If you’ve been wondering if your child is ready to give up his or her nap but aren’t sure how to tell, there are some guidelines to follow.
Dr. John La Count, a pediatrician with St. Elizabeth Physicians’ Florence office, tells us that when kids are young, they should be getting around 12 hours of sleep each day, including nighttime sleep and naps during the daytime.
By the time kids are 1 year old, they’re generally taking one to two naps a day, which means they’re sleeping a little less at night to get to that 12-hour mark, La Count said. By age 2 or 3, most kids are taking just one nap in the afternoon, and, by the time they’re 4, most kids have dropped naps completely.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t some kids still taking naps at ages 4 and 5, though.
“Some kids at that age still do better when they take a nap,” La Count said. “Also, even if your child doesn’t typically take a nap at that age, if he or she is acting irritable or tired, a nap could definitely help.”
Also, even if you do away with “nap time,” you can still observe an hour or so of quiet time each day to let young children rest. That helps them conserve energy for activities later in the evening.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is making sure your child doesn’t sleep past 4 o’clock in the afternoon, La Count said. That could disrupt nighttime sleep.
“We try to encourage families to stay on a routine where kids are going to bed at the same time each night and getting up at the same time each morning, as well as always, in general, sleeping in the same location,” La Count said. That goes for naps, too.
