My 4-Year-Old Son Doesn't Sleep Much, Should I Be Worried?

by Elizabeth
(Florida)

Hi! I have a wild, fun-loving 4 and 1/2 year old boy. He went to preschool/daycare two days a week for the last year and just started VPK in August. He attends 3 days a week for 3 hours and two days a week for 6 hours.

My husband and I started a sleeping routine with him when he was about a year old. We started putting him down at 9 PM and he's always been good about staying in bed through the night. There are the occasional nights he'll come wake us up because he's thirsty or something, but for the most part he is good about going to bed and staying there.

However, he will lay in bed for hours before falling asleep. Sometimes it will be 1 AM before he actually falls asleep. I can hear him talking to himself! Even though he falls asleep late, he never sleeps long. Some mornings he wakes up at 4 AM and he is wide-eyed and ready to start the day. He averages about 6 hours of sleep per night.

I'm worried about what this lack of sleep may be doing to him. He doesn't take naps during the day and he never acts cranky or tired.

Bed time rituals have been the same since we started doing them at a year old. There are times when we are out and get home later than normal, but for the most part we have a pretty strict routine.

I myself have never been a good sleeper. I may go a couple weeks sleeping great and then go a couple weeks averaging 3 hours a night. I remember missing a lot of school as a kid because I was so darn tired and would fake sick. I also can't nap during the day unless I'm really sick. I just can't.

I'm just worried that maybe he has the same sleeping issues I have had all my life. I remember my parents taking me to the doctor when I was 7, 10, and 14 years old. They would plead with them to do something but the doctors always said I was too young to have sleeping issues. So I'm sort of scared to take my son to the doctor and spend money for them to tell me the same exact thing about my son.

His very little sleep is hurting me, too. I normally can't get to sleep until 1 AM or so and then he's walking in my bedroom between 4 and 6 AM telling me it's time to wake up. Haha! Would it really be worth it to see a doctor or specialist or have I just been blessed with a kid who doesn't need much sleep?