How much sleep does my baby or toddler need in the day: 

 

Naps are vital to babies and young children and good daytime naps are the foundation of a good night’s sleep. A baby who eats and sleeps well in the day will tend to sleep regularly and more predictably at night.

It is important to consider all babies mature at different rates and your baby may happily be on a different napping schedule to your friend’s baby or toddler of the same age.

Check out our general napping guidelines below. Bear in mind a typical daytime sleep cycle length is about 45 minutes long. Sometimes your child will just sleep for one cycle and wake then for other naps she will join two or more cycles together, sleeping for 90 or 120 minutes.

Sleep tips for your baby from 6 to 9 months:

Between 6 and 9 months your baby can happily stay awake for 2 to 2 ½ hours and have 3 naps a day.

Often made up of two naps of about 45 minutes each in the morning and late afternoon and one of about 90 minutes around lunchtime.

Most babies will be having an average of 3 hours sleep a day at this age.

Sleep tips for your baby between 9 and 12 months:

As babies between 9 and 12 months are happily able to stay awake for about 3 to 3 ½ hours now, your baby is likely to have an average  of 2 naps a day

By 9 months, her morning and middle of the day naps will naturally shift  later, meaning she will drop her late afternoon nap and her total daily napping average will be 2- 3 hours.

Naps are often made up of two naps of about 45 minutes in the morning and about 90 minutes  mid afternoon. To “protect” your baby’s bedtime it is best for her to be awake by 3.30 pm.

Most babies in this age group have an average of about 2 ½ hours sleep a day.

 

Sleep tips for your baby aged 12 months plus:

Somewhere between 12 and 15 months toddlers  consolidate all their daytime sleep into one single nap.

 

How to help your toddler transition to one day a day:

The transition from two to one nap a day is one that some toddlers find difficult.  Your child may be having a nice long morning nap, at their usual nap time, but then refuse to have a 2nd nap later in the afternoon. By bedtime they could be over tired, over wrought and struggle to go to sleep. Or they may not be tired enough for their usual morning nap, but become over tired and fussy if they have to wait until after lunch to have their snooze.

To ease  your toddler through this transition try gradually cutting down their morning nap by 10 minutes each day and slowly moving the afternoon nap to just after lunch. Then when the morning nap has stopped completely you may need to temporarily offer your toddler an early lunch until they adjust to happily staying awake all morning.