Sleeping Hours

Since our eldest is now in school age and spends a lot of time outside the house, we got concerned if he is still getting enough rest. Here is what I found from babycenter.com


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You know your child needs less sleep now than he did when he was a baby, but how much less is still enough? Every child is different – some need more sleep and some less – but here are general guidelines for how many hours of sleep a child needs on average each day.


Age           Nighttime sleep      Daytime sleep                    Average total sleep



2 years      10 to 12 hours        1 to 3 hours (1 nap)           13 hours


3 years      9 to 12 hours          1 to 3 hours (1 nap)           12 to 13 hours


4 years      9 to 12 hours          0 to 2 hours (1 or no nap)  11 to 12 hours


5 years      8 to 11 hours          0 to 2 hours (1 or no nap)  10 to 11 hours


6 years      10 to 11 hours        none                                   10 to 11 hours


7 years      10 to 11 hours        none                                   10 to 11 hours


8 years      10 to 11 hours        none                                   10 to 11 hours


*Note: The two sets of numbers don't always add up because children who take longer naps tend to sleep fewer hours at night, and vice versa.


Keep in mind that most kids need a lot of sleep – usually more than parents allow for. Often, says sleep expert Jodi Mindell, author of Sleeping Through the Night, if a child has poor sleep habits or refuses to nap or go to bed before 10 at night, his parents will assume that he just doesn't need much sleep. That's probably not the case – in fact, it's likely that such a child is actually sleep-deprived, resulting in hyper, overtired behavior at bedtime.


**taken from http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-child-need_1390720.bc?scid=bigkid_20120620:2&pe=MlV2TlNBRnwyMDEyMDYyMA..