One of the most common topics when establishing a child’s sleep in my individual consultations is establishing a daily routine.
Most often, problems begin when there is a transition to one nap during the day. At this time, the child becomes overly sensitive and capricious. Mom is worried that the crisis of one year has crept up, she tries to put her to bed, as before, for 2 naps, but the child screams. He doesn’t want to sleep and the real war begins.
Therefore, today is an educational program about one nap during the day. Write your questions in the comments, I will answer.
Sleep standards for children under three years of age
Adequate rest is one of the criteria for health. If the norm of sleep is observed, the child’s mental abilities and concentration of attention increase, metabolic processes improve, and his psycho-emotional state stabilizes. For each age group, a certain number of hours of rest per day is “allotted”. The following sleep standards should serve as a guideline for parents:
- baby – 20-22 hours;
- 3-5 months – 15-17 hours;
- 5-8 months – 14-16 hours;
- 5-12 months – 13-14 hours;
- 12-18 months – 12-13 hours;
- 18-36 months – 11-12 hours.
The number of hours in this case is the total spent on daytime and night sleep. But you need to understand that if a newborn child can sleep during the day up to 8 times a day, then a three-year-old baby can only sleep once.
A more stable rest schedule is developed by about 1.5 years. After 18 months, a child's daytime sleep time is 1-2 hours. The baby sleeps, with rare exceptions, once. The rest of the time is spent staying awake and exploring the world around us.
Daily routine by month
Some babies refuse daytime sleep after 2 years, but they are perfectly fine choosing the 12-13 hours of sleep they are entitled to at night. Attempts by parents to force their baby to sleep during daylight hours end in complete fiasco - even if the child begins to sleep during the day, the quantity and quality of sleep at night deteriorates significantly. Therefore, drawing up a regime will require parents to be flexible and understand the individual characteristics of their own child.
The diet is convenient for parents, but it also has its downsides, says Evgeny Komarovsky. The child begins to produce gastric juice precisely when it is time for lunch or dinner according to his usual schedule. But as you grow older, circumstances may change, the kindergarten will have a different schedule and lunch time will shift by an hour, the school will have its own schedule and the child will have to adapt again. The production of gastric juice in the absence of food does not benefit the body.
Considering the feeding hours, they should be as close as possible to the routine that exists in the kindergarten that the child will attend or to the school routine.
This will reduce the likelihood of developing gastritis, stomach ulcers and other unpleasant ailments.
A walking routine is very important for a baby and an older schoolchild. You cannot refuse to walk in the fresh air even during illness, especially if the illness is respiratory. The only reason not to go outside is high temperature. But as soon as the fever subsides, then, despite the runny nose and cough, you need to go outside.
During an illness, a child’s routine may be disrupted, and this is completely normal, says Evgeniy Komarovsky. With a properly organized routine, the child will quickly return to his usual “track” after recovery.
An approximate mode may be as follows.
1-2 months
The average number of feedings is 6-7, the interval between meals is from 2.5 to 3.5 hours. Any mother can “adjust” this approximate plan to specific hours and minutes based on the family’s daily routine. If household members go to bed early (at 21-22 o'clock), then water procedures and the last feeding should occur at 20.30. This assumes that the family gets up at 5:00.
If parents and other children in the family go to bed late (at 23:00), then the last evening feeding should be moved to 22:30, while the family (including the baby) wakes up at 7:00.
3-4 months
In children at this age, the intervals of wakefulness between sleep episodes increase, so the regime will require parental adjustment. Considering that the baby may not sleep for 1.5-2 hours, the number of sleep episodes is reduced to 3-4, the duration of each episode is 1.5-2 hours.
At night, the baby is supposed to sleep about 11 hours with waking up for feeding. Children at this age eat 5-6 times a day every 3.5-4 hours. When making adjustments, it is important not to mix evening procedures (bathing, massage and the last feeding should remain at the same time as before).
5-6 months
The nightly need for sleep during this period remains the same - 11 hours. Daytime periods last 1.5-2 hours. However, the number of these daily periods can be reduced to 3. The child is awake for 2-2.5 hours.
At night, from the age of six months, he may no longer eat; in any case, there is no longer a biological need for night feeding from the age of 6 months. Therefore, the number of meals is also reduced - up to 5 times a day. The baby is already able to withstand four-hour intervals between meals. The total need for sleep is about 15 hours a day.
7-8-9 months
This is already an active and inquisitive baby who spends quite long periods of time awake. The number of meals is 4-5 per day. Feeding at night should be strictly avoided. The baby sleeps at night for about 10 hours.
During the day he should go to bed 3 times, but sometimes this number decreases to 2 (closer to 9 months). Periods of play and active exploration of the world between episodes of daytime sleep can last up to 3 hours; the main thing is to prevent the baby from becoming overtired and remaining without sleep for a longer period of time.
Such a baby can eat 4 times a day at intervals of 4 hours. The amount of daytime sleep is reduced to 2 times, but the intervals increase - up to 2.5 hours for each sleep.
The need for night sleep is 10 hours. At this age, it is important to include longer walks and developmental activities than before.
At this age, it is important to adjust the regime in accordance with the regime of the preschool institution that the parents have chosen for their child. To do this, mom needs to pay a visit to the kindergarten, talk with the teachers, write down the hours of breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, hours of classes and walks.
On average, children of this age eat 4 times a day (including dinner, which is absent in kindergarten). The baby should sleep 2 times during the day, with a gradual transition to 1 nap (by 2-2.5 years). The duration of each “quiet hour” is 1.5-2 hours. The need for night sleep is 10-11 hours.
The intervals, taking into account the individuality of the child, may differ from those indicated; it is important that the baby sleeps about 12.5-13 hours a day, this norm is physiologically determined for him.
The benefits of naps for a child
Even if children “fit” the number of hours established by the norms at night, this does not mean that they do not need proper rest during the day. Just the opposite. Daytime naps have the following benefits for a growing child's body:
- helps strengthen the nervous system;
- increases concentration and receptivity to new information by 30-50%;
- charges with energy and vivacity;
- makes up for the lack of night rest;
- reduces the risk of developing heart and vascular diseases, heart attacks and strokes;
- reduces nervous tension and increased excitability;
- improves mental and emotional state;
- improves mood and levels of serotonin (the hormone of joy);
- promotes the production of growth hormone, which is especially important for children;
- allows you to avoid emotional overload and excessive fatigue.
Studies have shown that children who do not sleep during the day get sick more often and more than their peers. This means, in addition to everything mentioned above, daytime sleep helps strengthen the child’s immunity. That is why parents need to make every effort to preserve it for as long as possible.
How to establish a regime?
If a child is not accustomed to the regime, and at 8-10 months of age arranges nightly “vigils” for parents at the crib with loud demands for food, toys and attention, then Komarovsky advises parents to decisively begin to establish a “dictatorship”. It will take about 2-3 days to establish a regime, after which mothers and fathers of such babies will be able to forget about insomnia forever.
During the daytime, you need to walk with your child as much as possible and not let him get enough sleep. If he really wants to sleep, you should still wake him up and take him outside. During the two “turning-point” days you should feed sparingly, from hand to mouth. In the evening, take a cool bath, and then give the child a sufficient amount of food for the first time that day. When he eats everything and immediately goes to bed, you don’t have to worry - such a little one will sleep for 6-8 hours in uninterrupted sleep.
After 2-3 days, you can soften the living conditions somewhat; with a high degree of probability, the baby will already learn the new regime with a full night’s sleep and meals at the right time.
However, here it is also important to avoid “excesses,” emphasizes Evgeny Komarovsky. Eating by the hour does not mean that if mom is 20 minutes late in preparing dinner, then she is a criminal and an irresponsible family member. The regime must be flexible enough and all participants in the process - both adults and children - must be able to adapt to it. The sequence of actions must be constant.
It's not scary to be late for lunch if your child is playing outside, it's scary to skip lunch altogether, although if the baby doesn't want to eat, then you can skip it. The main thing is that later, even if he asks to eat, do not give him anything until the next scheduled meal.
Compliance with the regime is not difficult for a child. This is much more difficult for his parents, since sometimes the children's regime will require quite strictness from them. See below for the release of Dr. Komarovsky’s program on the topic “A child’s daily routine.”
medical reviewer, psychosomatics specialist, mother of 4 children
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When do babies switch to one nap during the day?
Each baby is an individual. He has his own character, his own schedule of teething, growth and development. That is why it is impossible to say exactly when a child switches to one nap during the day. Each baby has its own wakefulness schedule and its own resting needs. The parents' task is to identify in time the baby's readiness for the transition from two naps to one and help him more easily adapt to this stage of his development.
As a rule, the first signs of transition can be observed at the age of 10-11 months. At this time, events may develop as follows:
- The baby refuses morning naps, but sleeps well in the afternoon.
- The child rests for a long time in the morning, but refuses to sleep in the evening.
- The baby sleeps well both the first and second time, but after a night's sleep he wakes up earlier and earlier every day.
If parents notice one of these signs, they need to gradually reduce the duration of daytime rest. The most favorable age for switching to 1 nap is considered to be 1 year and 3-4 months. At this time, the child can easily withstand 5-6 hours of wakefulness.
How to transfer your child to one nap during the day. And how to understand that he is ready
Daytime naps are a must for young children. They constantly explore the world and make unexpected discoveries. Naturally, they get tired much faster than adults. After all, for kids there are so few things that seem ordinary. Almost everything evokes emotions and experiences.
Most children sleep twice during the day per year. However, some may already be making it clear that they are not against just one laying.
Usually the transition to one nap during the day occurs up to 1.5 years.
But some babies are in a hurry, and already at one year old they give signals to their parents.
In any case, it will not be possible to remove one dream right away. The event will not be successful in one day.
Therefore, you need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to be on a floating schedule for some time,
monitoring the child's condition.
So, you can gradually increase the interval between sleeps during the day or reduce the time of the first rest.
Usually problems start at lunchtime. The child refuses to fall asleep a second time; as a result, by the evening he collapses and still falls asleep. However, it cannot be called long-lasting.
After a short period of time, the child is back on his feet and ready to go into battle. The baby is quite capricious, irritable, and it is immediately clear that he has not rested.
So, when reducing the first sleep by 10-15 minutes,
the duration of the second sleep will increase
(after which the child does not look rested, but does nothing but cry).
Yes, you will have to wake up the baby and there is nothing wrong with that. But at least 40 minutes should be left for him to rest.
Soon the need for morning bedtime will disappear and the baby will be in a great mood and agree to just one rest.
Usually sleep occurs 5-6 hours after waking up in the morning.
Or you can try not to put the baby down a second time and see what time the lights out happen.
This is especially the case if the child deliberately refused to go to bed, and the time is inexorably approaching evening. You can give your baby the opportunity to go into the night around 5 p.m. It is recommended not to be afraid of the fact that the baby falls asleep very early.
It’s just that the next day the child will have two naps during the day.
And that's okay. While the routine is being established, there will still be days when the child will need a nap twice during the day.
You cannot simply categorically decide that the transition has been made and demand compliance with the new regime from the baby.
At this time (when everything is still not completely established)
it is not worth it:
The child has not yet forgotten his usual schedule, and such walks and actions only contribute to falling asleep and moving in the opposite direction. You should not provoke the baby.
In any case, there is no need to focus on other children, even if they are the same age.
All kids spend their leisure time differently and have different temperaments. Therefore, you need to create a schedule based on the needs and condition of your child. And age norms are conventions that you need to know about so as not to go astray.
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What are the dangers of early switching to one nap during the day?
Some children refuse to sleep during the day as early as 9 months. And sometimes parents independently choose the time when to switch to 1 nap during the day so that the baby falls asleep earlier in the evening. In fact, there is no need to rush anywhere, as this can negatively affect the baby’s well-being. Lack of rest for the baby is fraught with accumulation of fatigue, which manifests itself in the form of whims, hysterics and increased irritability. There are often cases when a child begins to wake up at night, becomes lethargic, apathetic, his health worsens, and his immunity decreases.
Many children aged 1-1.5 years are not yet physically ready for the transition to 1 nap. In this case, it is better to postpone this event for at least several months.
Principles for switching to one nap per day
As your child's routine changes, you need to be careful to ensure that your child does not become tired. Consistency and patience are important in this matter. When changing the regime, psychologists recommend that parents be guided by the following principles:
Peculiarities
Food, sleep, water, a sense of security - these are what children really need. In the regime, as such, not a single child in the world has any physiological or psychological needs, says Evgeny Komarovsky.
From this point of view, the regime is no longer needed by the baby, but by his parents, in order to remain capable adults who are able to raise a child.
If the child sleeps and eats when he wants, even in the middle of the night, then it is obvious that mom and dad will not get enough sleep, and will quickly turn into lethargic and incapable people with signs of nervous exhaustion. Since the child still really needs healthy and full-fledged parents, it is wiser to introduce a daily routine, and do it as early as possible. Ideally, immediately after discharge from the hospital.
A routine is a great way to organize the life of a family in which an infant is growing up, as well as to prepare the baby in advance for future visits to kindergarten and school, because everything there follows a routine. However, parents will have to change the daily routine several times in the first years, since different ages require different approaches to organizing the regime.
How to safely switch to one nap during the day?
To make the change of regime painless for your child, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
When does complete napping occur?
After three years, the child should rest at least 11-12 hours a day. Usually at this time his daytime sleep lasts 1-2 hours, and his night sleep lasts 9-11 hours. After 5 years, children often completely refuse to rest during the day and easily tolerate these absences physically and emotionally. But in some cases, daytime sleep is still necessary, especially when overtired. It all depends on the time of getting up in the morning and going to bed at night. The total number of hours of rest at this age is 10-12 hours.
About sleep in general
Children need naps during the day. The baby explores the world, sometimes very actively, and the abundance of impressions greatly exhausts him.
Sleeping during the day allows you to restore strength, give rest to the nervous system and the entire body as a whole. It is important for a growing person in the same way as nutrition and treatment if the baby is sick. During sleep, the composition of the blood is renewed, the muscles and musculoskeletal system rest, the most important enzymes and many vital hormones are produced.
Sleep norm is a rather vague concept, but it nevertheless exists. A baby sleeps longer than a baby after one year. It is considered normal for a newborn to snore sweetly in the crib after each feeding, for a total of 19-22 hours a day. From 1 to 3 months, the child takes 3-4 daytime naps; taking into account the night time, they sleep up to 17 hours a day. From 4 months, the child can lie down during the day 2-3 times for 3 hours, and together with the night sleeps in total up to 15-16 hours a day.
At the age of 1 to 2 years, a child can sleep once during the day, or can be latched twice for 2-3 hours. Pediatricians recommend switching a child to one nap during the day from the age of 2. Kindergarten starts around this time, so it’s usually an easy transition to make. The duration of quiet time for such a child is from 1 to 3 hours.
However, it is impossible to measure all children by existing standards, because children have different temperaments, impressionability levels, and the ability to switch from activity to rest. Maybe that’s why the norms remain norms on paper, but in reality the statistics vary greatly. But this does not lose the value of daytime sleep.
Doctor Komarovsky's opinion
Usually the baby sleeps well at night, if he managed to fully rest during the day. And for this you need to properly plan your daytime sleep. If a child refuses to go to bed during the day at the age of two, this is not the norm. In this case, you need to make adjustments to your rest and wakefulness regime.
Regarding the question of when to switch to one nap during the day, Dr. Komarovsky does not give a definite answer. He believes that everything depends on the individual needs of the child. But one thing is clear: both night and day rest must be of high quality and comply with established daily standards.
How to ensure healthy sleep for your child?
In order for your baby to sleep well, he needs sufficient physical activity. And it is advisable to provide it in the first half of the day. It is necessary to provide conditions under which the child would have the opportunity to walk around, run and jump to his heart's content. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that he does not become overtired or overexcited in the evening. Closer to bedtime, you should offer your child quiet games, massage, and read books. This will help avoid the accumulation of fatigue during the period when the child switches to one daytime nap.
Strict adherence to the daily routine will ensure your baby gets proper rest. You should go to bed at the same time during the day and evening. In addition, it is recommended to follow a certain sequence of actions preceding the event. For example, this could be water procedures, reading a favorite fairy tale, that is, something that will calm the baby and set him up for a healthy sleep. A calm baby will sleep well all night long. This is also important for its harmonious growth and development.
How to improve your child's sleep?
- Don't let your baby become overtired
: Look for signs when he's starting to fall asleep. Signs may include drooping eyelids, slow movements, yawning and eye rubbing. Daytime naps can help your child not become overtired. - Make a distinction between night and day
: This helps your child understand that night is time for sleep. In the evening, dim the lights, use blackout curtains, keep noise to a minimum and speak quietly. - Maintain a consistent bedtime
. - Create a simple, relaxing routine before bed
: this could include a bath, a short massage, a story, or gentle music. Most babies will learn to associate routines with sleep. - Associate the bed with sleep
: If your baby always falls asleep while being held or fed, he may associate this with sleep and be unable to fall asleep in the bed. - Feeding
When your baby reaches 3 months of age, create a feeding schedule. Try to stick to this schedule so that your baby adapts. Feeding your baby before bed can prevent him from becoming hungry and waking up during the night. Gradually reduce night feedings so that your baby sleeps for longer periods at night. The parent or educator must:
- gradually leave more time between feedings
- feeding should be continued for a short period
- soothe your baby in your bed when he wakes up instead of automatically feeding him
Try to keep your baby from falling asleep while feeding.
Recommendations for organizing your child's sleep
In order for the baby to fully rest for the number of hours established by the norms, parents should make every effort:
Compliance with these conditions will ensure that the child has adequate daytime rest at least until the age of five.
It can be summarized that the age at which a child switches to one nap during the day varies from 1 to 1.5 years. Moreover, the longer the baby sleeps twice a day, the better his psycho-emotional state will be.
