Why do babies stop napping

That said — try telling that to your baby! This is hands-down the most common reason why your baby is fighting sleep. It sounds odd, I know, but babies really can become too tired to fall asleep easily. This is less common, but still a reality in some cases — especially for toddlers. If your baby is fighting sleep, rewind and think about how much wake time your child has had.

While younger babies definitely need short wake times throughout the day, most toddlers are capable of much longer wake time. Prime your baby for better nap sleep by ensuring that the napping area is nice and dim, and that you are blocking out any ambient noise that may wake your baby.

Blackout blinds and white noise machines can really help to create a great napping environment. You may find that your child fights the last nap of the day which can in turn affect other naps over the next several days. If you think your child may be ready to transition to fewer naps, check out this article about dealing with common nap transitions. Once you know the cause, utilize the following tips:. At this time, we are no longer accepting or answering blog comments.

Sleep needs are high over the first year of life, but as that shuteye becomes more consolidated to nighttime hours, napping gradually decreases from six to seven times a day to just two—typically one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

By 18 months, the morning snooze is the next to go. The afternoon nap is the last to ditch, although the exact age when this happens can differ greatly. According to a study by Marc Weissbluth, pediatric sleep specialist and author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child , 60 percent of four-year-olds continue to nap.

A year later at age 5, only 1 in 3 are napping, and only 1 in 10 by age 6. Recommendations by Age. The process can take weeks or even months in some cases. It usually starts with the afternoon snooze gradually becoming shorter and more infrequent. As you are shifting schedules, it will be important to develop a new routine. On the days your child still sleeps in the afternoon, make sure there is enough space between waking up and bedtime to prevent what I call bouncing toddler syndrome when your tiny tot bounces back out of bed over and over again.

DO NOT allow your toddler to know that bedtime is earlier. Instead, plan some outdoor activities to keep them alert and engaged. Unfortunately, trying to drop naptime before your little one is ready can be a frustrating experience for everyone—think toddler tantrums, falling asleep at the dinner table delaying bedtime , and worse nighttime sleep. When your child is showing signs of readiness, you can gradually wean them off of their final nap.

This starts with dropping one afternoon siesta at a time. If your toddler can handle one day a week without it, try dropping a second day but not two consecutive days yet.

As you eliminate napping, your child should start sleeping longer at night. Toddlers need between 11 and 14 hours of sleep, while preschoolers need 10 to 13 hours of sleep 9 per hour period. Once they're no longer napping, you'll have to move their bedtime earlier so they don't go short on sleep. Keeping a consistent bedtime routine and being proactive about sleep hygiene 10 can help your toddler adjust to their new schedule.

The end of naptime is a sad day for many parents, but it marks an exciting step on the way to becoming a big kid. Creating a comfy, cozy sleep spot for your newborn is important, but so is putting your baby to sleep carefully. Certain types of bedding can raise the risk of Sudden…. Babies are asleep for more than half of their first year of life. This time spent sleeping allows an infant's brain and nervous system to develop, preparing them for the years to come.

We cover how much sleep your baby needs to promote healthy growth, why sleep is so crucial for infants and toddlers, and answers to the most frequently asked questions about infant sleep habits. Sometimes it is just trial and error to work out if dropping a nap is the thing that your child needs at that time.

Even just a 10 minute power nap is enough to stave off any residual overtiredness to get your baby through to bedtime. Somewhere between months your baby will go from 3 naps to 2. This transition to 2 naps depends on your baby having consolidated their napping so that they are doing at least one good long nap over 45 minutes as well as one shorter nap during the day.

We would recommend that the longest nap be in the middle of the day rather than the morning, as a shorter lunchtime nap can cause your little one to become overtired at bedtime and affect their nighttime sleep. Dropping down to one nap is slightly harder and longer than 3 to 2 transition.

The aim here is to alter the morning nap until it finally fades away. NOTE: There can be a " sleep regression " closer to 15 months, which is mainly caused if your toddler is still having two day sleeps. This regression will mean your toddler starts resisting bedtime in the evening, resisting their second nap, waking again overnight or waking early in the morning. If this is the case with your toddler, it is definitely time to drop to one nap and aim for a good restorative sleep across the middle of the day rather than 2 fragmented naps.

This is the trickiest transition of them all! If your toddler is resisting bedtime or is difficult to settle for their nap or waking early in the morning, it is time to start getting rid of the nap.

You might even reduce the nap so it happens every second day. Once you've dropped the nap altogether you might need to introduce a slightly earlier bedtime until your toddler adjusts and to avoid too much overtiredness by the end of the day. This is way too early for your little one to drop their naps altogether.