diff --git a/src/core/tests/test-core-with-expect.c b/src/core/tests/test-core-with-expect.c
index 680843fc74..da8659b2c1 100644
--- a/src/core/tests/test-core-with-expect.c
+++ b/src/core/tests/test-core-with-expect.c
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ do_test_nm_utils_kill_child(void)
     char          *argv_watchdog[] = {
         "bash",
         "-c",
-        "sleep 4; "
+        "sleep 15; "
                  "kill -KILL 0; #watchdog for #" TEST_TOKEN,
         NULL,
     };