Why A Toddler Nap Is Important
Everyday is a routinely busy day for your toddler. With all that is going on around him, all the activities that he wants to do and the many things he wants to explore, the hours in a day is never enough so it seems. You will notice that as your child gets older, it takes more and more effort to settle him down for his usual toddler nap during the day.
How Much Sleep Does Your Child Need
From birth to six months old, your child requires to sleep most of the day; at least 16 to hours a day. From six months onwards up to 1 year, the minimum sleep he needs is 14 hours a day and from one year to three years of age, your child requires a 10-13 hours of sleep.
Every child is different though and your child may require more or less sleep depending on the level of activities he partakes in especially during the toddler phase.
Naps Per Day
As your child grows older, nap time becomes shorter and less frequent than that of during his infant days. At the beginning of his toddler years, your child may still take the two times a naps; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. If you are having toddler sleeping problems during these years and you believe it is a concern, a visit to your pediatrician to know what to do will put your mind at ease.
Experts believe that during your child’s early years, a limit of five hour wakefulness is necessary. If this limit is reached, he needs to be settled for a nap to refresh his energy. Staying up longer than this will make your child whiny, troublesome and just plain miserable making you as the caregiver miserable too!
Why Is Nap Time Important For Your Child
It is a believed by many that if you overtire your child, he will slow down and eventually take a nap by himself. But every child is different and while some toddlers may crash, others will just continue to be as active. When your child becomes ineffective in his usual activities like falling a lot when running (uncoordinated) or that he becomes frustrated easily by small things, then a toddler sleep is much needed.
The consequence of toddler sleep problems for your child is fatigue. With fatigue usually comes whining, frustration and misery. It can make this part of the day drag on and unbearable for you and your child. Lack of sleep will make your child less physically coordinated as his body will no longer respond to the signals that his brain sends and will furthermore add to his frustration which in turn will make it even harder for him to relax.
Prepare The Nap Time
Make a mental note of your child’s wake up time. Counting four hours from that time, prepare yourself and his surrounding so that he gets the feel that the time is nearing for him to rest. Settle down the atmosphere in the room; make the lighting dim, play some soft music and get his favorite book for the setting of nap time.
Put his favorite stuffed toy in his cot or nap mat and encourage him to lie beside it and keep it company. When he obeys, start to read his favorite book and before you know it, your child is soundly napping giving you time to rest yourself.
