Children need a lot of sleep—but every child is different—some sleep more and some les. The amount of sleep your child needs depends on his age and level of activity. Read on, to know how many hours sleep do children need (in general).
Sleep needs of a two year old: By two years of age, most children sleep for about 11.5 to 15 hours a day (daytime naps and night time sleep). Your child may sleep for about 1 to 3 hours during the day (generally in one nap) and the rest at night. Most children by two years of age sleep for long stretches at night (ten to 12 hours).
Sleep needs of a three year old: A three year old child sleeps for about 11 to 14 hours a day (daytime naps and night time sleep). Your child may sleep for about 1 to 3 hours during the day (generally in one nap) and the rest at night.
Sleep needs of a four year old: In general four year old children need 10 to 13 hours of sleep in a day (daytime naps and night time sleep). Your child may sleep for about 2 hours during the day or may not take a nap in the daytime. S/He may replenish her/his sleep quota during the night.
Sleep needs of a five year old: A five year old child sleeps for about 10 to 12.5 hours a day (daytime naps and night time sleep). Your child may sleep for about 2 hours during the day or may not take a nap in the daytime and sleep all he needs during the night.
Sleep needs of a six year old: Most children by 5-6 years of age do not need a daytime nap and fulfil their sleep requirement at night. Most six year olds sleep for about 10 to 11.5 hours a day.
Sleep needs of a 7-8 year old: A 7-8 year old child needs about 9.5 to 11.5 hours of sleep at night. Children of this age do not need a daytime nap.
Sleep needs of older children and teenagers: Older children and teenagers need about 9 to 10 hours of sleep at night.
Consideration
Children need a lot of sleep and if your child refuses to sleep before 10 pm it is not that he needs less sleep. It occurs probably because of a child’s poor sleeping habits and sleep deprivation—which makes them hyper and overtired by bedtime. To assess if your child is sleep deprived ask yourself:
- Does s/he often fall asleep while riding in the car?
- Do you need to wake him forcefully almost every morning?
- Is s/he cranky, irritable, or overtired during the day?
If your answer to these questions is yes, then your child is sleeping less than required and you need to work on her/his sleep habits.
