Here's How to Know When You Should Transition Your Child to 1 Nap a Day

Updated on 5/28/2019 at 7:50 AM

UnSplash | Annie Spratt

When your infant is napping at least twice a day, they're not as cranky when they wake up because they're getting the rest that they need — and you're living your best life with some much-needed downtime while your baby slumbers. Then, the unimaginable happens: your little sleeping beauty suddenly refuses to be put down for a second nap. While this might seem laughable to the parents of infants who never liked to sleep in the first place, dropping from two naps to one isn't always a welcome change (for parents, anyways). Don't panic, though — POPSUGAR got the scoop on how to know when your child is really ready to drop that second nap . . . and how you can milk it for as long as possible.

Age is a huge factor.

"The age range in which children drop to just one nap per day is usually between 12 and 18 months, but the most common age to drop to one nap is between 14 and 16 months," Jill Spivack, LCSW, licensed psychotherapist, pediatric sleep consultant, cofounder of Sleepy Planet Parenting, and coauthor of The Sleepeasy Solution, told POPSUGAR.

It might be time if they're refusing to sleep in the stroller or car . . .

Parents can often tout the wonders of what a soothing car or stroller ride can do for their little ones, but if they're really ready to drop to just one nap per day, Spivack explains that those just won't cut it anymore. "Usually, we can still milk that second nap with the tried-and-true stroller or car — but when a child won't even snooze there, then it's time to drop it," she said.

. . . or taking too long to fall asleep for a second nap.

If your child is 12 months or older, and consistently taking longer and longer to fall asleep for their second nap, it might be time to let it go, says Rebecca Michi, a children's sleep consultant with 10 years of experience, and author of Sleep and Your Child's Temperament.

Developmental milestones might hinder napping.

In a phenomena Spivack refers to as "winning the baby lottery", infants will get too excited to fall asleep for their second nap because they are so pumped to keep practicing the brand-new developmental milestone that they've just learned (kind of like how an adult who won the lottery wouldn't be able to sleep from excitement). But don't be fooled. "If your child is around the 12-month-old mark and it's aligning with the beginning of the walking stage, that can lead to a temporary dropping of a nap until the excitement over walking calms down," Spivack explained. So you might still be able to tempt them down for a second nap once the newness wears off.

Don't be fooled if they don't look tired.

It can be easy to assume that your child isn't tired enough for their second nap anymore by they way they look, but Spivak warns parents it's not a foolproof method. "Your child might not look as tired anymore from at least two hours after they wake in the morning . . . which can make parents believe that their child is not tired enough for a second nap," Spivack said. "This is usually a misunderstanding, and not truly a sign they should drop to just one nap per day."

Luckily, you can make dropping the second nap a less painful process.

Dropping that second nap is inevitable. "As children grow they require less day sleep and extended awake periods during the day," Michi said. That doesn't mean parents can't try to make the process a little bit easier on their child and themselves, though. "If you think your child is ready to make the switch to one nap, here's an excellent way to go about it: gradually make the morning nap later and later, so it eventually incorporates the afternoon nap," she advised. "Every two or three days, shift the nap a little later until your child is only napping after lunch."