Blog Archive
Setting a Child's Sleep Schedule
The first week of school is tough for a lot of kids. One of the things that we as parents can do is help them adjust their sleep schedules.
As the old commercial use to say about the beginning of school (at least for parents), "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" But we also know that for children, it can be the most stressful time. New teachers, new activities, maybe a jump from elementary to middle or middle to high school. As such, one of our jobs is to help with the transition. A full-night's sleep will help immensely with not only the transition but the entire academic year.
Recommendations
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in the June 2016 article, AAP Endorses New
Recommendations on Sleep Times,
"Regularly sleeping fewer than the number of recommended hours is associated with attention, behavior, and learning problems," according to the statement. "Insufficient sleep also increases the risk of accidents, injuries, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and depression."
On the other hand, the article goes on to say that too much sleep has been linked to obesity, diabetes, and behavioral health problems.
So, let's cut to the chase. Here are the recommended minimum and maximum number of hours of sleep (including naps) for different age groups.
That's Nice, But How do We Get There?
We can all hear it now. "Mom (or dad), I know school starts tomorrow, but I'm not sleepy." So how do you get them on the sleep schedule? It doesn't happen over night (pun intended).
The trick is to adjust their schedules incrementally over time. According to the Sleep Foundation's article Back to School Sleep Tips, adjust your child's bed and wake schedules by 15 minutes every few days until the you reach the sleep schedule for school. If they are having trouble adjusting, make certain they participate in some sleep-inducing activities that don't involve a TV, phone or computer.
Here are some relaxing activities that will help them go to sleep.
Recommendations
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in the June 2016 article, AAP Endorses New
Recommendations on Sleep Times,
"Regularly sleeping fewer than the number of recommended hours is associated with attention, behavior, and learning problems," according to the statement. "Insufficient sleep also increases the risk of accidents, injuries, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and depression."
On the other hand, the article goes on to say that too much sleep has been linked to obesity, diabetes, and behavioral health problems.
So, let's cut to the chase. Here are the recommended minimum and maximum number of hours of sleep (including naps) for different age groups.
| Age | Hours of sleep (including naps) |
| 4 - 12 months | 12 - 16 hours |
| 1 - 2 years | 11 - 14 hours |
| 3 - 5 years | 10 - 13 hours |
| 6 - 12 years | 9 - 12 hours |
| 13 - 18 years | 8 - 10 hours |
That's Nice, But How do We Get There?
We can all hear it now. "Mom (or dad), I know school starts tomorrow, but I'm not sleepy." So how do you get them on the sleep schedule? It doesn't happen over night (pun intended).
The trick is to adjust their schedules incrementally over time. According to the Sleep Foundation's article Back to School Sleep Tips, adjust your child's bed and wake schedules by 15 minutes every few days until the you reach the sleep schedule for school. If they are having trouble adjusting, make certain they participate in some sleep-inducing activities that don't involve a TV, phone or computer.
Here are some relaxing activities that will help them go to sleep.
- Taking a warm bath/shower
- Brushing teeth and washing up
- Cuddling with a parent
- Singing lullabies
- Reading with a parent or individually
- Journaling
- Meditating
