- As a mom and pediatrician, I know that your child's sleep is so important not only for their wellbeing and development, but also for your sanity. We all know how horrible we feel if we haven't gotten a good night's sleep, so how much sleep does your child actually need? Well, it depends on their age. Newborns seem to sleep all of the time. Their sleep schedule is very erratic. Overall they tend to sleep between 15 to 18 hours in a 24-hour period. When your child is four to six months of age, their sleep schedule will likely become a little bit more structured. They'll often sleep 11 to 12 hours at night and two to three hours during the day. Their daytime sleep will get divided between two to three naps. This stays until your child gets a little bit older. When your child is 18 months of age they oftentimes will just be sleeping once during the day, but will still need the 11 to 12 hours at night. Until your child is five years old your child does need 11 to 12 hours of sleep at night. After five years of age until your child is 12, they typically need 10 to 11 hours of sleep.