admin As babies get older, their sleeping and napping routine change. This might cause some concern to parents. A child who was a good napper, might suddenly start refusing to nap. Taking a nap is very important for young children, not only not to get overtired but also for their growth.
As parents, we all have been there. Our child refuses to nap during the day, and then by early evening is cranky.
Each child is different, but there are guidelines as to how much a child should nap. You can find the guidelines by clicking on this link: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/naps.html
Infants can sleep between 14 to 18 hours per day, however as you all know, these hours are not at one stretch. An infant would wake up every 2 to 3 hours to feed, without distinguishing between night time and daytime. This sleeping pattern makes sleep deprivation for new mothers a trade mark.
My son was never a big napper, and when still a baby his naps were far and in between and generally no longer than 45min, on a good day. On rare occasions he would nap two or three times during the day. At night time he slept for 2hrs and woke up for a feed.
As he grew older, he started sleeping for longer periods during the night. As far as naps are concerned, just until before he started school he rarely took a nap for longer than 1hr (once a day). Now that he is 3 1/2 years old, his naps have become longer.
On days he has school, he would take a nap later in the afternoon, which is the worst kind of nap, as it is too close to bedtime. I don’t know about your children, but when my son is trying to take a nap:
- It is very difficult to keep him awake…once he wants to sleep that’s it;
- If his nap is prolonging more than it should, I have to be careful how to wake him up, because otherwise would have to spend the next hour absorbing crying, whining and moaning.
Nowadays, on those days when he naps I am happy because it is during that time that I get most things done. I know that when he naps late afternoon, it would be a long night.
My daughter, who is now 9years old, always had regular naps. Nowadays she does no longer nap. Occasionally she does take a nap though.
Love
Strugglingmum xxx
