Your child's sleep and nap timeline

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Photo credit:istock.com / SanyaSM

How much sleep does your child need? Every child is different. Some babies need up to two hours more or less sleep than other babies, and some toddlers and older children need as much as an hour more or less than their peers.

This timeline gives you a general idea of how much sleep children typically need at various ages and how sleep and nap patterns change as they grow.

Baby

Newborn	About 17 hours (in a 24-hour period). There's no pattern to your newborn's sleep, and he probably sleeps from a few minutes to several hours at a time. One reason he wakes so often is to refill his little tummy.
1 month	About 17 hours. Your baby's beginning to figure out the difference between day and night. She's probably catching most of her shut-eye during nighttime hours but still sleeping a lot during the day.
2 months	About 16 to 17 hours. Though more alert and social, most babies this age still take three to four (or even more) naps a day. Your baby may start skipping one feeding in the middle of the night.
3 months	About 16 hours. Some (not all!) babies this age can sleep for long stretches of six to eight hours at night. Most take about three daytime naps.
6 months	About 15 hours. At night, babies typically log around 10 hours of sleep. Daytime naps may be down to one in the morning and one in the afternoon (although some babies still take three or even four short snoozes).
9 months	About 14 to 15 hours, with around 11 of those at night. Seventy to 80 percent of babies this age are now sleeping through the night (usually defined as eight to 12 hours at night without needing to eat). Your baby is probably taking two solid naps a day, morning and afternoon. He may have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep because of separation anxiety.

Toddler

12 months	About 14 hours. One-year-olds often sleep for about 11 hours at night, plus two daytime naps (that may be getting a bit shorter).
18 months	About 13 to 14 hours. By now, your toddler's morning nap is probably history. She's likely to hang on to that afternoon nap for another couple of years. Most kids this age still sleep about 11 hours at night.

Preschooler

2 years

11 to 14 hours. Most 2-year-olds still nap in the afternoon and sleep around 10 to 12 hours at night. Your little rascal may resist going to sleep now and, if he's no longer in a crib, toddle out of bed after you tuck him in.

Fast fact: At age 2, most children have spent more time asleep than awake.

3 years

10 to 13 hours. Your preschooler may still take an afternoon nap, but some kids this age drop naps altogether. Often they make up for it by snoozing a little longer at night. Many have switched from a crib to a big kid bed by age 3.

Big Kid

4 and 5 years	10 to 13 hours. Some kids this age get all their sleep at night, while others still conk out for an hour or two in the afternoon. A child who is in kindergarten or has an unusually active day may be worn out and ready to head to bed earlier than usual.
6 to 8 years	9 to 12 hours, all at night. By this age, your child's naps are probably a distant memory. Some children start to have nighttime fears, which can make it hard to fall asleep at bedtime.

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