Colleen Barber of Philadelphia, Pa., says her twin boys, Evan and Ian, have been early risers from the moment they were born at 2:38 a.m. and 3:08 a.m., respectively. Since then, she and her husband have been struggling to adjust what seems to be the boys' natural tendency to wake up before 6 a.m. Barber, who calls sleep "that big prize at the end of a 14-hour day with two toddlers," says she's constantly had to tweak their schedule to keep the boys in bed until a reasonable hour.

"From 12 months until their second birthday things were pretty consistent," Barber says. "They could expect dinner, bath, snack, playtime and then bed every night with no exceptions. It was hard to do things outside the home like parties and the like, but any change in the routine would for sure mean I would pay for it the next day or two. Their bedtime was pushed up to 8 p.m. sometime after their second birthday because they again started to wake by 6 a.m. I now can expect them to sleep until 6:30 a.m., which works well with having a school-aged child at home. I am able to have them taken care of and still get that cup of coffee in before the school day starts."

Any discussion of sleep needs to be taken in the context of the child's general sleep habits, and not just what time they wake up, says Dr. Cathryn Tobin, a pediatrician and author of The Lull-A-Baby Sleep Plan: The Soothing, Superfast Way to Help Your New Baby Sleep Through the Night ... and Prevent Sleep Problems Before They Develop (Rodale, 2006). In addition, parents need to be aware of what their baby or toddler is capable of at his life stage.

The following chart is an example of sleep expectations, although Dr. Tobin cautions that it's only a generalization, and each child will differ based on his or her own sleep needs:

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