• Pre-school children can need up to 14 hours of sleep each nightsleeping beauty image by anna karwowska from Fotolia.com
  
  

Average sleep patterns

• According to the Sleep for Kids website, a service of the National Sleep Foundation, children aged one to three years should sleep between 12 and 14 hours a night; those between three and five should sleep 11 to 13 hours a night and the recommended amount of sleep for children between five and 12 is 10 or 11 hours a night.
  
  

Individual differences

• Dr. Stuart Crisp on NetDocter.co.uk says there is no right amount of sleep for children as they are individuals. Some active children simply might not need as much sleep as other kids and could develop their own sleep pattern that does not conform to an "average" sleep chart. If both parents function well on less sleep than what is considered the adult norm of between six to eight hours a night, then their child might also need less sleep.
  
  

Bottom Line

• Children tend to need more sleep than most parents think they do. However, if a child is not sleeping for as long as the recommended average for his age and is showing no signs of sleep deprivation such as irritability or hyperactivity, then he is probably getting enough rest.