How Much Sleep Does My Child Need?
As our children grow, the amount of time they spend awake increases while the amount of time they spend sleeping decreases. If you’re wondering how much total sleep your child should be getting, check out the little cheat sheet found below.
Total sleep time required over a 24 hours period:
Newborn_________17+ hours
1-6 months_______15-17 hours
6-12 months______14-15 hours
1-3.5 years________13-14 hours
3.5 years-5 years___11-13/14 hours
5+ years__________11-12 hours
While these are great guidelines, some children are going to fall outside of these parameters.
If you’re worried that your child is getting too much sleep and is sleeping a couple of hours more than the times mentioned above, consider starting a sleep journal and take note of their sleeping habits;
Does your child have any deficiencies such as iron?
Is your child anemic?
Does your child snore or mouth breathe?
Snoring and mouth breathing seems to be the answer for most parents but it needs to be taken very seriously. Regular snoring and mouth breathing is not normal and should be brought up to your child’s pediatrician. Snoring and mouth breathing greatly affects a child’s quality of sleep so it makes sense that they need significantly more sleep to rest their body.
Snoring and mouth breathing is indicative of an upper airway obstruction such as allergies, enlarged adenoids or tonsils, asthma, or possibly childhood sleep apnea. With any of those scenarios, your pediatrician should be able to further get to the root of the issue, whether that means by managing allergies or referring your child to see an ENT.
Some affects of snoring in children are;
hyperactivity, resulting in ADD or ADHD diagnosis.
lengthened sleep
daytime sleepiness
irritability
behavioral struggles
difficulty waking
If your child has the opposite problem, is over 4 months of age and needs help meeting the times mentioned above, see my sleep services page for help! If your child is under 4 months of age, click here!
