How much sleep is enough for kids?

[Latte Mama]

DS is 17 months and I'm torn between thinking that either a) he's not getting enough sleep for proper growth and function or b) his body knows what it needs and he'll be just fine, some kids just needs less sleep.

I hear about all these toddlers going down for the night at 7 ish and sleeping for 11 -12 hours and I'm thinking WTH? My darling will.not.go.to.sleep. any earlier than 9 and that's on a GOOD night . Sometimes he's up until 11! Then he's awake between 7-8 no matter what time he went to sleep so on average he probably gets about 9 hrs a night.

He takes 1 nap lasting between 2-3 hrs.

We do a routine. This kid has just decided that he won't sleep until he is darn good and ready. But I KNOW he is tired, he just fights it. Sigh.
Is he destined to be a night owl? Is this super unhealthy for him? Do I have a weird child?

[lonegirl]

Every child is different. Tyr is one who goes to bed late with me (close to midnight...11 on a work night) and wakes by 8ish. Then he still naps somewhere between 1-3hours. (9-12 hours).

[rzberrymom]

My DD was always a night owl. She never fell asleep before 10pm until she gave up napping.

[zannster]

That sounds pretty close to our schedule at that age. My friends were jealous of my 3-hour napper, and I was jealous of their children who went to bed early and slept for 12+ hours. (OTOH, my guy never got up super early either, so I was thankful for that!). I think your DS might sleep slightly less than mine did, but not much. I guess the question would be if he usually seems to have enough energy, isn't overly cranky, etc.

[KatWozBlue]

It looks like all the kids sleep around 12 hours, it just varies whether or not its all at night or at night with a nap. I'm lucky both my kids sleep from 7:30ish to 7, but they are also much older and it was a lot of work to get them to that point, both being in school has really helped to tire them out in time for an early bed time, but when my son was younger he definitely went to bed much later.

[Latte Mama]

Ok I think he's in the realm of "okay". This is what WebMD says:

"1-3 Years Old: 12 - 14 hours per day

As your child moves past the first year toward 18-21 months of age he will likely lose his morning nap and nap only once a day. While toddlers need up to 14 hours a day of sleep, they typically get only about 10.

Most children from about 21 to 36 months of age still need one nap a day, which may range from one to three and a half hours long. They typically go to bed between 7 and 9 p.m. and wake up between 6 and 8 a.m."

Now I don't necessarily agree with everything WebMd/Internet says, it does seem to correlate with most other sites. Toddlers NEED sleep but usually don't actually GET it. Little buggers want to stay up!

[LadyCatherine185]

My DS gets about the same amount of sleep as yours, only he goes to bed around 7, and is up around 5-6 with a 2 hour nap from 10-12. Sounds like your DS is getting enough sleep (12 hours average, right?) for his age. Does your DS STTN? Mine still wakes every hour or so..

[Latte Mama]

Yes, he mostly STTN. Occasionally he'll have periods where he will wake but this is usually due to illness or teething. Only rarely will he awaken and stay up for a couple of hours. But it took a long while to get to this point!

[Baby_Cakes]

Oh I worry about this too! I worry that DD's 10-12 (total) hours of sleep will affect her development or something. BUt she's happy, smart, meeting all her milestones. Something has to be working right.

FWIW, she goes to bed around 10:30 pm, and wakes a few times at night. She's up by 8 am (usually up at 7 am) and takes 1 nap, for about 2 hrs, per day. She's 16 months.

[LadyCatherine185]

If he mostly STTN I would definitely say he is getting plenty of sleep.. I am so jealous.