4-5 YEAR
Sleep Schedules
A series of guides, sleep schedules, and average sleep needs that outline realistic sleep expectations for each age.
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Realistic Sleep Expectations
By 4 years, most preschoolers will no longer be napping on a regular basis. As with adults, there may be days that a nap is warranted (after a busy morning at the amusement park for example) or when your child falls asleep in the car on the way to Grandma’s house for dinner.
Reach out to StephExample sleep schedule for a 4-5 year old
4-5 year
Developmental Considerations
Anxieties & Fears
If your child is showing signs of being scared or anxious at bedtime, speak with them to see what is bothering them. They may not know exactly why they are having trouble shutting off their brains at bedtime! Opening up a dialogue can definitely help figure out what might help them feel better. Sometimes leaving the door open, or getting a nightlight is helpful. Maybe a book they read in kindergarten scared them. Maybe they saw something on the news after dinner. It helps to talk about it. Using other tools, such as guided meditations, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, body scans, or just becoming more mindful of where their thoughts are taking them are all great tools to incorporate. If you feel like their worries are above and beyond what you can handle as a parent, never hesitate to bring this up with your pediatrician who can refer you to the appropriate specialist.
Attachment
By the 5th year of life, your child will be ready to give their heart to anyone that is special to them. This is a very risky stage because when you attach at the heart, you risk having it broken. You might start to notice your 4 year old start drawing hearts all over the place, or come home from kindergarten telling you that they’re in love with another kid in their class (or even their teacher!). As humans, we were never meant to parent a child whose heart we didn’t have. Once you get it, your child will want to behave for you. Not because you’ve told them to, but because they want to.
By the 6th year of life, your child will now want to share all that is within their heart with those they love. Bedtime can become a magical place where your child opens up about their troubles, their loves, their dilemmas. They want to be known by you and want to be seen inside out. Interestingly, it’s at this same time that a child often loses their sneakiness.
Support options for parents of 4-5 year olds
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The Sleep Parenting program is amazing in that it offers unparalleled support through teething, sickness, developmental leaps, travel, daylight savings, etc. The time allotted takes into account that your baby is going to change and what you're really developing are the skills to be able to respond and support your child through those challenges which lead to longer naps, better overnights and thankfully a rested and happy mama. I am so thankful.
Kate
(John's mom)
