Parents may worry if their child is having a hard time falling
asleep; however, it may be a problem that is fixed simply by
adjusting bedtime. For instance, parents may set a bedtime that
allows for 12 hours of sleep for a 7 to 8 eight year old child,
who only needs 10 to 11 hours of nightly sleep. Pushing bedtime
back by an hour may eliminate the child’s inability to fall
asleep. According to the - Infants (3 to 11 months): 14 to 15
hours - Toddlers: 12 to 14 hours - Preschoolers: 11 to 13 hours
- School-age children: 10 to 11 hours Older children often
develop a problematic sleep pattern called delayed sleep phase
disorder. By waking late on weekends relative to weekdays, they
shift their body clocks late and then have trouble with sleep
onset on Sunday to Thursday nights. They may lie in bed and
worry about their ability to fall asleep, which compounds the
problem for them. This latter difficulty is often termed
psychophysiological insomnia and is a common cause of adulthood
insomnia as well. Insomnia symp