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Understanding Your Child's
Napping Needs
by Rachel Steinberg, Child-Works LLC
Figuring
out naps for children can be far more confusing for parents than
establishing healthy night sleep. It takes babies longer to
“settle” into consistent, adequate length naps than it does to sleep
through the night. Regular napping is even more difficult to
establish for babies who have a history of colic or very fussy
temperament as a newborn.
Naptime is equally as important as night sleep. Different naps
provide different “nourishment” to the child. During the
morning nap, babies have more REM sleep (this is the stage connected
with dreaming). REM sleep is associated with brain maturation and
growth. The afternoon nap is linked with NonREM sleep, which is a
deeper stage of sleep, and associated with psychological and physical
restoration.
So how do parents know how often
their child should be napping, for how long and how often those
requirements change? Below are some guidelines to help you along
the way. Hopefully by knowing these sleep requirements and
patterns, you will be able to read your child’s sleep clues and help
him get the rest he needs for healthy maturation and development.
Birth to Four Months:
Newborns sleep a lot. At this age the child is establishing good
circadian rhythms. The baby begins to associate external cues
with sleep. These outward signals include light versus dark,
noise versus quite, and eye contact/play versus non-playtime. It
is important to learn your child’s signs for being tired, i.e.,
yawning, rubbing eyes, and use these signs as a guide for when to put
your child to sleep. The idea is to put your baby to sleep before the
first signs of being tired appear. Until about six to eight
months of age, a baby should not be awake for more than two hours at a
time. Some babies are ready for sleep after only being awake for
an hour or so; it is critical to learn your baby’s “comfortable” awake
time and put your child to sleep accordingly.
Four to Six Months: During
this time a baby’s sleep will become organized and more adult
like. The child’s body rhythms are in sync with his/her
sleep/wake cycles. By this age babies are taking three naps
during the day. The final nap is usually very brief. The
amount of time the child is awake between naps will vary, but should
not be more than about two hours. The optimal time for a baby to
go to sleep is just before the outward signs of tiredness appear.
This is the ideal time to set up healthy sleep habits for your
child.
Seven to Sixteen Months:
At this age the child is taking a morning and afternoon nap. The
baby can increasingly stay awake longer as they grow older.
Typically, a child will take a morning nap three hours after wake up
time and an afternoon nap following lunchtime. The baby will now
be able to remain awake for the entire late afternoon stretch until
bedtime. An earlier bedtime may be necessary, at least
temporarily, once the third nap is dropped.
Sixteen Months to Three Years:
Sometime during the first year, usually around 16 to 18 months, babies
will drop to one afternoon nap. Typically the child will be able
to stay awake longer and longer in the morning, pushing the morning nap
later and consequently the afternoon nap later. The morning nap
will become increasing longer as well as occurring later in the
day. At first the nap will occur in the middle of the day to
strike a balance between what use to be the morning and afternoon
nap. Slowly the nap will move until after lunchtime (about
1:00pm) where it will remain until the preschool years.
Three to Six Years:
During this time the young child will drop the afternoon nap. How
this nap is dropped varies among children. Some will take shorter
and shorter naps while others will drop down to napping a few times per
week. Parents need to follow the child’s lead. This is not to say that once your child announces they no longer want to nap it is time to end napping.
Let your child’s behavior be your guide. If s/he is no longer
able to fall asleep at an appropriate bedtime at night, then you should
begin considering altering the nap schedule. You can either try
to wake your child earlier from his/her nap or drop napping to every
other day. Watch your child’s behavior for signs of
overtiredness. Arrange a nap schedule that minimizes your child
feeling overtired.
When it comes to creating healthy sleep habits the most useful
guideline is your child’s behavior. Continually monitor your
child for signs of being overtired. Children’s sleep needs vary
and change as they grow. Starting at four months of age it is
critical to have children nap in a crib or bed. Motion sleeping
(like in a stroller, car seat, swing or arms) will not allow the child
to cycle through deeper phases of sleep and the nap proves to be less
beneficial in its restorative quality. Also, many parents tend to
underestimate how much sleep their child requires to be able to
function well. Learning your child’s signals will steer you in
the right direction for providing a healthy sleep schedule.
Rachel Steinberg founded Child-Works, LLC., which provides parents with
research based information on children’s sleep and other parenting
issues. Child-Works believes in understanding the unique dynamics
of each family. Through this individualized approach, Rachel has
helped countless parents and their children achieve a better nights
sleep. For more information please visit www.child-works.com
or call 720.289.6308.
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