I was asked recently if a three-month-old should be weaned off the white noise. My answer to this is simple, no! I have an almost two-year-old and a three-year-old and they have both used white noise machines since birth, and they still have them.
Using white noise to help babies sleep is beneficial because babies are used to constant sounds in the womb, and it provides a sense of comfort and familiarity. Using white noise can soothe babies and help them sleep better, as demonstrated in a study where 80% of newborns exposed to white noise fell asleep within five minutes, compared to only 25% of those without the background noise.
Dr. Karp (The Happiest Baby on the Block) argues that worrying about a baby becoming dependent on white noise is unnecessary. "Worrying that a baby is going to become dependent on white noise is like worrying that an adult is addicted to sleeping on a bed or with a pillow. I’m guessing that you’re so dependent on beds and pillows that when you go to a hotel, you only go to hotels with beds and pillows. Is that ruining your life? Probably not. If I told you to sleep on the cold, hard, cement floor without a pillow and a bed, you probably could, but you wouldn’t like it. So with babies and kids, let’s give them the sensations that will help them sleep that they’re used to already and will make them happier—and help you sleep, too."
Whilst as parents, we do worry about our children developing negative sleep associations, white noise is not one of them. There is no need to wean children off of white noise unless you feel it is disrupting their sleep. Some adults use white noise or background noise to fall asleep, so don't be too eager to make everything quiet.
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