Sleep Problems (part 1)
“Children are a comfort in our old age, it is true; and often children help us reach it faster too”.
“My children are the perfect age . . . too old to cry at night and too young to ask for the car.”
Sleep problems are not the same in children as they are in adults. For example, infants and toddlers who are not sleeping well do not complain – their parents do. Young children are usually more unhappy about having to go to bed than about an inability to fall asleep; in fact they are more likely to fight sleep.
One of the least obvious sleep problems is that of insufficient sleep. There is no absolute way of measuring whether the amount of sleep your child gets per day is appropriate. The following chart shows the average amount of sleep children should get at various ages during the night and nap time but each child is different:
- 1 week old = 16.5 hours
- 1 month = 15.5
- 6 months = 14.5
- 1 year = 13.75
- 2 years = 13
- 3 years = 12 (day time naps usually disappear)
- 4 years = 11.5
- 5 years = 11
- 6 years = 10.75
- 7 years = 10.5
- 8 years = 10.25
- 9 years = 10
- 10 years = 9.75
- 11 years = 9.5
- 12 years = 9.25
- 13 years = 9.25
- 14 years = 9
- 15 years = 8.75
- 16 years = 8.5
- 17 years = 8.25
- 18 years = 8.25
The symptoms of insufficient sleep in young children can be very subtle. If your 2 year old sleeps only 8 hours at night but seems to be functioning well during the day, it is tempting to assume he doesn’t need more sleep, but 8 hours is rarely enough sleep for a 2 year old. With appropriate intervention by his/her parents, he can learn to increase his amount of sleep time. You may begin to notice an improvement in his general behaviour, your child will probably be happier , less irritable, less inclined to have tantrums and be more able to concentrate at play.
How well your child sleeps not only affects his behaviour during the day but also your feelings about him. If he doesn’t sleep well, he may be making your life miserable and your frustration and fatigue may carry over into your relationships with your spouse, family and friends.
My next postings will outline strategies that have proven to be very successful for young children who waken during the night and are unable to self soothe and return to sleep unaided.
Rick Harper has been providing ideas to parents for over 40 years.