Expert answer: The BabyCenter Editorial Team
No, rice cereal isn't a sleep aid. For generations, new moms (often encouraged by their mothers and grandmothers) have fed a bit of rice cereal to their wakeful babies in an attempt to fill their bellies and coax them to sleep longer. Many even added the cereal to their baby's bedtime bottle.
But studies have shown that this doesn't work. It's a baby's maturity – not his or her bedtime snack – that dictates how long he or she is capable of sleeping.