I have a guilty secret. My daughter sometimes – dare I say, often – goes to bed late. She also sleeps in. With the onset of kindergarten next year and its earlier arrival times, we’re going to have to change this. However, in a family with two parents who are working outside the home, I find it to be a struggle to get her in bed by 8 pm. After all, my husband arrives home at dinner time, we eat, and then it would be bed time. On the days when I work outside the home, dinner tends to be a little later, giving my husband and my daughter some time to play together.
How much sleep does a preschooler really need to stay healthy, and when should this sleep occur? Since my daughter was born, I’ve likely been a little bit more focused on sleep than the average new parent. She has never been overly fond of sleeping, so we focused on creating a good bedtime routine and we were very strategic about when she napped.
Bed Time Routines for Your Preschooler
In our house, bedtime takes at last an hour. It includes:
• Quiet play, transitioning into reading books
• Setting out clothing for the next day
• A shower or a bath
• Getting into pjs
• Brushing teeth
• Reading a bed time story
• Hugs and kisses
• Singing to sleep
All of this takes place in a dimly lit environment. We also make sure that we get outside during the day, usually in the morning. This helps set our biological clocks.
Naps and the Preschooler
Let’s talk about naps. I know that some of you likely have children who nap. For my daughter, her nap was directly connected to a later bed time. And boy, did she love her nap. The summer she stopped napping, she had just turned three. I pushed the issue because she was staying up until 11:30 pm after her nap. For other children, a nap is a way that they recoup sleep that they didn’t get at night. Preschoolers need 10-12 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. However, if their siblings have late classes and parents work difficult hours, then preschoolers may be shortchanged in the sleep department, and a nap is in order.
Does your preschooler nap? What time does your preschooler go to bed?