You will think twice before feeding your baby butter at bedtime after hearing experts’ warning

A modern parenting trend called the “Butter Before Bed” challenge is spreading rapidly on social media, leaving health experts concerned. It began in the U.S. with a questionable claim and has now gone viral in places like the U.K. and New Zealand. Parents are filming themselves giving their babies butter before bedtime in hopes it will help them sleep through the night. 

Gone are the days of lullabies, warm milk, and bedtime stories. Today’s adventurous parents are turning to cold, salted pats of butter, sometimes straight from the fridge, and serve them up on camera to babies who, if TikTok videos are to be believed, promptly drift off for hours. The trend reportedly began when “paediatric natural doctor” Elana Roumell, with an audience of eager followers, suggested that a nightly dollop of butter was her secret weapon for uninterrupted slumber. Her endorsement, viewed more than 200,000 times, ignited a butter-based bedtime movement, as reported by The Independent.

One TikTok mom, @.millieellis, documented her buttery bedtime experiment with baby Ivy. Night one,  'She slept all night, except for one feed and interruption by noisy neighbors.' and for night two,  slightly more sleep, though Millie confessed she wasn’t sure if the butter deserved the credit or if Ivy was just tuckered out from a busy day. However, before parents start raiding the dairy aisle, one thing should be considered that child nutritionists are collectively raising eyebrows and red flags about the viral trend. Charlotte Stirling-Reed, a respected baby nutritionist, cautions that not only is the concept unproven, but it might also be unsafe. Butter’s high salt and saturated fat content make it far from a superfood for infants; its slippery, soft texture poses a choking hazard for those just mastering the art of swallowing solids. “Incorporating butter into cooking or spreading a thin layer on toast is perfectly fine. However, offering large chunks of butter directly from a spoon is not advisable,” she reportedly warned. 

Experts urge parents to resist the siren song of 'quick fixes' trending online. As per the NHS, Daisy Ferns, founder of the Parenting Experts Academy, notes there’s absolutely no scientific evidence that 'butter before bed' does anything but give the infant digestive tract an overnight workout. She points out that genuine sleep issues in children stem from development, routines, and behavioral patterns, not from the absence of dairy fat before bedtime. Even if the trick appears to work, it misses the root causes of restless nights.

Parents are always on the lookout for new ways to make bedtime easier, and one dad’s unusual trick is gaining attention online. Featured in a story by The Daily Net, TikTok dad Jon had earlier shared a surprising 'brain hack' that he says helps his child fall asleep within minutes, and it's quickly caught on with parents eager for calmer, quicker, tantrum-free bedtimes. His approach was simple and not controversial: go through your usual bedtime routine, but instead of reading a book or telling a made-up story, recount your child’s day. Jon suggests gently walking them through everything they did, starting from when they woke up and had breakfast, and continuing through to the moment they’re tucked in bed.