That 6-7 hours sleep is not enough for a 3 year old??

[Buttercupmoon]

I realise this is none of my business but a neighbour has mentioned that his DC sleeps for 6-7 hours a night from midnight to 6am (45 min nap). DC appears to be in good spirits and doesn't appear to crash or say they are tired. I have never heard of this little sleep in a preschooler before. Is this normal for some kids? Neighbour seemed to imply my DC and I slept too much and went on to talk about people like Elon Musk who sleep for 3 hours a day. AIBU to think this is not a healthy amount or are some kids like this?

My Ds is 3, he’s never ever been a long sleeper. Even at newborn was probably max 9-10 hours spread out into short naps and frequent wakings.

He usually now goes to bed at 8.30/9pm ( but often isn’t asleep until 9.30pm). Wakes 2-3 times overnight. Then is up for the day around 6am. No naps. So maybe 8.5hrs with 2-3 wakes ( so 7.5hr actual sleep)

DS (who is now an adult) was like this. I wasted so much time and energy trying to get him to sleep early, only to eventually give up and accept it. All through his life now his average is 6 hrs per night. I couldn’t function on that but I guess some people are just like that.

Elon Musk, if I have read correctly, is autistic. Is your next-door neighbor or his child autistic or do they have ADHD? Both can interfere with regular sleep patterns.

A 3 year-old needs 10-13 hours sleep a day. An adult needs around 7-9. These are averages, but darn good ones.

What is very, very clear is that we live in a sleep-deprived society and there is a certain amount of pride people have in existing on less.

@Bibittybobittyboop - it’s not pride. I’m an adult and I need around 9-10 hrs sleep. But I can’t exactly sleep whilst my toddler is wide awake can I? So if he’s awake, I’m awake

Yanbu.

Also, who the hell wants their three year old awake until midnight....

Doesn’t sound like enough to me, but then I think some people do require less sleep than the average.

To the poster who mentioned autism. I am pretty sure this neighbor is on the spectrum but can't see any traits in the child. Child seems very interactive with others.

my youngest is like this no matter what I do she just does not need sleep. I put her to bed earlier and she wakes during the early hours. She was born this way. We do a bedtime routine and she is always in bed by half 7 but will lay awake. She never sleeps late in the morning and never has. I’d put her to bed later but I need my evenings alone as she is very active during the day. She never napped as a baby either.
She is actually a brilliant sportsman and physically advanced for her age so I think it’s just who she is.

Are they British op? Or from a different culture? I've noticed that British people tend to put their kids to bed a lot earlier than people from some other countries

BF has chronic insomnia and, acording to his parents, has never slept more than 4 hours a night (and split up into chunks). Must have been a right fucker! 45 years he's slept like this with no sign of it stopping. I've watched him desperately shovelling in a weeks woth of temazepam in a bid to sleep (over 300mg), have a 30 min nap and ping wide awake again for another few days. He's given up all sleeping pills/melatonin/prescription benzos now because they just don't work after the first use. Some people just don't sleep, seemingly. He can do a couple of days without even feeling tired and carrying on as normal; only seems affected after 3/4 days of 0 hours sleep (makes him ill and shakey after that though).

I assume the neighbour's kid is similar! I thought DS was bad with a 5am start for the last decade... I feel blessed with only the early starts.

Every child is different, some need much more sleep others hardly anything, some children only need 2 hrs often those with parents with insomnia or ADHD or ASD, or just like Maggy Thatcher they don’t need the sleep.

That's a really late bed time and seems far too little sleep to me. My toddler has always been a bit on the lower end of sleep needs but still does 11-12 hours at nicht with no naps (occasionally 13 when we've been out doing loads that day), and it's been like this since we was around 2.

My now 12yo sleeps for 5 hours 20 every night. Has done since he was 2.

Its not standard normal, but it’s his normal.

Some people just need less sleep than average.

My youngest has adhd and autism and since toddler age has never been asleep before 11pm, unless ill. He's never tired either. I tried for years to get him to go to sleep earlier. Nothing worked.

Now he's a teen he does sleep in at weekends, but has no problem getting up early for college.

My 8 year old gets minimum 10 hours a night. I think 6 hours is far too short for a 3 year old.

Every child/adult require different amounts of sleep. No one’s amount of sleep is wrong its what that individual needs.

My son never slept as a baby or a preschooler. The most he would sleep was 2 hours at a time. Some nights he would sleep 3 lots of 2 hours (6 in total) and that’s it and would do a full day of activities without naps. He was never miserable and very energetic, it was his normal.