Sleep Myth #4

My child doesn’t need as much sleep as other children-

I hear this one a lot in my profession and while this might make a parent feel better about how little their child sleeps, it really isn’t true. It is true that some kids need/love sleep more than others but usually this varies by only an hour or two, not huge amounts that I tend to see. It is not uncommon for children to fight sleep but that doesn’t mean they don’t need it. For example, I hear lots of people tell me that their child stopped napping between the ages of 18 months and 2.5 years old. Yes, this is a very popular age for nap refusals but it doesn’t mean they still don’t need a nap. As we well know, this is a testing age and it would make sense that they will test our resolve when it comes to sleep as well. What we must keep is mind is that sleep is to the brain what food is to the body. So while we would never just let our kids eat junk food all day, we must insist on proper sleep hygiene. I am sure many of your are thinking, “well, I can’t force my child to sleep.” And that is very true! Just like we can’t force veggies in our kids mouths. But we can provide the opportunity and be consistent with “quiet times.” This gives them the chance to sleep even if they don’t take it. During these times of testing always remember that an early bedtime is your best friend. This is not as a punishment, but a way to keep them from becoming overtired in this phase of testing. Most children grow out of naps between the ages of 3-4 years, but many kids continue to nap for even longer.

  I am confident that all children can be taught to be good sleepers…..and isn’t that what we want?!