The kid, of course, owes nothing to anyone. It would be more correct to ask how much the child can sleep. So, sleep is a natural process. And the baby can sleep as much as he needs. If tired - it will sleep, if not asleep - the body is not tired enough to go into "sleep mode".
Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
This happens if your child has a "docile" type of temperament. The baby easily passes from a state of sleep to a state of wakefulness and vice versa. He does not need any help in this. Such children fall asleep well, sleep soundly and for a long time. Unfortunately, such children are rare.
For those mothers who are not so lucky, it is advisable to know the approximate criteria for the time of sleep and wakefulness of a child at a certain age. Besides healthy curiosity, there are several reasons for this:
1. To help your baby avoid overwork, 2. To prevent hyper-fatigue and accumulation of fatigue (these are different concepts)
3. To give the child the opportunity to "sleep" the right time for the rest of all body systems and the correct functioning of the brain.
4. To keep your child in a good mood
5. In order not to expect what cannot be.
The length of time a child sleeps depends on age. Many mothers use tables to monitor changes in the weight and height of their babies, but they forget about changing the sleep time. Let's make a reservation right away, all these tables are approximate, calculated for the average child. Your task, first of all, is to listen to your child, he is the only one you have. And the main indicators of the correct sleep time will be his good mood, play and cognitive activity and cheerfulness.
The indications in the table are average, there are little sleepers, difficult children. Sleep is also affected by children's illnesses, teething, stages of physical and mental maturation, the so-called crises and developmental leaps.
However, do not rush to enroll your child in the ranks of little sleepers, this is a rather rare occurrence. overexcitement from insufficient sleep and overwork of the nervous system are much more common. Answer the questions for yourself, is your baby sleeping enough? Waking up in a good mood? Perhaps it makes sense to put the child to bed earlier? Yes, yes, it was earlier, before when he in the evening from overwork begins to jump uncontrollably screaming on the bed. This means that your child has gone out of business and the lights out should be postponed by at least an hour, or even an hour and a half. It may be necessary to check the entire daytime regimen or increase the time of short naps.
Be careful! If a 4-year-old child, for example, goes to bed at 10 in the evening, and at 7 you are already forced to wake him up in order to get ready for kindergarten (and there is no daytime sleep) - the daily sleep duration is only 9 hours (instead of the prescribed 11 at this age). A child can behave adequately for several days or even weeks, but as fatigue accumulates, nervous breakdowns, tantrums, moods out of the blue, increased excitability, attempts to fall asleep very early (at 6 pm, for example) several times a week may occur. Parents sometimes think “I just have an active child who doesn't sleep enough” or “we have an age crisis”, etc., not realizing that the baby simply does not have enough sleep. What to do? Going to bed earlier will noticeably improve the situation (shift your bedtime 15 minutes every three days).
By the way, unnecessarily long sleep is also not useful. after it, children can wake up lethargic, apathetic. Long sleep is often the first sign of illness.
Sleep rate is a rough guideline, thanks to which you can control fatigue and excitement of your baby. However, your main criterion is a cheerful, contented, positive-minded child, even if you deviate from the table for an hour.
Get accustomed to your child, be attentive, follow the sleep rate of your children.
And in conclusion, at the University of Tel Aviv, according to a comprehensive study of the nature of sleep, it was found "even one hour of regular lack of sleep time compromises the effectiveness of the baby's brain functioning, reduces alertness, and also leads to an increase in fatigue in the early evening." This significant discovery should stimulate parents to be very attentive to the quantity and quality of their children's sleep.
