To nap or not to nap that is the question. Some children need only a half hour nap and others require an hour rest. There are some children who after sleeping too long stay up longer at night. The thing to remember is that a regular routine should be followed. There is an article I read from Children's Hospital -St Louis where it was said that children who nap have longer attention spans and are less irritable than those who are not napping. Sometime after 3 years of age the naps should be replaced with a structured quiet time. This quiet time should be used for looking at books,working puzzles and play that is less active. This is not a time for TV, videos or games. All children need to learn to entertain themselves quietly and play alone. So the question to nap or not to nap-when your child's personality and behavior becomes consistent in the afternoon hours-usually between ages 3 and 5 years of age-it is an indication to forego the nap.
8 Comments
2/27/2013 05:02:23 am
I had to stop my daughter with her naps at the age of 21/2 because the children in her daycare were done with napping. The problem was that she really could have used those naps and I felt bad for her but when she came home, it was too late to nap.
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My experience with children and napping comes from working with preschoolers. I have found that napping is very important in the one to three year old to help them through the day. When they don't get enough rest they are very emotional. The older threes and four year old children are slowly getting away from napping and most can make it through the day without a nap. Just wanted to say thank you for the comments made on this post.
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4/1/2013 04:00:46 pm
My son stopped taking afternoon naps since last year. Fine with me since he sleeps early at night. He usually sleeps as early as 7pm. :)
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4/1/2013 04:05:16 pm
Every child is different. Some of mine were done with naps by 2. A couple of mine still needed naps at age 5. So important to consider each child's sleep needs.
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My daughter took naps for a really long time. My son on the other hand, it doesn't look like he will be going down for a nap much longer. I think my mom said I was taking them well into 5. I agree that it really just depends on the child. But then I do believe babies require a whole lot of sleep, or at least, like the article said - quiet time.
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4/2/2013 10:57:03 am
This morning my son was very cranky so I ended up putting him down for an early nap, hoping that it would help improve his mood. Nope, it didn't work but I am sympathetic with him because he has been sick for a week straight and is finally getting better.
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AuthorHi, I'm Marcie Kenny, the women behind this blog. I am not a mother, but I am number seven in a family of nine. I worked in childcare for many years before retiring; now I enjoy blogging about all that I have learned along the way. Archives
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