Healthy sleep for kids, from newborns to teens

Almost every parent we see has at least one sleep question. That’s normal — sleep is one of the most personal, most variable, and most-Googled parts of childhood. Here’s what we know.

How much sleep do kids actually need?

These are 24-hour totals — naps + nighttime — recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and AAP:

Age	Hours of sleep (24h)
Newborn (0–3 months)	14–17 hours, in short stretches
Infant (4–11 months)	12–16 hours, including naps
Toddler (1–2 years)	11–14 hours, including 1–2 naps
Preschooler (3–5 years)	10–13 hours, often including 1 nap
School-age (6–12 years)	9–12 hours
Teen (13–18 years)	8–10 hours

These are ranges. Some kids land at the top, some at the bottom. The single most useful question to ask is: does my child wake up rested, and is their daytime mood and behavior okay?

What good sleep hygiene looks like

Across every age, the same handful of habits tend to make sleep easier:

• A consistent bedtime and wake time, including weekends — within an hour either way
• A wind-down routine: bath, books, song, lights down. 20–30 minutes is plenty.
• Cool, dark, quiet room. White noise is fine and often helpful.
• No screens for 30–60 minutes before bed. Blue light delays melatonin; content keeps brains busy.
• Bed is for sleep, not for homework, eating, or punishment.
• Daylight in the morning is the strongest signal to lock in the circadian rhythm.
• Movement during the day — even unstructured outdoor play.

Newborns and the first few months

Newborns wake every 2–4 hours to eat, and that is doing exactly what it should. Day-night confusion typically resolves between 6 and 12 weeks. The most important rules at this stage are:

• Back to sleep, every time. Firm flat surface, nothing in the crib.
• Room sharing for the first 6 months is recommended; bed sharing is not.
• Drowsy but awake. Putting baby down before they’re fully asleep — even sometimes — helps build the skill of falling asleep independently.

Toddlers: the bedtime resistance era

If bedtime has become a 45-minute negotiation, you are not alone. A few things that help:

• Same routine, same order, every night. Predictability is the magic ingredient.
• A “last call” cup of water and a final bathroom trip before lights out.
• One book, three books — whatever your number is, name it ahead of time.
• Gentle, boring re-direction if they pop out. Walk them back. No new stories.
• Drop the second nap when it starts pushing bedtime past 8:30. Around 15–18 months for most kids.

Big kids and screens

The single most common school-age sleep problem we see is a phone or tablet in the bedroom. The fix is unpopular and effective: charge devices outside the bedroom overnight. Including the parent’s, if possible — modeling matters.

Teens — biology meets school start times

Adolescent biology really does push the sleep-wake cycle later. That’s not laziness — it’s a documented melatonin shift. But teens still need 8–10 hours, and chronic short sleep is linked to mood, attention, and academic struggles. We coach on:

• A protected wind-down window, even if bedtime is 11 pm
• No caffeine after lunch
• Phone out of the bedroom (or at minimum, on greyscale + do-not-disturb)
• Morning light exposure to anchor the rhythm

When to call us

Most sleep difficulties are developmental, not medical. Call if you notice:

• Loud snoring most nights, or pauses in breathing during sleep
• Excessive daytime sleepiness despite enough time in bed
• Night terrors that are frequent or worsening, or sleepwalking with injury risk
• Sudden change in sleep pattern with behavior or mood changes
• A teen who simply cannot fall asleep before 2–3 am

We sometimes refer for a sleep study — most often for suspected sleep-disordered breathing — but most families just need a thoughtful conversation and a plan.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for advice from your child’s pediatrician.