Should my 19 month old only be taking one nap a day?

Laura - posted on 05/17/2010

Every child is different! Shouldn't is an awefully big word. Both of my kids took two naps a day until almost 2 yrs old and still went to bed by 9pm. But a 10 oclock bed time is pretty late for you and your husband to get any time together let alone get your house back in order from the evenings activities.

Try one nap a day, if you have a grumpy toddler when you try this for a few days. Back up to two naps again, but try limiting the time to 60-90 minutes and wake them up.

Lea - posted on 05/17/2010

Definately switch to one nap. My son was ready to have one long afternoon nap starting at 11 months.

Alicia - posted on 05/17/2010

I would go with only 1 nap a day, early afternoon. My daughter is 22 mths, she wakes up at 8 am, naps around 1 then goes to bed at 8pm. Make sure the nap ends at least 3 hours before bedtime or else they might not want to go to bed at night.

Nicole - posted on 05/17/2010

I did the one nap starting at 11 when we first started doing one nap and then slowly pushed it to after lunch.

Alina - posted on 05/17/2010

Both of our children did the same thing around 18 months. I think they just have an internal sense. I don't see anything wrong with it, and they go to bed at 8:30 and never seem tired.

Kailey - posted on 05/17/2010

I have a 6 month 11 day old.... I let him set his own schedual and he did a FANTASTIC job... every day he takes 4 30 minute naps hen he ios ready for them... usually like clock work 9, 11, 1, 3, He wants to be put down for bed (with a full tummy) in between 830 and 9 (in less he is feeling bad, then it is earlier) and he wakes up at 12 and 4 for bottles and rocking... he wakes up for breakfast around 5:45 which is great for us because I can prepare his fathers breakfast and he can tell us both bye for the day... Him creating his own schedual worked for our family... on the other hand my two year old step son is impossible to set a schedual with... he lives 50/50 between our house and his mothers grand parents house and there isnt any consistancy... anyway i hope you find what works best for your family! good luck...

Laura - posted on 05/16/2010

both my boys go down for nap from around 1 to 3 sometimes later.. theyre 2 1/2 and 1 1/2.. sleep in the same room so they play for a while b4 they go to sleep.. i guess they would usually be quiet around 130 and sleep till 3 330 depends on the day and activities, its a good break up for the day bc after nap is snack, activ, dinner, bath,bed usually by 730.. if they dont nap God help us lol at least it guarantees and earlier bedtime lol personally im not a fan of them being up past 8 bc i need my time b4 i go to bed

Christina - posted on 05/16/2010

my son stopped taking two naps at around 15 months an now takes one that last 2-3 hours after lunch and goes to bed 8:30 or so and sleeps til 8am... but all kids are different

Kim - posted on 05/16/2010

By 2 my 3 kids all stopped napping daily. I'm surprised your son still takes 2, but all kids are different.

Lillie - posted on 05/16/2010

My children took after lunch naps and slept through the night most of the time.One nap means earlier bedtime, as you have seen for yourself, so he his sleeping pattern is better with one nap then do it that way girl. That means more mommy and daddy time.

Bethany - posted on 05/16/2010

If he's happy and alert and his night time bed routine isn't affected, go with whatever feels right that day.

On a normal stay at home day, about 2 - 3 hours after getting up, Charlotte (15mths) will have an hour or so, then if we're home all day and she's outside mid to late afternoon, she'll go through to bed time fine.

If I'm out and about all day, she'll have 2 or 3 naps in the car or pram without affecting her night sleep.

She'll only have an afternoon sleep usually if she's in the pram or car these days. It's not the same every day, but usually adds up to about the same total.

Cristina - posted on 05/15/2010

Yes, in my opinion, is better for them, one nap, my son takes a nap at around 1:30 til 3 later than 3 he's going to be up til the wee hours, so I try to keep it til that time and by 9:pm or earlier he's out, and sleeps until 8:am or so, I feel he gets enough rest that way.

Katie - posted on 05/15/2010

Thanks for your comments and suggestions! This is our first child and with being a stay at home mom it is hard to find things for us to do of a morning that is why I was resorting to a morning nap still. I don't mind his bed time now of between 9 and 930 because on the days my husband does work he doesn't get home til 830 and that is the time we start to shut our house down to have our 2 hours of adult time. We found some more parks to try out and I guess I need to hit a craft store for us to have morning things to do.

Diana - posted on 05/15/2010

Both of my boys shifted to one nap at around 1 year old. Taking two naps was too much sleep during the day, and they were prone to being up most of the night. They reach a point where too much sleep during the day causes big problems at night. I would move him down to one a.s.a.p.

Casey - posted on 05/15/2010

Naps are wonerful! Especially for young children. My 3 year old takes naps pretty much everyday (at least 5 days out of the week). She sleeps anywhere from 1.5 hours -2 hours. While my son is at school, I put her down at about 1 or 1:30. I forget when I stopped the 2 naps a day, but that went on for a bit. Anyway, one thing I would suggest is never to let your baby sleep later than 3-330ish and that way he/she is ready for bed at a decent hour. My 3 year old is in be no later than 8. We start the process about 730 brushing her teeth and hair, pottying and changing her clothes.



My 6 year old takes a nap once a week. Usually on Saturday he will take an hour nap. It is usually well needed after a long week of school. Sundays he will usually just relax for an hour, and that could include cards, game, puzzles or books with mom or dad.



It all depends on you. We shut our house down at 8pm. That is early for most people, but, we started this when my oldest was a baby and just kept going with it. My children know they take naps and when they go to bed. It is a routine.



One thing more (I know, I get long winded-ha),it is not too late to switch up your childs routine. It is up to you and your hubby on what you want to do. Think long term. My husband and I use the hour between 8-9 to hang out and chat or other activities. wink! wink! Or just go to bed - that is usually what happens. ha!



I hope my rambles helped.



Cheers!

Joanne - posted on 05/15/2010

my son started on only 1 nap at around 15 months. he was a little cranky for what seemed like a couple of weeks but with 2 naps he wouldn't sleep at night. he now goes down for a nap anywhere between 11am and 1pm for about 2hrs and then is asleep again for the night by 7.30pm, 8 at the latest. my son is now 18 months old.

our routine is bottle at waking - normally around 7.30am - breakfast at 9, dependant on naptime lunch is either after the nap if he goes down at 11 or we have lunch at 12 if he is still awake. i normally give him a warm milk milo before his nap.

initially on some days your child may still need two naps (some days i think i do too!) and some days only one but he will let you know. follow his lead and good luck!

Nikki - posted on 05/15/2010

I agree with Sara, follow his cues, put him down when he gets tired. If he is starting to grow out of his two sleeps then some days he may just need one sleep, other days he might still need two for a while. Good luck

Emma - posted on 05/15/2010

In my opinion, one nap is fine. My son stopped napping just after his first birthday as he refused to go down and was quite happy to stay up until bed time. I think just do whatever you think is best!

Louise - posted on 05/15/2010

My 18 month old daughter has had one lunchtime nap a day since 12 months. She sleeps between 1 and 3pm and then goes to bed at 8pm. I think you have done well to get him to sleep this much in the day. A child under two needs 13 hours sleep in total.

Good Day! - posted on 05/14/2010

Follow his lead. My daughter went to one long nap a day at about 14 months from 11am-2pm. Just within the last month (she's 2 now) her nap time has changed again to 1pm-3pm. These things change as they grow and their needs change. As long as he's not cranky then it's fine.

Jennifer - posted on 05/14/2010

I would do one nap a day. My son always took one 3 hour nap in the afternoon. He was about 9 months old when he stopped taking the morning nap. Try putting your son down right after lunch. If he can take one nap early in the afternoon then perhaps he will also go to bed earlier for you (since he won't be sleeping until 5:00).

Rebecca - posted on 05/14/2010

Try doing only a nap after lunch. that was the rule in my home, even with the kids i babysat. Lunch and then nap. They would all sleep for about 2 hours and would go to sleep fine at night. they should at least get one nap a day until they are 2yrs old and then they usually take themselves off of it. If my son falls asleep in the afternoon while his baby sister is sleeping i'll let him sleep for a bit but i know if i let him sleep too long i pay for it that night lol.

Good luck getting him down to one, you should notice a difference in a week or so with his night sleeping.

Kristin - posted on 05/14/2010

Mine shifted to one longer nap at about 15 months and went to bed at about 8 pm. They also get up anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning.

So, you can probably take him down to the one nap a day. What you want to keep track of is the total number of hours in a 24 hour period that he's getting. Ask your pediatrician about how many hours a child his age should be getting. Then you can adjust from there. He may need less or more. Just pay attention to his mood and behavior.