In terms of naps, most toddlers during their second year will start to abandon their morning nap in favour of a longer afternoon one. It’s a natural progression and you should encourage and guide your child though the process of combining the two naps into one. The first sign that the child has reached this stage occurs when he refuses the morning nap until later on and then hardly sleeps in the afternoon. Often, the tot will want to sleep at lunchtime so perhaps trying an earlier lunch (by 15 to 30 minutes) may allow him to eat first and then nap. If he doesn’t get fed before naptime, hunger will probably wake him. As the child grows, he may require a longer nap in the afternoon. If it is not affecting his night sleeping then it’s healthy to leave him to it. If it does start affecting it, you should start waking him up so he has time to tire himself out again before night time (Lavin, Glaser 2007).
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In terms of naps, most toddlers during their second year will start to abandon their morning nap in favour of a longer afternoon one. It’s a natural progression and you should encourage and guide your child though the process of combining the two naps into one. The first sign that the child has reached this stage occurs when he refuses the morning nap until later on and then hardly sleeps in the afternoon. Often, the tot will want to sleep at lunchtime so perhaps trying an earlier lunch (by 15 to 30 minutes) may allow him to eat first and then nap. If he doesn’t get fed before naptime, hunger will probably wake him. As the child grows, he may require a longer nap in the afternoon. If it is not affecting his night sleeping then it’s healthy to leave him to it. If it does start affecting it, you should start waking him up so he has time to tire himself out again before night time (Lavin, Glaser 2007).