Even though your child is sleeping less than when he was as a baby, and might have even outgrown naps, sleep is still an important part of his development. According to the website KidsHealth, children who are short on sleep may exhibit extreme behavior, becoming hyper or disagreeable. There is not a magic number of hours a child will need at a certain age; however, there is a reliable range of hours based on age. Keep in mind that every child is different and your child has his own sleep needs.
Toddlers
Toddlers, or 2- to 3-year-olds, need 11 to 15 hours of sleep total. It breaks down to one to three hours for naps, with the rest of the sleep at nighttime, according to the BabyCenter website. KidsHealth recommends napping for children who show signs of tiredness during the day. Allowing children to become overtired can actually make it harder for them to sleep at night.
Preschoolers
According to BabyCenter, children ages 4 to 5 years usually require 10 to 12 hours of sleep, mostly at night as many have stopped napping by this age. According to KidsHealth, it may still benefit your child to have a quiet time of rest during the day.
Middle Childhood
According to KidsHealth, a child between the ages of 6 to 9 years needs 10 hours of sleep per night. Spending time with your children individually before they go to bed, sharing light conversation, can provide the one-on-one time they desire as well as prepare them for sleep.
A child who is 10 to 12 years of age needs around nine hours of sleep. Children this age are growing more independent, but it is still up to the parents to judge whether they feel a child is rested and enforce bedtimes.
Adolescents
Once a child hits the teen years, according to BabyCenter, she will still require plenty of sleep---9 to 10 hours each night. Getting enough sleep as a teenager can be complicated. Teens often have a number of activities they are engaged in, and their bodies want to stay up late and sleep-in. According to KidsHealth, a teenager who is short on even one hour of sleep per night will experience the feeling of missing a whole night of sleep by the end of the week. Maintaining a regular bedtime and wake-up time is ideal for teenagers since missing out on sleep during the week and then trying to catch up on the weekends often aggravates their sleep problems.
Sleep Habits
According to BabyCenter, a child who is not getting enough sleep will often fall asleep during car rides, appear grumpy and overtired during the day and need to be woken up on a daily basis. KidsHealth points out that a teenager who is short on sleep can face serious issues such as stimulant use, car accidents or problems at school due to decreased attentiveness and impaired short-term memory.
If you are noticing signs that your child is sleep deprived, KidsHealth recommends maintaining a regular bedtime and enforcing it, allow for a wind-down period before bedtime and allow your child to select pajamas and stuffed animals to take to bed. Introducing good sleep habits, especially early in your child's life, supports the good sleeper lurking in your child.
