Napping - Pensacola,FL

Every child is different. Your child may require a long nap or a short nap or no nap at all. My oldest quit napping around this age. My younger one always took an hour nap. It really depends on the child and their need for sleep. A child will not sleep any longer than necessary. At this age I always made them lay down awhile even if they didn't go to sleep. I usually put a childrens show on the television for them to watch. If they were tired they would fall asleep.

There is no should- each may need according to their growing, activivty, etc.k

hi C.,
toddlers will vary as to how long the nap will be but the majority take one nap a day at this age. a two year old needs anywhere from 11 to 13 hours or so a day, so as long as they are getting the right total that's the most imporant thing. my son sleeps 10 hours at night, usually, and about 2 hours for a nap. if he only sleeps 9 hours at night he will usually take a 3 hours nap.

My son is also 21 months. Everything that I read says that a child this age should sleep at least 12-14 per day (night and naps combined). We are very lucky to get a total of 12. My son seems to sleep less than most. A good day for us is 10 hours at night and a 2 hr mid-day nap. Most of the children we know at his age also have one mid-day nap. However, each child is different so I guess they should nap as often as they need to. We do have two friends (19 mos and 24 mos) who still take two 1-2 hr naps per day in addition to sleeping approximately 12 hrs at night.

From what I have heard/ read nap times vary from kid to kid.... however.... they should get a total of 12-14 hours between night time and day naps. She probably is only taking one nap. My daughter is 2 1/2 and has no naps a lot and sometimes a 2 hour nap and sleeps a good 10- 12 hours at night. Miss that naptime though lol
Use your "Mommy Instinct"! :)
Goood Luck!
~ K.

sleep needs: http://www.familysleep.com/age_needs.htm

My son is 21 months & has been taking one 2-hr nap since he was 13 months. He naps between 11 & 1.

Depends on the little one. My son still would nap twice a day at that age but I think he was an exception. Most that age take an hour + afternoon nap.

At this age, around 14 hours sleep is pretty typical. So consider how long your daughter sleeps at night to determine how long her nap should be. 21 months is a bit young to start giving up naps altogether (mommy still needs a break!). If she's having a nap disruption, it might be teething or a developmental process.

My daughter did not nap much at that age anymore. Even attempting to nurse her down did not help. When she did nap, it could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. But she usually slept about 12 hours at night.

I really don't think there is any 'norm' and I definately wouldn't compare your child to others.... They are each as different as all the adults you know.... People sleep different amounts, eat different amounts, grow at different rates, etc Every kid has there own needs and I think it depends on how tired they are from the activities of that day or from the day or night before, how they are feeling, what the environment is (are they home, out, in the car, etc). If you did the EXACT same schedule, activities, meals, weather, etc then I would say that an average 21 month old naps a total of 1-2 hours in daytime rest.... whether all in one afternoon nap or broken between a couple cat naps, but again it's so variable and every day could be more or less.

I would stress as little as possible about something that occurs naturally as needed. It can't really be forced but you can set up the environment to be condusive to rest.... Calm, quiet, comforting. He will rest when tired if allowed. The more physical and mental activity he has, the more likely to nap often out of need, and the healthier overall he will be too!

Best wishes, don't stress, every kid has different needs and as long as he is given the opportunity then he will take whatever naps he needs....