When Do Babies Stop Napping: 10 Strong Signs
Sleep time is so important for the well-being of the baby. It not only supports his health but also, his development process, mood, energy, and ability to learn. When do babies stop napping is a tricky question and it varies from baby to baby. A healthy baby starts to resist the daytime nap around the age of two years.
This article will guide you about when do babies stop napping? Ten clear and strong signs will be the main part of the discussion so that one can determine that this is the right time and the child is ready for skipping naps.
- Remains fresh and happy.
- Difficulty falling asleep in the daytime.
- Absence of sleep signs and kids stop napping.
- Difficult to fall asleep at nighttime.
- Wakes up early and children stop napping
- Remains energetic.
- Resistance to naps and rest time.
- Prefers playtime.
- Becomes fussy at naptime.
- Worsened night sleep.
1. Remains fresh and happy.
The basic purpose of the naptime is to keep a baby fresh and happy. It increases the speed of cognitive and physical development. The learning ability of the baby gets enhanced due to proper nap time. But if your child is of two years or more and he remains fresh without a daytime nap you can skip naptime.
Every parent wants to see their baby happy. And nap makes the baby fresh, gives him power, and he feels happy. He enjoys different activities and learns a lot. Still, if you notice that your baby remains happy all day. He does not feel tired and takes a complete sleep at night time. Then you must keep a record of his freshness without napping at least for a week or two.
Do not make the decision to skip naptime based on a single day. After one week if you notice that the baby’s routine is set. And he enjoys daytime activities without napping. Then it is a very strong sign to discontinue nap time and the baby is completely ready to stop taking nap.
2. Difficulty falling asleep in the daytime
It is so unrealistic to expect the baby to stop napping in the first two years after birth. Because these two years are the rapid growth era of a baby’s life. And the baby’s health and development improve greatly due to complete sleep. Therefore an infant sleeps 8-9 hours during the day and almost 8 hours at the night.
Still, it is a major concern of the parents that when do babies stop napping? After two years if the baby starts refusing naps the daytime nap then it is very natural. Some babies start refusing naps but later in the evening due to fatigue they get irritated. They shout and cry without any clear reason then they are not ready to stop napping. You must use some beneficial tricks to make the baby sleep.
But when a baby resists the daytime nap severely and feels difficulty sleeping. He just keeps on indulging in some activity while laying in the bed. He keeps playing with the fingers, pillow, toy, or moves here and there in the bed. And if this routine continues for a few weeks then you can easily stop napping altogether.
3. Absence of sleep signs and kids stop napping
No hard and fast rules are available about when do babies stop napping! Each baby is different in this regard too. Even siblings are different from one another in this perspective. There is no exact age that when kids stop napping. Your one child may stop napping at the age of 3 but the other may not be ready to stop napping even after 5 years.
It totally depends on the nature, energy, and health of the baby. Every single baby expresses it when he needs to take a nap. Poor concentration, constant yawning, grogginess, inactivity, and irritability are the signs of sleep. These are the major signs that a baby shows and demands daytime sleep.
Somehow if the child is unable to take nap he keeps on crying. But when you notice that these signs are totally absent and the baby remains fresh. He does not cry or get irritated after skipping the nap. Then this is the right time to stop daytime sleep.
4. Difficult to fall asleep at nighttime
A complete nighttime sleep is as important as healthy food and exercise. If a person does not take a complete nighttime sleep then he can be the victim of various diseases. Bad mood, inability to learn, lack of concentration, high blood pressure, cardiovascular plaque, and increased cholesterol are the major issues caused by poor sleep.
If you notice that your child does not sleep at nighttime. He creates trouble falling asleep at night. Or falls asleep very late at night. Then you need to review his sleep pattern and daily nap. Because skipping nighttime sleep can disturb his health condition. This is the time when you have to stop daytime naps. Replacing nap time with quiet activity time is the best option in this situation.
It will benefit him in two ways, he will enjoy the daytime activities fully. Second, he will fall asleep quickly and easily at night. After taking complete and constant nighttime sleep you will feel he wakes up in a fresh and good mood. So there is no need for a daytime nap anymore.
5. Wakes up early and children stop napping
Nap time is wonderful for both the baby and the parents. Parents can perform various pending tasks in this time period. The baby can restore his energy to enjoy the rest of the day. But at times, parents make the baby sleep with so much effort but the baby wakes up after a few minutes. This short duration of sleep affects the baby’s mood badly and he remains irritated for the rest of the day.
Naps cold turkey is the best practice in this situation. This means let them be in their bed or crib so that they wake up completely and then come out of the room. If your children stop napping but keep on crying and shouting. Then lay with them in the bed or spend some time with them so that they get completely fresh. Don’t eliminate naps cold turkey so quickly.
This situation spoils the purpose of the nap. Neither parents can perform their tasks nor the baby gets energy. If this situation continues for a few weeks, change the sleep pattern and convert it to quiet rest time. This is the best option for dropping naps. So if the baby wakes up early after a nap then this is another sign and answer to the question of when do babies stop napping.
6. Remains energetic
After the age of two or more, most children react very badly to daytime napping. This is the time period when babies see afternoon nap as their enemy. It can be a way of expressing that they do not need a morning nap anymore. They prefer to play, watch TV, or stay awake with their parents.
They love to play with their pets and remain happy and fresh. It seems that they are overfilled with energy and do not want to sleep at all. When babies react so and remain energetic, parents must pay some extra attention. Because this behavior is the answer to their question about when do babies stop napping.
Then change their bedtime routine and can skip naps. Parents can utilize this energy and awake time in a healthy manner. They must spare some time for their kids and should teach them some healthy things. Parents can teach them different outdoor and indoor games. They can teach them table manners, or pending homework or learnings given by the school can be done during this time.
They can teach children how to have some quiet time, and how to play quietly. This will help the children to avoid acute sleep restriction effects. Parents can also visit a sleep consultant to find better solutions.
7. Resistance to naps and rest time
Actions speak louder than words. This saying gets fit here to find out signs when do babies stop napping? There is no exact age for the babies to stop napping. Parents must observe their kid’s behaviors at nap time. If the young child tries to leave the bed, again and again, it can be the resistance to the nap and a sign for stopping naps.
First, he is feeling thirsty and needs water, after 5 minutes he needs to go to the washroom. Now he is feeling itchy and needs body butter for the itchy area. Then he needs to tell some very important story to you. These are some of the emotion responses to stopping naps. All these actions depict that he just wants to pass the time. So that the nap time gets finished.
He just wants to keep waking with these lame excuses. If this situation continues for days and weeks this is a strong sign to keep in the record. Because it will help them to determine that now their kid wants no nap days. So parents need to be rational and should know this is the time when the child’s naps is not needed anymore. And they can drop naps easily.
8. Prefers playtime
Playtime is very important for babies. During this time, they explore new things, stimulate imagination and express creativity. And playing with other kids promotes emotional control and reaction to positive and negative feelings. In this way, they learn to work in a group effectively.
At a certain age, nearly all children prefer playtime over naps and request parents to let them awake. Then let them stay awake and let them indulge in playing games. Because this is a strong sign to skip naptime. And your child is ready to stop napping.
9. Becomes fussy at naptime.
Naptime is for gathering power to enjoy the rest of the day. But when it becomes a reason for fighting it is alarming. Do notice, when your baby cries, shouts, and becomes irritating the most? If it is that time when he has to go to the bedroom to take a nap or to sleep. Then this is a very strong sign that now your toddler is ready to stop napping.
Because all these negative reactions crying, shouting, etc, can affect his health badly. So rather than gain power with the help of a nap, he is disturbing his health. So there is no need to create more fuss and you can easily skip naptime. Because he can fulfill his sleep needs during nocturnal sleep.
10. Worsened night sleep
Last but not least, a sign of when do babies stop napping is worsened night sleep. If your baby is unable to take nocturnal sleep, or he is irritated. Your baby wakes up again and again or he becomes active in the middle of the night. He starts crying during sleep and demands you to talk to him or to get involved in some activity.
If he demands food, water, or snacks. Does requests to visit the washroom. All these activities would result in disrupted sleep for your baby and you as well. Maybe you have non napping toddlers. So make the best decision and skip the nap. So that he can enjoy the whole day actively, and get fully tired. Then he will take complete, deep, and sound sleep at night.
Conclusion
The purpose of this article is to elaborate on the signs of when do babies stop napping. And to shed light on the fact that daytime sleep and rest periods differ from nighttime sleep. Skipping nighttime sleep can disturb the cognitive function of your baby’s temperament.
When a toddler skips nap times totally depend on the baby’s readiness not on the age. Because my daughter is five years old but she is not ready yet to skip the nap. Whereas my friend’s daughter does not take nap and she is of 4 years.
So do not compare the kids with one another but observe the signs and keep a record. It will help you determine when your baby stops napping. From all these ten signs even if you find 5-6 signs in your baby, then you can skip the nap.
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