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We thought we’d heard it all when it comes to baby sleep hacks – from baby flipping to eggs in socks. But mums are raving about the grass fed butter hack that’s helping their babies sleep right through the night.

The latest trend to try and help babies and even toddlers sleep longer overnight involves giving them a little extra something to eat before bed. Specifically, grass-fed butter.

A quick search on social media will turn up literally hundreds of videos of mums giving their little ones chunks or spoons full of butter, claiming the pre-bed ritual helps their babies sleep the whole night through.

Mum Steph Green has been testing out the ‘hack’ and says it’s been helping her baby sleep – and she notices the difference when her daughter hasn’t had butter before bed.

“I saw people talking about this hack with grass fed butter – giving it to their babies before bedtime and that babies would sleep through the night. I didn’t want to report back until I’d done it for a couple of nights. I’ve tested it out night where we have done the butter and haven’t. The nights where we have, she has slept through the night. Last night she went down about 9.30-10ish and did not wake up until about nine today.”

“She loves it, I do about two spoons. Kinda a lot, but she sleeps through the night. I don’t know what kind of sorcery this is but I feel like it would be an injustice not to share this with other mums. It is so good.

And it’s not just babies who apparently benefit from the hit of buttery goodness before bed. Mums also claim it help toddlers.

“The best sleep hack for kids – butter – (not margarine),” said Abby Callis, from House of Keto. “My kids love butter and I let them eat as much as they want. The fats help keep them satiated and that helps with sleeping! My kids sleep from 6:30pm – 6:30am and still take amazing naps throughout the day. We also use avocados – Healthy fats are great for brain development and cognitive function.”

@abbyexplainsitall

The best sleep hack for kids – butter – (not margarine) my kids love butter and I let them eat as much as they want. The fats help keep them satiated and that helps with sleeping! My kids sleep from 6:30p – 6:30a and still take amazing naps throughout the day. We also use avocados – Healthy fats are great for brain development and cognitive function. #sleeptraining #motherhood #babyhacks #toddlersoftiktok

♬ original sound – Abby

Medical professionals have weighed in on the trend, with some saying the don’t recommend giving children butter before they go to bed.

“That’s not to say it didn’t work for this child, I’m sure it did,” said Dr Sujay Kansagra, M.D.

… because the two things that are going to wake you up at night time, for young children that are otherwise healthy are going through a full sleep cycle after which you have a normal awakening, or because you’re hungry. And yes there are certain solid foods that are more likely to help you with hunger, that includes foods that are high in fat like butter or foods that are high in protein.

“So I’m all about parents trying different solid foods later in the evening to see if it’ll help them with hunger at night, so long as those foods are age appropriate and safe. Now that can certainly include butter. It’s a great source of fat which children need at that young age. But it’s also typically made with cow’s milk with could be a potent allergen so you want to be careful how you introduce it.”

https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.tommymartin/video/7455454395959119150

So what are your thoughts? Would you try this? Let us know in the comments below.
  • Each to their own but this is not something I would have given my child to help her sleep. The things people come up with, but hey if it worked then great but doesn’t mean it is a good idea or would work for other kids. I agree with some of the other comments around allergies, so important to be very careful with something like this especially so close to bed time.

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  • Good point. Allergies can be very serious.

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  • Dairy allergies are not sometimes not picked up until babies are a little older so I’d be very wary giving a spoonful or two of dairy to a child that is going off to bed unwatched. I think all these influencers and their opinions should always be treated very carefully.

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  • I can understand why parents might try this, but I cannot imagine it working too well with all children. So long as baby is fed properly there should be no need. Many babies doze off while being fed so do not have the full amount per feed and this often makes them fractious. A proper feed should alleviate the problem of waking hungry before a full sleep has been had.

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  • Maybe it has worked for some, but I don’t think I would have done this with my son when he was little. I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t sit right with me. As a parent though I know what sleepless nights are like, and I know that sometimes you just try anything to get them to sleep through the night, so good on them if it works for them

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  • Yes another load of rubbish to test how how many fools are out there.Each night stand at the end of the cot and stand on 1 foot and rub your other raised foot and move your head in circles for twenty minutes .
    Do this and you will prove you are a fool and do anything you read.Remember when new Iphones came out how many people destroyed them charging them in the microwave.

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  • I would give this a try if I needed to.

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  • Ah toys was suggested to me with my anti sleep bub, now toddler. The kids has always thrived physically… he’s long and solid. He’s currently 21 months and the size of a 4-5 year old.

    Apart from the comments below regarding age, definitely not before 6 months… look give it a go! But i am still breastfeeding, it’s higher in calories and has a bunch of sleep encouraging facts and he still woke up. Even now most nights! With him, most likely his ears as in the wait list for grommets.

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  • It is always so important to follow up any possible techniques and systems for getting children to sleep with people qualified to give advice on sleep and that specialise in the area of sleep and child development. A GP should be able to provide advice and refer to resources for sleep.

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  • I’ll never understand how one feeds grass to butter in order to get grass-fed butter.

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  • I think it’s a bit gross personally… I mean, I wouldn’t encourage an older child to just eat plain butter, so I wouldn’t do it with my baby. Butter is very fatty and it could lead to health problems later in life. It’s more of a sometimes food and an eat in moderation, so having 2 tablespoons right before bed can’t be good.

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  • Each to their own i guess and while I can understand how this “hack” could help babies sleep longer as it would keep them fuller and I remember those sleepless nights where i probably would have tried anything 🤣 but I’m not sure giving butter before bed is a habit id want to get into. Avocado on the other hand… I personally feel this is a much better option.

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  • If I was desperate I’d certainly try this but I’d try during the day first to make sure there are no reactions. Once I was positive then I’d give it to them at night. Not all kids are the same so it may work for one of your children but not the other.

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  • While some parents swear by this hack, there’s no scientific evidence to support the claim that butter helps babies sleep through the night. The theory is that the fat in butter helps babies feel full and satisfied, preventing them from waking up hungry during the night. There is no scientific evidence to support this claim. In fact, babies under 6 months old should not be given any solid foods, including butter. This is because babies’ digestive systems are not yet fully developed, and they may have difficulty digesting solid foods.
    Also, some babies may be allergic to dairy products, including butter.

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  • Besides this we should be cautious giving butter to babies below the 6 month age.
    The condiment contains dairy, which is a common allergen, so before introducing any dairy product before bed, make sure you’ve observed your child with a dairy product a few times so you know they aren’t allergic.
    For small babies under 12 months, avoid serving butter in cold, hard chunks, otherwise it will be a choking hazard.
    All that said I’ve nothing against grass fed butter 🙂

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  • I can understand one might like to try when you’re desperate.
    But does a spoonful of butter help kids sleep?
    Spoiler alert it’s not. Currently there is no research that supports butter helping babies sleep better or sleep longer. It is really high in fat so it does contain some calories. But if at the end of the day you’re feeding your baby one teaspoon of butter and they sleep through the night the reason they sleep through the night wasn’t hunger. 3-4 calories is not going to make the world a difference.

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  • I can understand desperate sleep-deprived parents wanting to try this. I wouldn’t myself, I found my babies started sleeping better once I introduced solids so I think there’s better options than butter to be filling their little tummies. Pureed fruit, vegetable or weetbix were my go-tos and my kids were healthy and hardly ever got sick

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  • Every child is different but best for parents to discuss with their GP or Maternal Health nurse for advice whether they should be giving a baby butter before bed. Usually babies or ones who are eating more solids, have milk before bed which gives them a full tummy before bed. I am no medical professional and definitely if I had a young one again, I still wouldn’t give butter straight as they tend to like butter flavours and will expect it out of the tub all the time as they get older

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  • Our children are now beyond this stage and it is not a something we would have taken on anyway. We stayed with researched and evidence based techniques for establishing sleep patterns and maintaining sleep through various stages. It is a good idea to research and obtain a wealth of knowledge about sleep.

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  • I really really cross my fingers and want this to work so badly. Our littlest has only slept two nights where he has slept for seven and a half hours, at the most. Usually his longest sleep is about four hours. We tried the baby flipping – didn’t work, egg in a sock – didn’t work and the lime in a bowl which, whilst smelling nice, it didn’t work either.

    Reply

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