Sleep and routine
How much sleep babies and pre-schoolers need according to the WHO, and how to gently build a predictable routine that makes it easier for your child to fall asleep.
a healthy child without panic: a reference for parents
A healthy child without panic: a calm reference for parents
Much of a child's health is built from ordinary everyday things: how much they sleep, how much they move, whether they go to routine check-ups on time and how safely the home is set up. Zdravdeti covers all this without alarming headlines or scare stories. We rely on WHO guidelines and on documents of the Russian Ministry of Health; we do not make diagnoses or recommend medicines. Anything about your own child is a conversation for your paediatrician, and if a life is in danger, call emergency services: 112 or 103 in Russia, 112 across the EU, or your national emergency number.
A calm parent notices more. A steady routine, time outdoors and questions for the paediatrician written down in advance help far more than reading forums late at night.
Four pillars of healthy everyday life
Movement and outdoor play
Why active play every day matters from the very first years, how much movement the WHO advises for pre-schoolers and school-age children, and how to find time for it.
Check-ups and vaccinations
Routine check-ups follow an official programme and vaccinations follow the national schedule. Here are questions to discuss with your paediatrician so the visit goes calmly.
When to call the doctor
Warning signs in general terms: when a call to your paediatrician is enough, and when you should not wait but call emergency services straight away.
Reference sections
- Topics
A map of topics: sleep and routine, movement, routine check-ups and vaccinations, home safety. The article catalogue is here too.
- Prevention
How to settle your child's daily routine in two weeks: steps, illustrative examples, common mistakes and a sleep-by-age table.
- Methods
General approaches to sleep, outdoor play and a safe home, plus when to call your paediatrician and when to call emergency services.
- Research
Where advice for parents comes from and how to calmly check a news story or a tip about children's health.
- Questions
Questions worth writing down and asking your paediatrician at a routine check-up: about vaccinations, sleep and development.
- Glossary
Plain-language explanations of words you hear from the paediatrician and read in guidelines: check-ups, vaccinations, sleep, research.
- Sources
Which documents this reference relies on, how we select information and where the limits of the text lie.
A week of calm routine: five steps
Note when your child falls asleep and wakes up
For several days in a row, jot down bedtime, night wakings and naps in a notebook or on your phone. Don't change anything yet: just observe how things work right now.
Compare your notes with the WHO range for their age
Add up night-time sleep and naps and compare the total with the guide for your child's age in the table in the Prevention section. A small difference is not a cause for worry, just a hint about where to look.
Add outdoor time and active play
Pick a time when you can realistically get outside and make the walk a fixed part of the day. In bad weather, active games at home work too: tag, dancing to music, an obstacle course made of cushions.
Move dangerous things out of reach
Walk through your home at your child's eye level. Put household chemicals and any medicines somewhere they cannot reach, check windows and sockets, and never leave a little one alone near water.
Write down questions for your paediatrician
Gather everything that made you unsure during the week into a short list. At the next routine visit you can calmly discuss it with a doctor who knows your child, instead of searching for answers online at night.
The essentials in brief
Is this medical advice?
No. Zdravdeti is a general reference. We cannot see your child, we do not assess their condition and we do not answer personal health questions. Discuss anything to do with your child's wellbeing, development and treatment with your paediatrician.
Are you a charity? Do you collect money?
No. We are not a foundation or a charity, we do not ask for help or collect donations, and there are no payment details on this site. If someone asks you to send money on behalf of this reference, it is not us.
Which vaccinations does my child need, and when?
In Russia, the list and timing are set by the national vaccination schedule approved by an order of the Russian Ministry of Health; other countries have their own national schedules. We do not summarise any schedule point by point: your paediatrician will advise what suits your child and when, and is the right person for all your questions about vaccinations.
When should I call 112?
When there is a threat to life: your child does not respond to you, is struggling to breathe, or has changed so suddenly and severely that you are frightened for them. At such a moment don't look for answers online: call 112 or 103 in Russia (112 also works across the EU, other countries have their own numbers) and follow the dispatcher's instructions.
About the project
This domain was previously used by the website of a charitable organisation working in children's healthcare. Its materials have not been preserved and we do not reproduce them. The current reference is not connected with that organisation, is not a foundation, does not collect donations and does not speak on its behalf; the name came to us together with the domain.
Zdravdeti writes for parents who want to worry less and understand more. Our specific figures come from WHO guidelines on sleep and physical activity and from orders of the Russian Ministry of Health on the national vaccination schedule and on preventive check-ups for children. Outside Russia, readers should follow their own national health service and paediatrician. Everything else we describe in general terms, and whenever in doubt we refer you to a paediatrician.
Read next
- Topics
A map of topics: sleep and routine, movement, routine check-ups and vaccinations, home safety. The article catalogue is here too.
- Prevention
How to settle your child's daily routine in two weeks: steps, illustrative examples, common mistakes and a sleep-by-age table.
- Questions
Questions worth writing down and asking your paediatrician at a routine check-up: about vaccinations, sleep and development.
Sources
- World Health Organization: 2019 guidelines
- World Health Organization: 2020 guidelines
- Russian Ministry of Health Order No. 1122n of 6 December 2021
- Russian Ministry of Health Order No. 514n of 10 August 2017
Information checked as of the date of preparation. WHO guidelines, the Russian national vaccination schedule and the rules for children's check-ups are updated from time to time, and other countries have their own schedules and programmes, so check the details for your child with your paediatrician.