The dream is fundamental for the good development of children. A bad rest has an impact on their mood, making them more irritable and also on their health, since many studies link the sleep deficit with a greater predisposition to diseases and suffer disorders such as hyperactivity. The question we ask all parents is what time should children go to bed to be rested the next day.
Like adults, not all children need to sleep the same number of hours. In addition to age differentiation, because a newborn baby does not sleep at the same time as a 5-year-old child, each child has their own physiological sleep needs. Some wake up like a rose after sleeping 8 hours while others need at least 10 hours of sleep.
According to the different ages of the children, an estimated guide to recommended hours of sleep has been developed. Just as it is advised that adults sleep 8 hours a day, each age range has its own hours guide.
From 0 to 6 months: between 16 and 20 hours throughout the day. From 6 to 12 months: 3 hours during the day and 12 hours at night. From 1 to 3 years: between 11 and 13 hours at night, the nap is optional. From 3 to 5 years: between 10 and 12 hours
From 6 to 9 years: around 10 hours
In conclusion, we see that it is not recommended that any child under 9 years sleep less than 10 hours. From there we can calculate the best time for them to go to bed based on what time the child should get up the next day.
Most children have to wake up between 7 and 8 in the morning depending on the proximity to the school and the time it takes to prepare. Based on this, we can subtract the hours of dressing, having breakfast and moving around and calculating what time we should go to bed.
Assuming, for example, the case of children between 1 and 5 years of age entering the nursery or school at 9 in the morning, if we calculate an hour of preparation and transfer, that is, they wake up at 8 and must sleep an average of 12 hours (the little ones will reinforce with a nap), it is advisable to go to bed between 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m..
There are children who regulate their sleep times themselves. That is, they sleep what they need and fall asleep when they "fall asleep" without obligation. But it is not the same a child who the next day stays at home and if he has fallen asleep late nothing happens, at most he takes a longer nap to recover, than one who has to get up to go to the nursery and will have a Bad day if you have slept little.
Some do not get up rested if we have not put them to bed the night before at a certain time. As I said at the beginning, each child is a world and it is possible that over time if we put them to bed at the same time every day they get used to regulating their sleep hours according to their own needs.
The most sensible thing is to observe the child to estimate the hours of sleep he needs to sleep each night. If we see that it is difficult for him to get up in the morning, we must advance the time to go to bed, however if we see that he wakes up before resting time there will be no problem in that of some more little vueltita at night.
Another point to clarify is that lying down is not the same as falling asleep. There are children who fall asleep right away while others go around for a while to close their eyes. Nor is it the same situation every day, there will be days that are more tired, more stimulated or more excited.
By the way, that the TV before going to bed does not help at all to facilitate the child to relax to go to sleep. The most advisable thing is to avoid watching television in the last hours of the day and replace it with a bedtime story.
