As our little ones grow, they need a lot of sleep. Often we, as parents/caregivers, are not entirely sure how much sleep our kids need. Below are some general guidelines as to how many hours of sleep the average child requires at various ages. Of course, every child is different - some need more or less sleep than others.

Keep in mind that most children need lots of sleep. Often, if a child has poor sleep habits or refuses to go to bed before 11pm, his parents will think that he just doesn't need a lot of sleep. That's probably not true - in fact, it's likely that such a child is actually sleep-deprived. To see whether your child falls into that camp, ask yourself these questions:

• Does your child fall asleep almost every time he's in a car?
• Do you have to wake your child almost every morning?
• Does your child seem cranky, irritable, or overtired during the day?
• On some nights, does your child seem to "crash" much earlier than his usual bedtime?

If you answered "yes" to any of these, your child may be getting less sleep than he needs. To change this pattern, you'll need to help him develop good sleep habits and set an appropriate bedtime. That way, you can make sure he gets all the sleep he needs.

As he gets older, your child will probably stop napping and start doing all of his sleeping at night. Children in nursery and infant school still need about 11 hours of sleep a night, but that amount will gradually decrease. By the time he's a teenager, your child will need only about nine or 10 hours of sleep per night.