Children need varying amounts of sleep depending on their age, growth pattern and activity level. Age-related information refers to your baby's age from her due date. For premature babies, sleep patterns may vary, especially in the early month and years, due to medical or development issues. Knowing what stages of sleep development are normal can help you gauge when to give up naps and when to encourage longer sleep. However, remember that each child is different. You and your pediatrician can best identify and solve any sleep issues should your child's sleep patterns vary considerably.
Newborn to 3 Months
Until your baby is about 3 months old, she will wake and sleep to her own rhythm. Typically, she will wake for feedings, engage with you for a short period and go back to sleep. Most newborns sleep about 16 hours a day, states HealthyChildren.org, the site for the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, by the time your baby is 3 months old, she will settle into a daily rhythm, and you may see longer sleep periods.
3 Months to 1 Year
When a baby is 3 to 6 months old, she begins to establish her napping and sleep schedule with your help. BabyCenter.com states that most babies start sleeping through the night at about 5 months. However, sleeping through the night for a baby isn't the same as sleeping through the night for you. It generally means that your baby will sleep for five hours at a time and won't need a night feeding. As your baby continues to grow, his sleep schedule becomes more solid, so you can anticipate when he will wake, engage in morning activities, put him down to nap, have lunch, put him down for an afternoon nap, complete early evening chores and settle him into bed for the night.
1 to 4 Years
At about 1 year, your baby is sleeping a solid night through and is sleeping about 14 hours in total each day. Some babies are ready to give up a morning nap and have a longer afternoon nap around a year to 15 months of age. You can typically tell your baby is ready as her morning nap gets later, so she has one long nap in the middle of the day. As she gets older, her nap may move later in the day; watch her sleep to ensure she isn't sleeping past 3:00 or 4:00, depending on her bed time, as late waking from a nap can make it difficult to put your baby to sleep at night. By age 4, many children have given up the afternoon nap, although they may still need a half-hour of quiet time to help soothe them and avoid any meltdowns. If your child seems tired, move her bedtime a half-hour earlier once she has given up her nap.
5 Years and Older
Once a child starts kindergarten, napping is typically a thing of the past altogether. Most children are now sleeping solidly through the night. With the advent of school, though, he may need some down time to absorb what's been happening in his day. If he is overscheduled, he may not sleep well at night.
Be wary of too late a bed time. BabyCenter.com states that 6-year-olds need 10 to 11 1/2 hours of sleep each night to be fully rested; 7- and 8-year-olds need slightly less, on average 9 1/2 to 11 1/2 hours.
