleep, fidgets, demands another story or glass of water - you're not alone. Many parents struggle with similar sleep problems in children and look for ways to lull their little ones to sleep. Instead of blaming yourself or your child, it's worth remembering that difficulties with falling asleep are common - and there are ways to address them.
To better understand what helps children fall asleep peacefully and how to calm a child before bed, the Open Tales team conducted a survey among parents. Over 160 parents shared their experiences, revealing which evening routines work in their homes, what the biggest challenges are, and what role bedtime stories play in the falling asleep process. Below we present an accessible description of the survey results - full of practical tips, warm words of support, and a bit of bedtime story magic.
A Bedtime Routine is the Foundation of Peaceful Sleep
Survey responses make it clear that parents greatly value consistent evening routines. As many as 93% of families declare having an established bedtime routine, and only a few (about 7%) admitted they don't have such a routine. This is an almost unanimous signal that predictability and repeatable activities every evening are key to easier falling asleep. Children feel safer when the same soothing activities accompany them every day - whether it's a bath, cuddling, or reading a story.
A regular schedule helps little ones understand that bedtime is approaching and gradually wind down.
"Before we introduced a consistent routine, putting our son to bed was chaos. Now bath, cuddling, and a bedtime story are our evening ritual - a sacred routine we always follow. Finally, the whole family sleeps more peacefully."
— Peter, dad of a 3-year-old
As we can see from parents' experiences, consistency and repetition really pay off. Even if establishing a routine was difficult at first, most caregivers can no longer imagine an evening without a set pattern. This is the foundation on which you can build further elements to help your child fall asleep.
What Helps Children Fall Asleep? The Most Common Evening Routine Elements
Right after asking about the existence of a routine, we asked parents what elements their bedtime routine consists of. It turned out that most families combine several different activities each evening to calm their child.
Bath and Getting Ready for Bed
A warm bath, brushing teeth, putting on pajamas, and other preparations are a fixed point of the evening. It's a practical signal for the child: "time to get ready for bed."
Reading a Book or Story
Bedtime stories - whether in book form or told from memory - are a moment of closeness and calming the child's imagination.
Talking About the Day
A calm conversation with the child about what happened during the day. It's a chance to share joys or worries.
Cuddling
Hugging, stroking, holding hands - this physical contact gives the child a sense of security and love.
Listening to Lullabies or Calm Music
A classic lullaby or relaxing music helps create a sleepy atmosphere and makes it easier to transition into drowsiness.
Some parents also mentioned less popular rituals, like a short prayer with the child or massage and applying lotion after a bath - but these were sporadic responses (individual people). Overall, it's clear that the most effective bedtime routines combine practical elements (like bathing or putting on pajamas) with emotional ones (conversation, closeness) and a calming "finishing touch" in the form of a story or lullaby. Such a combination works on multiple levels: both on the child's body and mind.
"My daughter cried every evening because she was afraid to fall asleep alone. What helped us was introducing a calm conversation before bed - we talk about the day's events and feelings. It's our little ritual that really calms her down. Now she falls asleep with a smile."
— Catherine, mom of a 6-year-old
Audio Bedtime Stories - Do Parents Use Them?
In the survey, we also asked about a relatively new trend in putting children to sleep - audio stories for kids, in other words, bedtime stories in audio format. It turned out that parents approach this solution with curiosity, although not everyone has had the chance to try it yet. Almost half (48%) of families have never played an audio bedtime story for their child, focusing on traditional forms of putting to sleep. The remaining families are more open: 35% use audio stories occasionally, and 17% have incorporated listening to stories into their routine permanently.
These results show that audio stories are still new to many parents, but at the same time, a growing group of people are discovering their benefits. Many caregivers who reached for audio bedtime stories quickly noticed the positive impact of such stories on their children. A story played from a speaker or phone can accompany the child when they're already in bed - thanks to which the little one listens to a calm narrator's voice and winds down more easily before sleep.
"Since I started playing audio bedtime stories for my son, our evenings have become much calmer - my 4-year-old winds down and falls asleep much easier."
— Emma, mom of a 4-year-old
Parent Opinions: Do Audio Stories Help Calm Children Before Bed?
And what do parents who have already used this solution say? In our survey, over half of participants shared their opinion about audio story apps. The vast majority of responses were positive - almost half of parents rated audio stories very well, emphasizing their educational and emotional value. Many caregivers noticed that listening to a story helps children calm their emotions after an intense day and even teaches little ones certain self-soothing techniques.
Thanks to stories about characters dealing with various feelings, children better understand their own emotions and learn how to cope with them - which translates to calmer falling asleep.
Of course, there were also neutral voices and occasional suggestions for improvements (every child is different, and what works for most won't always work for everyone). However, the overall tone of opinions was full of enthusiasm. Parents were happy to have a new tool for putting children to sleep - one that not only gives them a moment of respite but also passes on valuable knowledge about emotions to children in an accessible way. It's a bit like having a helpful "fairy godmother" at bedtime who tells the child a story with a moral, while the parent can calmly listen, holding their little one's hand.
How to Calm a Child Before Bed - Survey Conclusions and Practical Tips
Survey results confirm one thing: a child's peaceful sleep is built before the little one even gets to bed. The key is a bedtime routine - a predictable, warm ritual repeated every evening. The vast majority of parents (and children) can't imagine life without it. If your little one has trouble falling asleep, the first step might be to introduce (or organize) a consistent sequence of calming activities before bed.
Physical Elements
Bath, massage, cuddling - work on the child's body, helping them relax.
Emotional Elements
Conversation, reflecting on the day together, lots of tenderness - build a sense of security.
Sensory Elements
Reading, listening to stories, lullabies, dimmed lights - engage the imagination and calm the mind.
Based on the survey, it's also clear that bedtime stories - whether read or listened to - are a favorite way for many families to calm their little ones. Audio stories for children are an interesting variation of traditional reading. You don't have to treat them as a replacement, but as optional support on days when you want to add something new to the routine or when your voice needs a rest.
Try Open Tales Audio Stories
If you'd like to enrich your evening routine with a new element, it's worth trying audio bedtime stories. In the Open Tales Audio Stories library, you'll find therapeutic stories created by psychologists specifically to help children calm their emotions before sleep.
Discover the "Peaceful Sleep" series
"Peaceful Sleep" Series
A set of 5 therapeutic audio stories created specifically to help children calm down and fall asleep peacefully. These stories help quiet thoughts, reduce excitement, and contain relaxation techniques that have a soothing effect on emotions.