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Changing from Two Naps to One

Is your child ready to drop his morning nap? Here’s how to make the transition from two naps to one.

by: Elizabeth Pantley

ost children switch from two naps to one between ages 12 and 24 months. Here’s how to tell if your child is ready to drop his morning nap:

Why babies need two naps

The question of two naps versus one is about biological needs. Naps at different times of the day serve different purposes in brain development as babies age. Morning naps involve more dreaming, or REM sleep, making them crucial for infants and young babies. Younger babies require more REM sleep than older babies and toddlers because of the type of brain development that occurs in the early months. The younger the baby, the more important the morning nap.

Your baby’s temperament can also be affected by dropping a nap too soon. The older your child is, the longer he can go between sleep breaks without getting cranky, but it’s important to monitor his behavior to make sure he is really ready to transition to one nap a day.

Signs your child still needs two naps a day

Your child needs two daily naps if . . .

• he is under one year of age. (Note: A small percentage of younger babies are ready to drop to one nap. If all other signs point to one nap, you can make the switch early.)
• he sometimes talks, plays, resists, or fusses when you put him down for a nap, but he always ends up falling asleep and sleeping for an hour or more.
• he almost always falls asleep in the car.
• missing a nap makes him cranky and fussy.
• he gets whiny, fussy, easily frustrated, or has tantrums three to four hours after waking up.
• he often misses naps because you’re on-the-go, but when you are home he takes two good naps.

Signs your child is ready to change to one daily nap

Your child is ready to switch from two naps to one if . . .

• when you put him down for a nap, he plays or fusses for at least 30 minutes before falling asleep. Then, he takes only a short nap.
• he can go for car rides early in the day without falling asleep.
• he can miss a nap and remain cheerful and energetic until his next nap, or bedtime.
• he naps well for one of his naps, but totally resists the other nap.

How to move from two naps to one

Instead of thinking in terms of “dropping a nap,” it’s better to think in terms of a schedule change. In most cases, the new singular nap is really a melding of the two naps into one nap in the middle of the two previous times. Often this one nap is longer than either of the two previous naps, but not quite as long as the two combined.

The switch to one nap is rarely a one-day occurrence. Most often there will be a transition period of several months when your child clearly needs two naps on some days, but one nap on others. On some days you’ll have no idea if it’s a one-nap day or a two-nap day. Here are a few ways to cope during transition time:

1. Go with the flow

Watch for your child’s sleepy signs, such as rubbing his eyes, and put him down for a nap when those indications first appear.

2. Keep a two-nap routine

Keep two scheduled naps, but don’t require that your child sleep at both times–allow quiet resting instead. This often works best as one longer late-morning sleeping nap and a shorter afternoon quiet time rest period. If occasionally your child falls asleep during the second nap time, you can either let him sleep as long as he likes–but be prepared to move bedtime later–or gently wake him after an hour.

3. Move to one nap

Choose a single naptime that is later than the usual morning nap, but not as late as the afternoon nap. Keep your child active (and outside when possible) until about 30 minutes before the time you have chosen. Then, give your child a healthy snack and begin a wind-down period and pre-nap routine. It may help to break lunch up into two parts, serving half of his lunch before nap and half when he wakes up. For a few weeks he may be fussy or whiny that last hour or so. Just be patient as he adjusts to the new schedule.

4. Earlier bedtime

On days when a nap ends up being early in the day, move bedtime earlier by 30 minutes to an hour to minimize the length of time between nap and bedtime.

Meet our expert:

Elizabeth Pantley is the author of eight parenting books, including: The No-Cry Sleep Solution. She is also a contributing author to The Successful Child with Dr. William Sears. Based in Washington, Pantley is the president of Better Beginnings Inc. (a family resource and education company) and a parenting expert for a variety of publications including: Parents, Parenting, and Redbook.