Nap Schedule for Toddlers

Updated on March 03, 2009
N.D. asks from Newark, OH
11 answers

My 18 month old son is still taking two naps a day. He is a great sleeper at night. He goes to bed at 8pm and usually wakes in the morning at 7am. Just curious about other toddlers napping schedules. My son will usually nap 1 1/2 hours each nap, however, he is starting to not want his afternoon nap and will just play in bed. I have tried giving him only one nap, but he only slept for 1 1/2 hours and was a bear in the evening. My other son was a great napper, but I cannot remember when he went to just one nap. Any suggestions or ideas would be great!! Thanks!

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J.J.

answers from Columbus on

Like some others have said. I would try to see if you could transition to one nap. Push his early one a little later and move up his bedtime as necessary! Good luck!

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M.B.

answers from South Bend on

I have a 20 month old boy and once he gave up his morning nap...his afternoon naps grew longer. He too goes to bed around 8pm and is up by 7am most mornings. I put him down for his afternoon nap around 1pm and he usually sleeps for 3 hours.

Remember, he is getting rest even when he's just playing in his bed. Sometimes we need that extra rest period in the morning and that is what mine does.

Hope that helps!

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M.F.

answers from Dayton on

It's pretty typical for toddlers to cut down to one nap at 18 months... my oldest napped at 9 and 2, when he cut down to one nap, I layed him down at 11:30 and I moved his bedtime up by 1/2 hour for a few weeks until he got adjusted. Right now, my youngest is 16 months and some days he takes two naps and some days one...I adjust his bedtime based on the number of naps that day.

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D.T.

answers from Indianapolis on

My 19 month old sleeps 8pm to 7am and naps everyday from 1:30pm-3:30pm. Sometimes she sleeps until 4pm but I wake her up and don't let her sleep past that. I'd prefer to put her down for her nap earlier but I'm picking up another child from preschool at 1pm. This is pretty much the same schedule all my older kids at this age, too. Oh, she gave up the morning nap around 12 months old, too - just like her older siblings did.

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N.H.

answers from Dayton on

my son quit taking two naps and around 10 months. He takes one afternoon nap from around 2-5, but he usually wakes up before that. I babysit some kids after school and thats why he wakes up. He usually goes to bed between 8-9:30 due to his grandma has two nights out the week and it hard to get him to bed sooner then he gets up between 7-9.

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M.R.

answers from Cincinnati on

We shifted to a one-nap schedule when our son started doing what your son was doing - not wanting to sleep in the afternoon. He did this at 15 months though, and it's totally normal for some kids to do this earlier or later.

Our schedule was nap #1 at 9, nap #2 at 1. To transition, instead of prepping for nap at 9 we would leave the house and do some stimulating activity that would keep his interest. At first, we had to give him lunch earlier and put him down for the nap earlier (11:15 at first) but eventually we aimed for an afternoon nap time of between 12 and 1. During this transition, we also had to put him to bed earlier - whenever he started showing his 'sleep cues', sometimes by 15-30 minutes. Eventually things settled back into a routine where he would nap between 12-1 and for 3 hours, then fall asleep and wake at his typical hours.

My advice is to just notice his sleep cues and adjust times (usually putting them down earlier) while he is transitioning. For us it didn't take long (maybe a week or two), and he did just fine. Good luck to you!

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B.R.

answers from Indianapolis on

Well, my son JUST went down to one nap a day a couple of weeks ago. He just turned 16 months last weekend. He started showing signs that he was ready. He used to be asleep before his head hit the pillow, but then suddenly he wouldn't go down for his morning nap. So I put it off until noon and he's been sleeping from noon to 2 ever since. A book I was reading the other day said that kids usually transition to one nap a day between 15-18 months, whenever they're ready. Eli sleeps at night from 8p-6a, so he's often a grouch after 7p, but we keep him up and alert so that he sleeps better. You'll figure out what works for you. Good luck!!

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P.R.

answers from Indianapolis on

I have one that gave up morning naps at 11 months, one that gave up afternoon naps at 14 months, and one that gave up am naps at 13 months. I would have him "go down for a nap" in the afternoon even if he is just playing. If he isn't crying or fussing and not worry about it. You can't force someone to sleep but quietly playing is a form of rest too.

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D.T.

answers from Muncie on

My daughter likes to make her own schedule. When we first started to sleep through the night she would take two 4 hour naps a day then she changed it to one 4 hour nap. She's 2.5 now and seems to be needing 2 to 3 hours now, only once a day.

You can try moving his one nap later in the day, usually when my daughter is changing things I try the 30 min method. I'll lay her down at the normal time and wait 30 mins, if she's still up, I'll get her up for 15 then tray again for another 30 until she falls asleep, that's her new naptime. The next day I'll keep her up until that time and see if she falls asleep. It turns out she needs at least 6 full hours of awake time before I can even attempt a nap with her.

You can try it, I hope it helps you.

It can't hurt to try.

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M.B.

answers from Dayton on

He sounds like my sons did when they were ready for one nap. One was 17 months and one was probably about 15 months. I would cut out his morning nap and lay him down earlier for his afternoon one - kind of combine the 2. You may luck out and he'll sleep extra long in the afternoon or he may need to go to bed earlier in the evening.

J.F.

answers from Cleveland on

My son is 20 months. He stopped his morning nap around 11-12 months. He does still take an afternoon nap. During the week when my Sister in law watches him he usually goes down around 1:30 or 2:30 and sleeps until about 4. When I am off on the weekends I put him down around 1 and he usually sleeps till 4 or 5.

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