Good sleep is important to your child's overall health, affecting his physical and emotional development. The amount of sleep your child needs may astound you; the National Sleep Foundation indicates a child spends 40 percent of childhood asleep. The right amount of sleep for children varies depending on your child's developmental stage.
Circadian Rhythms
When your child is a newborn, she has no perception of day and night, says the American Academy of Pediatrics. Because she needs to be fed frequently, she sleeps in small stints of one and two hours, for a total of 16 to 17 hours every 24-hour period. Circadian rhythms, the pattern of sleeping and waking that's dictated by day and night, take time to develop, says the NSF. Your child begins to develop circadian rhythms by 6 weeks of age, with regular sleeping patterns emerging at three to six months. By the age of 3 months old, more than 90 percent of babies sleep through the night for six to eight hours at a time, says the AAP.
Infants and Sleep
Infants ages of 3 to 11 months need nine to 12 hours of sleep each night, paired with daytime naps, says the NSF. By the time your infant is 6 months old, she doesn't require nighttime feedings. According to the NSF, 70 percent to 80 percent of infants sleep through the night by 9 months of age. Your infant may take brief half-hour naps four times a day or a two-hour nap once a day. As children reach the age of 1, fewer naps are necessary, says the NSF.
Toddler and Preschool Years
Toddlers and preschool-aged children still require an ample amount of sleep. The right amount of sleep for children ages 1 to 3 is 12 to 14 hours each day, with one to three-hour daily naps for children 18 months of age, says the NSF. Preschoolers ages 3 to 5 need slightly less sleep than toddlers, anywhere from 11 to 13 hours at night, says the NSF. By age 5, most children stop taking naps.
The School-Aged Child
School-aged children ages 5 to 12 need 10 to 11 hours of sleep every night, says the NSF, which goes on to state sleep disorders are very common during this developmental stage. Older children are besieged with social and academic demands. Increasing interest in television and the Internet make getting your school-aged child to bed even more difficult.
The Importance of Sleep
Encouraging healthy sleeping habits at each stage of your child's development is important. The NSF stresses the importance of setting and keeping a consistent, predictable nighttime routine and making your child's bedroom sleep-friendly--quiet, calm and cool. Depending on your child's age, your strategy may vary. Help your infant become a self-soother by putting her to bed when she's drowsy, but not fully asleep, advises the AAP. Let your toddler-aged child take a stuffed animal to bed to give her a sense of security, while maintaining firm boundaries to keep your child in her own bed at night. Keep televisions and computers out of your older child's bedroom to avoid distractions that interrupt his sleep schedule.
