How much sleep does my child need?

• Newborns sleep 16-20 hours per day.
• By 9 months children usually sleep through the night and have about 2 naps throughout the day.
• At about 5 years of age naptime usually ends.
• School age children need about 10 hours per night.
• Teenagers require 9-9.5 hours per night.

Bedtime

• The night should begin with a regular bedtime routine. For example- bath, reading for 15 to 30 minutes, then putting the child to bed while still awake.
• Be consistent with bedtime and wake-up times.
• Sometimes babies and toddlers develop a habit of falling asleep only while being fed or rocked. When they wake during the night and find you not there they will not go back to sleep on their own. This disrupts sleep for everyone. The child should be put in the crib or bed when slightly awake. The ultimate goal is that the child puts themselves to sleep.
• If bad habits develop, gradually reduce the amount of time you spend doing that routine..ex: rocking or feeding before bed.
• Sometimes having the child cry is inevitable. Let your baby cry for 5 minutes, then check on them without picking them up, then cry for 10 minutes until the second check and 15 minutes for the third and subsequent checks. Keep the encounter less than 1 minute try not to pick up the baby, just offer a few reassuring words.

Call our office if your child is still not sleeping well after 2 weeks of changing the bedtime routine or sleep problems seem to be getting worse.

- Kristy L. Tolly, MD