Sleep
Dropping to one nap and giving up naps
The nap transitions are the bumpiest periods in toddler sleep, and rushing or resisting them both cause problems.
Nap transitions are a predictable source of several weeks of disrupted sleep, and knowing what is happening makes them considerably easier to handle.
When they happen
Approximately.
Three naps to two: commonly around six to nine months.
Two naps to one: commonly between twelve and eighteen months, with a wide range.
One nap to none: commonly between two and four years, with some children needing a nap well into the preschool years and others stopping earlier.
These ranges are wide because children genuinely differ, and pushing a transition before a child is ready produces overtiredness that disrupts everything.
The signs of readiness
What to look for before making a change.
Consistently refusing one of the naps over one to two weeks, rather than occasionally.
Taking a very long time to settle for one nap.
The second nap pushing bedtime unacceptably late.
Night sleep deteriorating or early waking developing.
And, crucially, this pattern persisting rather than being a temporary disruption from teething, illness or a developmental leap.
A few refused naps is not a transition.
The awkward in-between period
Which is the part nobody warns about.
During the two-to-one transition, one nap is frequently not quite enough and two is too many.
Children in this phase are commonly fine some days and wrecked on others.
The practical management: alternate, using two naps on days when the child seems to need them and one on others; move the single nap gradually later over weeks, from mid-morning towards early afternoon; and use a much earlier bedtime on one-nap days, which is the single most useful tool during any transition.
Expect the process to take several weeks rather than to happen in a day.
The one-nap pattern
What generally works once established.
A nap starting around the middle of the day, commonly between around eleven thirty and one, lasting one to two hours.
Capping it if it runs so late that bedtime becomes impossible.
Waking a child from a nap is legitimate when the alternative is a bedtime at nine.
And keeping the nap in a consistent place and with a short routine, which helps considerably.
Giving up naps entirely
Where the pattern is different.
Signs: consistently lying awake for a long period at nap time; napping causing bedtime resistance or night waking; and being able to get through the afternoon without significant deterioration.
Signs it is too early: falling asleep in the car or at the table, meltdowns in the late afternoon, and early morning waking developing.
Most children go through a phase of needing a nap on some days and not others.
Quiet time — a period in the room with books and quiet activities, no expectation of sleep — is the standard bridge, and preserves the break for the adult.
And an earlier bedtime on no-nap days is essential rather than optional.
The common mistakes
Worth naming.
Dropping a nap because of a few bad days, which is usually a temporary disruption.
Dropping a nap to improve night sleep, which generally makes it worse through overtiredness.
Keeping two naps long past the point where the second is preventing bedtime.
Letting the single nap start too early once transitioned, leaving too long an afternoon.
And keeping bedtime the same during a transition, when it needs to move earlier.
Naps in childcare
Where the routine may not match home.
Settings frequently have fixed nap times, which may not align with the child's pattern.
Talking to the setting about timing, and about whether a child is being kept awake or woken, is reasonable.
Children commonly nap differently at nursery and at home, which is normal.
And a child who naps at nursery and not at home is usually responding to the environment and the other children rather than being difficult.
Signs to look at more carefully
Where nap difficulty may indicate something else.
A child who suddenly needs far more sleep than before, which warrants medical review.
A child who never seems rested regardless of sleep, particularly with snoring, which raises the question of obstructive sleep apnoea.
Significant behavioural difficulty in the afternoon that does not improve with adjusted timing.
And persistent difficulty in a child with developmental differences, where specialist advice is available and generic approaches frequently need adapting.
General information only, not medical advice. Consult your health visitor or clinician about persistent sleep difficulties or if your child snores habitually.
