Parent Corner: How Much Sleep Do Kids Need?

Art by Andrew Kleidon

by KAREN COREKIN-DeLaMER, Education and Community Relations Coordinator, Northern Door Children’s Center

Dear Karen,

I have three children. My oldest is a 14-year-old girl; the middle one is a 7-year-old boy; and my youngest is a 4-year-old boy. They are great kids, and I don’t have too many complaints. 

Our biggest issue lately is sleep. We let our oldest stay up later because she has more homework to do. She usually goes to bed about 9:30 pm on school nights. We try to get the younger two in bed by 8 pm, although it normally ends up closer to 8:30 pm most nights. We don’t have any scheduled bedtime for the weekends, and the older two sleep pretty late on weekend mornings.

The problem is getting them up in the morning on school days. We start waking them up about 6 am. They are all hard to wake, especially our teenager. She has to be on the bus by a little before 7 am, and she always seems exhausted. 

Here are my questions: How much sleep do children really need? Is it different for children at different ages? How important is it that my children get enough sleep? Any information you have would be very helpful.

— Mom of Sleepy Kids

Dear Mom of Sleepy Kids,

Your questions are great ones. Sleep-related issues can be challenging for parents and children, so I decided to get some expert information. I looked at a number of sources during my research, and they all seemed to be in agreement about the amount of sleep time that children of different ages require. The most concise answer came from Dr. Rachel Dawkins* at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, and I’m including her information for children of all ages. 

According to Dawkins, adequate sleep is critical for children’s overall health and wellness. The right amount of sleep improves children’s memory, attention, behavior, learning, and general mental and physical health. Conversely, a lack of sleep can lead to obesity, high blood pressure and possibly depression in children and teens. 

Dawkins offers these guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics regarding the recommended amount of sleep for children by age:

• Infants younger than 1 year: 12-16 hours
• Children 1-2 years old: 11-14 hours
• Children 3-5 years old: 10-13 hours
• Children 6-12 years old: 9-12 hours
• Teenagers 13-18 years old: 8-10 hours

You didn’t mention whether your children have trouble going to sleep or staying asleep, but those issues can factor into how much sleep they’re actually getting and how easily they’re able to wake up in the morning. It’s also important to keep in mind that each child is different, and some need more or less sleep than the recommended guidelines. 

It’s good practice to have a bedtime routine that the whole family follows, whether or not they go to sleep at the same time. Some ideas include ending screen time an hour before bedtime, reading together before bedtime, dimming the lights as bedtime gets closer, having the children take warm showers or baths before bed, discouraging snacks right before bedtime, and if you allow your children to have caffeinated drinks, limiting those to daytime hours only. Then, if your children wake during the night, quietly walk them back to bed with as little commotion as possible.

Also try to keep a consistent sleep schedule, even on the weekends. Staying up an hour later and sleeping in an hour later is fine, but for quality sleep, try to sleep and wake about the same time every day.

If your teen continues to be hard to awaken, she may need to increase her hours of sleep, so getting homework done and getting to bed earlier may be helpful for her. Then, if her exhaustion persists, you may need to have a talk with her pediatrician.

I hope this information was helpful. Happy sleeping and waking!

*Source: Dawkins, Rachel, M.D. “The Importance of Sleep for Kids.” Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Newsroom, March 12, 2018.

Karen Corekin-DeLaMer holds degrees in elementary, special and early-childhood education. She has been a teacher, administrator and parent educator since 1984 and is the education and community-relations coordinator for Northern Door Children’s Center in Sister Bay. Email your questions to her at [email protected].