Comments on: Talking About ZZZZs- How Many Hours Of Sleep Does My Child Need?

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:10:30 +0000

Yes, these totals DO include naps. It’s also important to remember that all children vary in their needs.

By: Angel

Angel — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:54:35 +0000

No offense, Samantha but your post doesn’t make a lot of sense. You said he wakes up at 6…. you for a 30-45 minute walk every day and then we come home to start the day??? And by 8 he’s suppose to take a nap? If you want someone provide assistance, please repost your question with specific details and times that we can understand.

By: Angel

Angel — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:54:11 +0000

By: Samantha Sternberg

Samantha Sternberg — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:22:30 +0000

My son is 4 1/2 years old and will be going to pre-k this year because his birthday is late in the year. If he goes in the morning he will have to get up at 6:30 in the morning just to start getting ready for school. So we have started getting him up just so he can start getting his body acclimated. he wakes up at 6, we go for a 30-45 minute walk every day then we come home and start the day. but by 8 he is such a grump and he refuses to take a nap.we eat dinner then we do tub time and, scrtipure time for 30 minutes and then i put him down at 6 at night and i am lucky if he is asleep by 8. HELP. is there anything i can do.

By: Doubs

Doubs — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:48:34 +0000

I was so intrigued by this article and the comments that followed. When my 2 year old was born a good friend gave me an awesome book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” It has been a God-send as far as educating my husband and I about how important good sleep habits are for a child and family. In response to the article posted, I think author “mcmilker” had a good point in that for families with two full time working parents, achieving early bedtimes for little ones is next to impossible because dinner and bath times have to fit in somewhere. I would guess that little ones who are in bed by 6:30 or 7:00pm almost have to have a parent who gets home with them earlier in the afternoon or who stays home with them. The earlier the child goes to bed, the earlier they wake up, the earlier their naptime begins, etc. My 2 year old is in bed by 7:30, asleep by 8:00, and wakes between 6:30 and 7am. Then she naps anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours each afternoon. I always HOPE that she gets at least 12 to 13 hrs of sleep per day. I notice that the EARLIER I can get her to sleep, the longer she will sleep!! If I can get her to sleep by 6:30, she’ll sleep until 6:30 the next morning! In a perfect world this would be her bedtime everyday. I agree that the earlier bedtime sacrifices play time with parent and child but the sleep the child gets is SO MUCH more important for their brain and body development, their emotional well being, and their temperament control. For parents who have to have later bedtimes for kids, I still think that the child will hopefully adjust – if a child goes to sleep at 9pm and has to wake up at 6am, they will hopefully be allowed to take longer afternoon naps to make up for thier shorter nights. Some day-cares however WAKE the kids up at 3pm regardless of who is still sleeping. This policy is so sad to me….I hate to ever wake a sleeping baby or child because they must NEED the sleep.

By: Seven Simple Rules for How to Take a Nap | Green

Seven Simple Rules for How to Take a Nap | Green — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:21:10 +0000

[...] sleepiness may come later; if you’re an early bird, it may come earlier. But it happens to everyone; we’re physiologically hardwired to [...]

By: kay

kay — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:20:17 +0000

Thank u so much for all of your posted comments, Ladies! I was always worried that my son was sleeping too much.(Goes to bed about 9 or 9:30 and wakes up at around 8:30 9 am and takes about an hour to two hour nap in the after noon). I was so glad to hear that is the normal amount of sleep a child his age should get. I used to worry there was something wrong with him, even though my doctor assured me that it was normal. All of my friends seemed surprised that he slept so much. So I am glad I got some more answers! Also, I know this is off the subject, but I have a hard time getting my boy on a regular eating schedule. He fights me tooth and nail at sit-down meal times and its very stressful, then not ten minutes after he gets down from his chair he wants hot dogs, crackers, or items he can carry around with him, Am I too overly concerned about this, or should I just let him have the finger foods during the day and make sure he gets a good dose of veggies and a ‘hot meal’ at family dinner? I welcome any responses from u Mom’s! Please email me at KayHites717@yahoo.com Thank u!

By: momo

momo — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:41:01 +0000

Hi
A good point- but remember that a child can go to sleep at night and get 11 hours and nap for 2-3 and get enough total sleep in that way as well. allows some flexibility for bedtime. children are also all different- just as adults are. some need more hours and some need less- it is a spectrum, not a prescription.

By: ksue

ksue — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:12:31 +0000

I was so happy to see this article and would love to show it to all of my friends who let their kids stay up until 10pm at night! We have always stuck to a nap schedule and bedtime schedule. At 3 1/2 yrs old, we dropped the nap and our son is getting ready for bed at 615-630p and asleep by 7p. He wakes at 730p and is a happy healthy kid not to mention the “adult” time my husband and I get each evening to enjoy each other. We have always followed the same routine and most 3-4yr olds can not tell time so when we do bath, dinner and bed it can happen at 530 or 630p and he will still do it with no problems. We just stay firm to our schedule and all is well! There are also links to obesity for kids who do not get enough sleep so I think sleep is more important than most people give it credit for.

By: Simone

Simone — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:27:31 +0000

Thank you so much for this article. I’ve been a proponent of “sleep education” for quite some time. It started when I read “The Baby Whisperer” by Tracey Hogg while dealing with a very intense newborn. It saved my life! I realized quickly that our issues were mainly due to lack of sleep. As soon as I figured it out (he was 8 weeks at the time) and learned to follow his cues to know if he was sleep deprived, he slept most of the entire day, the entire night (for the first time ever) and most of the day the next day at all. And his fussiness was gone. Now he is 18 months old and I am still able to see the signs when he hasn’t had enough sleep. We always get comments about how he is the happiest and most well adjusted toddler anyone has ever come across, and we contribute it mainly to getting enough sleep!! (as well as breast feeding still and eating organics and no junk!