How to Help Your Toddler Transition to One Nap
Wondering if your toddler is ready to transition to one nap? Learn when to drop that second nap plus get essential tips for a smooth process.
Did you notice back in the newborn days we never bothered to count naps? It seemed like we were trying to get our babies to nap so often that we lost count.
But as they grew up, we began to see patterns emerge and created schedules and routines. We may have started with four daily naps, before it became three, and finally two.
And just as we had been holding steady at two, our toddlers began to show signs that they were ready to transition to one nap. This one-nap schedule can be the one they might have—if you’re lucky—all through their preschool years.
So, how can we make that nap transition smooth and establish good napping habits?
How to transition to one nap
My twins had taken one long midday nap since they were about a year and a half old. While the dwindling number of naps seemed like fewer opportunities to catch a break, I enjoyed the long stretch of uninterrupted time. I also loved how we could plan longer outings for the morning or afternoon with just one nap time to schedule our days around.
If you feel like your toddler is ready to take one nap, try the following tips below for a smooth transition:
1. Follow your child’s cues
Every child has different sleep needs. While most toddlers tend to drop to one nap around 14-18 months old, this doesn’t mean your child has to follow suit. Instead, follow her cues and whether they point to her readiness to transition to one nap. You might feel she’s ready when she:
- Doesn’t nap well for one nap, especially for five consecutive days
- Can remain happy and alert for at least four straight hours of awake time
- Takes a long time to fall asleep for the morning nap
- Takes a short nap
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2. Push the morning nap back in 15-minute increments
Making the transition to one nap is much smoother when you do so gradually instead of cold turkey—don’t go from two naps one day and one nap the next.
Instead, move sleep times around by 15 minutes at first. If you think your child can hang with it, try for 30-minute increments, but aim for a more gradual transition at first.
So, what does this look like for a typical day?
Let’s say she naps from 10-11am, but you’d like to establish one long, two-hour nap from 12-2pm. On the first day, move the first nap to 10:15am. Keep her at this schedule for two to three days before pushing it further to 10:30am. And keep moving this back until you finally hit 12pm.
Get more tips on creating a toddler schedule.
3. Let your toddler sleep in for the morning nap
After you begin to push back your child’s morning naps, allow him to sleep in. Let’s say he naps for an hour—don’t wake him up an hour from when he naps. Instead, allow him to sleep in as long as possible.
This might disrupt the afternoon nap, but you’re helping him stretch one morning nap into one long afternoon one.
Learn 5 reasons your toddler is going through the 1 year old sleep regression.
4. Take a late afternoon cat nap if needed
With your toddler sleeping in for that morning nap, she might need a quick cat nap in the afternoon. Base the time you put her to nap on her behavior. If she feels grumpy or sleepy during those wake windows, let her sleep for 30 minutes in the late afternoon.
Time it well so the cat nap isn’t too close to the bedtime routine, either. Wake her up if need be so she has enough awake time before bedtime.
The goal is to drop this cat nap. With consistency, you can lengthen and push the morning one later in the day.
5. Move bedtime earlier if needed
At some point, your toddler’s morning nap might move later in the day that it doesn’t make sense to put her down in the crib for a second cat nap. But at the same time, she might begin to feel sleepy long before the regular bedtime.
To accommodate this new napping routine and need for sleep, experiment with an early bedtime, even if just temporarily. If she regularly sleeps at 7pm, see if you can move bedtime earlier to 6:30pm. She might feel sleepy taking only one nap for the day, and the earlier bedtime can help make up for the lost hours.
6. Be patient during your child’s grumpy moods
A big change like this is hard on everybody, both parents and kids. You’ll likely find yourself with a grumpy child struggling with the lack of sleep as she makes this switch.
Move to one nap when you know there isn’t much else going on in the day. Don’t start on the weekend you’ll be out and about with lots of action. You might end up with tiredness and a crabby child on your hands.
And when crankiness creeps in (especially with those long hours of wake time), keep in mind that this new schedule is a big adjustment to her daytime sleep. Give her lots of grace and patience while she moves to one nap.
Learn how to create a toddler sleep schedule.
Conclusion
Making the transition to one nap is a bittersweet moment. We’re letting go of the baby stage as our little ones grow into the toddlers and preschoolers they’ll become.
But switching to one nap is also a convenience many parents welcome. We can be out and about more with only one nap to contend with. And we get a longer period alone instead of broken into smaller chunks.
Long gone are those days when our babies napped so often we lost count. Now we have one long, mid-day nap, just what our toddlers need.
Get more tips:
- What to Do When Your Toddler Suddenly Won’t Sleep
- Foolproof 13 Month Old Nap Schedule Examples
- What to Do When Only One Twin Is Ready to Drop a Nap
- What You Need to Do When Your Toddler Won’t Nap
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