What It Means
A nap transition is the period when a baby or toddlerToddlerA child from 1 to 3 years old, the stage CDC's parenting guidance places between infancy and the preschool years. See more drops one of their daily naps and the day gets rearranged around fewer, longer stretches of sleep and wakefulness. Most children go through two or three: three naps to two in the first year, two to one in the second year, and eventually no nap at all. Each one changes when a child sleeps during the day and can change how much they sleep in total, which is why the AASM's 24-hour totals are a useful check.
Try It: Step Through the Nap Transitions
Step through the usual order of nap changes. Ages come from Mayo Clinic, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Cleveland Clinic and the AASM.
Around 9 months
Mayo Clinic suggests cutting a late-afternoon third nap when a baby is about 9 months old, which helps bedtime come earlier. Not every baby takes a third nap.
12 to 18 months
Mayo Clinic says most children move to one midday or afternoon nap in this window. By 18 months, Nationwide Children's Hospital says most take one afternoon nap of 1.5 to 3 hours.
Preschool years
Most children stop napping somewhere between 3 and 5. The AASM total for ages 3 to 5 is 10 to 13 hours, so bedtime may need to move earlier once the nap goes.
How Parents Say It
- "We're in the middle of the two-to-one nap transition."
- "He fights the morning nap now but can't make it to lunch."
- "She dropped her nap, so bedtime moved up half an hour."
The Breakdown
Worked example. A 15-month-old sleeps 11 hours at night and still takes two naps: 1 hour in the morning and 1.5 hours after lunch. During the transition the morning nap goes, and the afternoon nap stretches to 2 hours. These are example numbers.
| Sleep | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Night | 11 hours | 11 hours |
| Naps | 2.5 hours (two naps) | 2 hours (one nap) |
| Total in 24 hours | 13.5 hours | 13 hours |
What the result means. The day loses half an hour of sleep, and the new total still sits inside the 11 to 14 hours the AASM recommends for ages 1 to 2. On days when the total drops below the range, an earlier bedtime is one way to add the time back. Mayo Clinic makes a related point about the third nap: dropping it around 9 months helps a baby go to bed earlier.
Try it with your own child. For a few ordinary days before the switch and a few after, write down night sleep and each nap. Add each day up and compare it with the AASM range for your child's age.
| Age | AASM total in 24 hours, naps included |
|---|---|
| 4 to 12 months | 12 to 16 hours |
| 1 to 2 years | 11 to 14 hours |
| 3 to 5 years | 1010,000 stepsA popular daily step goal that began as the name of a 1960s Japanese pedometer; later studies find health benefits begin well below it. See more to 13 hours |
Good to Know
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) endorses the AASM ranges above. Ages for each transition come from Mayo Clinic and Nationwide Children's Hospital and describe what's typical, and children vary. For a baby under 1, the AAP's safe sleepSafe sleepThe AAP's rules for lowering the risk of SIDS and suffocation: baby on the back, alone, on a firm flat surface in their own sleep space, every sleep. See more rules still apply to every nap that remains. Talk to your pediatrician if a nap change leaves your child's total sleep below the range on most days, or if you're unsure the change is right for them.
FAQ
When do babies go from two naps to one?
Mayo Clinic says most children make the switch between 12 and 18 months. By 18 months, Nationwide Children's Hospital says most have dropped the morning nap and take one afternoon nap of 1.5 to 3 hours.
When do babies drop the third nap?
Mayo Clinic suggests cutting a late-afternoon third nap when a baby is about 9 months old, which helps bedtime move earlier. Some babies never take a third nap at all.
At what age do kids stop napping?
Most children give up naps somewhere between 3 and 5 years old. The AASM's 10 to 13 hour total for ages 3 to 5 still counts naps, so a child who stops napping may need an earlier bedtime to reach it.
Do It in Buhata
Reminders
Set a Reminder in Buhata for the new nap time and bedtime, so every caregiver follows the same day while the change settles in.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Nap schedule
The usual pattern of a baby's or toddler's daytime naps: how many, roughly when and for how long, which shifts as the child grows.
- Wake window
The stretch of time a baby stays awake between one sleep and the next, often used as a rough guide to when the next nap is due.
- Toddler
A child from 1 to 3 years old, the stage CDC's parenting guidance places between infancy and the preschool years.
- Sleep regression
A stretch when a baby or toddler who was sleeping fairly well starts waking more at night or fighting sleep, usually for a week or two.
- 18-month sleep regression
Parents' name for a stretch of worse sleep around 18 months, when separation anxiety peaks and many toddlers settle into one nap.
Sources
Mayo Clinic, "Baby naps: Daytime sleep tips"; Nationwide Children's Hospital, "Sleep in Toddlers" and "Sleep in Preschoolers"; Cleveland Clinic, "When Do Kids Stop Napping?"; American Academy of Sleep Medicine, "Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations"; AAP News, "AAP endorses new recommendations on sleep times"
- www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/in-depth/baby-naps/art-20047421
- www.nationwidechildrens.org/specialties/sleep-disorder-center/sleep-in-toddlers
- www.nationwidechildrens.org/specialties/sleep-disorder-center/sleep-in-preschoolers
- health.clevelandclinic.org/when-do-kids-stop-napping
- jcsm.aasm.org/doi/full/10.5664/jcsm.5866
- publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/6630/AAP-endorses-new-recommendations-on-sleep-times
Last updated .