I was wondering how many naps a 14 month old take in a day and how long should they be?

Amy - posted on 03/24/2010

My daughter is almost 14 months old & she naps around 30 minutes in the morning (around 11) then again for about an hour in the afternoon (around 2:30). She is always on the go & hates to sleep! She is usually tired again before bed time, but I try to keep her occupied (sometimes with a play bath) until 8:30 when I put her down for the night. Now, if you can tell me how to get her to sleep through the night you'd be a life saver! :)

Lin - posted on 03/24/2010

my daughter when the same age was exactly the same. it was awful. i decided to wake her up earlier in the mornings around 7am then by 10am shed want a nap but i started cutting the amount of time she slept in the morning from 2and half hours to just 1hr. then by one o clock she be tired again and id only let her sleep the other hour. so id wake her up at 2pm. by between 7 and 8pm shed be ready for bed for the night having not have slept since 5 or 6 hrs ago giving her plenty of time to get her self tired for the night sleep. the first two days i tried this she wasnt happy with me at all cause i woke her up after an hour rather than let her wake up herself. she was in bad form and cranky but thats expected as your changing her body clock. after two days she got use to the new routine. two months later she decided she didnt want her morning nap anymore she has herself decided she is tired at around 12noon every day so i let her sleep for as long as she wants but no longer than 1 and a half hours maybe mostly 2hrs depending if weve had a buisy day or not. either way it still gives her enough time to use up her energy to go to bed at a reasonable time being between half 7 8oclock. if you want your child to go to bed earlier than this then the only way to do it is to start your morning earlier. hope this helps. my health nurse suggested this to me and it work for me hope it does for you too. good luck

Myra - posted on 03/24/2010

Look at your child for what he needs. At 14 months my daughter was taking 2 naps a day...she's almost 22 months and still occaisionally takes 2 naps. A good rule of thumb is to not let them sleep but about 2 hours at naps. You may only want to put him down for 30 minutes or so for the later nap, though. Just enough so he can recharge his batteries, but not long enough to make him not want to sleep at night. You may also try putting him down for a nap about 2-3 hours after he wakes in the morning. My daughter does really well taking her nap then. We run on a 2nd shift schedule at our house, but she wakes up around noon, takes her nap around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, wakes around 4 or 5 (depends on when she laid down), and goes to bed between 11 and midnight. She was doing the same thing when she took two naps, except she would take a nap around 7pm for an hour or so and she'd go to bed around 1am. She picked this schedule of sleep and wake. It works great in our house, though because we stay up late and sleep late. Until my husband lost his job, he was working 2nd and 3rd shifts, so it was great since she doesn't wake up at the crack of dawn.

To help him be ready for bed at night, you may want to make bedtime a little later...say 30 minutes later or so, and see how he does. If he still is having problems going to bed move it back another half hour (an hour later than he's going to bed now). It may also be a good idea to get a good relaxing bedtime routine going. A lot of parents drop the bedtime routine or change it around 12mo old, but it's still very important to most kids. They think that by doing that, it will show their child how to be a big boy or big girl. Personally, I relish in doing the routine with my daughter. It is the only time of day when I can really spend some quiet time with her, and she is calm and seems to also enjoy me in a loving capacity. Don't get me wrong, she's a wonderful child, but she is so active and moves so much, we don't get that close contact like before she could walk. I miss that, so the bedtime routine is as much for me as it is for her. We sit in her rocking chair, read Goodnight Moon, she drinks her milk, and I just hold her. She doesn't fit in my lap too well since she's 3ft tall and almost 30lbs, but, we will continue to do it until she doesn't want to.

[deleted account]

2 naps a day for most @that age, if he is up like 7-8 a.m. put him down 4 a nap at like 10-11a.m then around 2-3p.m then should be good to go-consistancey is the trick!

Jennifer - posted on 03/24/2010

try to keep him up longer in the morning. I know sometimes this seems impossible, because they get so grouchy, but trust me, it will help. Every child is different, but if he is having trouble going to sleep at night, then he is getting too much sleep during the day. Just don't try to do it all at once. Try keeping him up for an extra 1/2 hr to hr in the morning, then when he gets used to that, extend the time to 1-1/2 hrs. to 2 til he is not taking his morning nap any more. I have always found with my kids, that right after luch is the best time for naps, because their bellies are full, and they tend to get a good 1-1/2 to 2 hr nap and then they are good til bed time.

Jessica - posted on 03/24/2010

my kids take a nap 2x a day well my youngest does and if his routine or lil body and mind say 2 then thats what he needs I would try to lay him down earlier for his first nap of the day and then when its time for his second it wont be so late. You may have to start your day earlier and this might suck for you but remember there are 2 naps so take one with him and then take the second one for whatever you didnt do on the first.