So, my son is almost 2 and he goes to bed between 8 and 9. He sleeps until around 9 and 10 in the morning. Then he gets a nap about 4 hours later. So, he is only awake for about 8 hours a day. Is this normal? He is always very tired around bed time and nap time.
Oh, I wish I was you! But, no this doesn't sound normal. My 2 year old goes down at 9pm, (but usually plays in her bed until 10), then wakes up at 8am, goes down for a nap at 2pm-4pm (if I'm lucky).
Kids this age should be getting about 12-14 hours of sleep. My son just turned 2 and he goes to bed at 8 and gets up at 7 and sometimes naps from 1-2 hours in the afternoon. I think your son is sleeping more than average, I would get his iron tested, but if all comes back fine I would say it is just normal for him. Kids are all so different I had a cousin whos daughter still was taking 2 naps a day at 2 1/2.
Hi,
Your son's sleeping patterns sounds exactly like my son! From day one my son has always been a great sleeper and like you I always worried about it a little bit, but then both my husband and I like naps so I considered it genetic. My son is now five but he still sleeps abt 12 hours at night from whenever I put him to bed be it midnight or 7:00 PM and if I allow him he would sleep 4-5 hours in the afternoon still, but mostly he is nap free at this time. My little boy has always been happy and energetic during the day between sleeping so I consider him normal and so does his doctor. I have always considered it a blessing especially when I know other kids only will take 20 minute naps even as infants and have completely given up naps by age 2-3.
He should be getting about 12 -13 hours sleep per day, including naps. I think he's going to be way too late. I would sugget 7-7:30pm. This should get him up earlier in the morning. I would talk to your doctor but I'm guessing he's fine, although only being awake for 8 hours is a little short.
Hi Brandy,
I think each child is different but if his sleep times work with your schedule then it sounds good to me. When our kids (now 4 and 5) were that age they took two naps. One was usually around 10a the second around 2p. Our eldest has since outgrown her nap taking altogether but little brother still takes an afternoon nap from about 2p-3p. We herd them off to bed around 730p (usually later in the summer). They will generally sleep till 7a.m. Depending on his "growth spurts" you may find his sleeping pattern will increase or decrease. Which goes along with his eating habits. One moment he is eating everything in sight the next minute you can barely get him to consume a thing. Enjoy his rest times :) Blessings, L.
My daughter sleeps about the same. At least 12 hours at night and a nap mid day for about 1.5 to 3 hours. She also doesnt wake up until 9ish. During the hours she is awake she is very happy and very active. I would not worry kids need their rest especially if they play as hard as mine does. And like your son, she is tired around naptime and bedtime.
Yes this is normal.. some children (and adults) need more sleep than others.
I have 2 kids.. they are 2 (almost 3) and 4...
They go to bed at 8 pm and get up at 7 so they sleep 11 hours at night.. they take a 3 hour nap starting at 1 pm.. so they sleep 14 hours a day.
of course some days are less.. (my younger one has been known to wake up at 5 am ready to go...
I talked to a PHD sleep researcher..(I met him through work) and asked him about my older childs sleep.. he said you can not sleep too much.. and sleep is wehn children grow and when their brrains grow...
I think it sounds normal. He may just be more tired than other kids. Still, I second calling and talking to the doc just incase.
My 2.5 year old daughter sleeps from 8pm-6am then takes a 1-2 hour nap during the week and NO nap on the weekends. So she only gets between 10-12 hours of sleep PER day. I wish she slept more but she's never been a great sleeper.
Do you or your husband require a lot of sleep? I've heard it hereditary?
All children are different but why not just call your doctors office and ask to speak to a nurse. If there is any reason for concern she will ask you to bring in your son. If there is no reason for concern you will feel better about this question!
I do agree nutrition is important and that pretty much nobody can get what they need by diet alone........especially a 2 year old. I have my own small health business and here are some recommendations to help you in that area:
Vitamin Powder: http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...
A chewable if your son is ready for that with the benefit of DHA (found in omegas): http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...
A Healthy Meal Shake (this one is cocoa, but there is vanilla too). It tastes like chocolate Milk when mixed with Milk:
http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...
That sounds about right to me. My daughter goes down between 7 and 7:30, wakes up at 7 (she will sleep until 8 or 8:30 on the weekends when I don't have to wake her). She takes a two hour nap, sometimes even closer to three hours. If she doesn't get that much sleep she starts going downhill - she's not overly cranky, but I can tell she doesn't feel well. I was always the same way - I was a child that needed extra sleep and wasn't well without it. My daughter is active (holy cow!!) and happy while she's awake. I think as long as your son is also, then he's fine. Oh, and my daughter is almost 2 - same age.
New studies are showing that lack of sleep is the biggest problems with bad bahaviour in children and it's showing that our kids aren't sleeping enough. A a small child needs between 12-14 hours of sleep in total. If you toddler is happy, eats well and plays hard sounds great to me! My 6 and 5 year old need about 10-12 hrs for them to feel decent for a full day of school. We put them to bed at 7:30 and they wake up at 7:am. I think they need more sleep but wont nap and I am willing to put them to bed early. So set up your little ones time clock to go down maybe a half hour earlier so he still gets really good sleep and is up a little earlier that way you have a more sunshine time :) Great book to read is "kids, Parents and Power Struggles: Secrets to Effective Discipline," This has a ton of good advice on sleep.
Every child is different, but if you are concerned I would take your little one to the pediatrician and bring this up. There might be an underlying issue causing the increased fatigue that needs to be addressed, or your little one might just need more than the norm. The best thing to do is to ask the doctor and go from there.
I think every child is different in the amount of sleep they need. My daughter from day one never needed as much as everyone says. She only sleeps about 12 hours total. She turned 2 in January. Another kids I KNow who will be 3 in August sleeps at least 12 hours a night then also has 2-3 hour nap. From all the kids I know is appears as though boys tend to sleep more than girls. I guess it is possible he might be getting too much but if he is healthy and all that I would not worry about it. Enjoy the 9-10 in the morning, you could be getting up at 6:30 like I do which actually is better thn the 5 am she did the whole 2st year.
My son is also almost 2 and sleeps from 6:30 to about 6:30 (sometimes he is woken up earlier by a cat or on his own, and sometimes I have to pry him out) and then has about a 2 hour nap at daycare. At home he will sometimes sleep in a bit and have a 3 hour nap on the weekends. I remember being told that naps should be no less than 1.5 hours and no more than 3-3.5 hours. So, if he tries to nap longer, we wake him up.
I feel that the 3 hour naps are a more recent development, so I am wondering if it is a growth spurt, and also he is teething so bad, I'm not sure how restful the sleep is...maybe your son is suffering the same way?
One thing I can say is all kids are very different. especially when it comes to sleep. My middle boy had the same sleeping pattern as yours and he was very uptight about it. If it was 8:30pm and he wasnt' in bed, he put himself in bed. It was kind of nice actually. He also took a nap every day at about 12:30 which worked out to be about 4.5 hours after he woke up.
He is 4 now and has dropped the naps but still insists on going to bed at the same time every night. He also must have 12 hours of sleep at night so if he does go to bed later he still needs to sleep until he has had 12 hours.
Now, I still would check with your doc. If he seems really tired, you want to just rule out that there is not something else going on. There are all kinds of things that make kids tired outside of sleep depravation, e.g., nutrition, anemia, athsma, allergies, etc. So check it out.
Good luck.
