How are your child's sleeping patterns? Are they getting enough sleep? According to the experts, if they don't it could be a warning, you could end up with more than just a cranky kid.

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The amount of sleep needed varies for each child. Sleep specialist Dr. Roger Green says, just take a look.

"Often you look them in the face and some kids just look tired or some kids are not getting sleep and grumpy, irritable and doing poorly in school," Green said.

Tricks to get them to sleep, night light, good or bad?

"For some kids, a night light for kids causes a lot of problems. I think if that kids get used to the dark all night, every night from when they are little they are less likely to run into problems later on in life," said Green.

How about a sound machine or maybe a radio?

"Usually the sound machine works better. The problem with radio, a commercial comes on and sudden the volume goes up or the pace changes. So sound machines and fans tend work better than radio, both of them work better then television," Green said.

When it comes to determining what works for your child the experts say forget the books, forget what works for the neighbors. Simply get to know your kid.

Like all parenting, it is trial and error. You see what works for your kid. For many kids it praying or reading a book together or taking a bath and you see what works over time. Many parents make the mistake of ignoring their kids sleep schedule and they try to bed too early before they are ready to fall asleep and that is destined to fail."

And what about eating before bed?

"For small babies it's no doubt, babies who get in to the habit of eating before bed are more likely to wake up in the middle of the night hungry, when they are one and two years old. Where babies who get in to the habit of falling asleep not eating before bed are more likely to sleep through the night," said Green.