At what age does a child stop sleeping during the day?

Age norms for daytime sleep

The younger the child, the longer his daytime sleep.
It is important to know about the importance of sleep for children - about the time when the body is filled with new forces necessary for full development and growth.

1. Newborns and children of the first year of life should sleep during the daytime for six to eight hours (maximum four times).
2. One-year-old babies - from four to six hours (for two beds).
3. Toddlers older than one and a half years old and up to five years old - up to two hours (in one laying).
4. Over the age of five, daytime naps may be absent.

It is important to understand that all children are individual. Some people even in adolescence may not give up daytime sleep, while others already at two years old sleep only at night. Moreover, in both the first and second cases we can talk about a variant of the norm.

How to understand that a child does not need a nap?

There are certain signs by which parents determine that a child does not need sleep during the day:

• A good mood, that is, the children do not act up all day, do not get irritated and behave calmly.
• It is difficult to put him to bed in the evening - the baby is full of energy, plays outdoor games when the clock is already 10 pm or more.
• He wakes up in the morning independently and easily, in a great mood.
• Resists going to bed during the day.

At what age does a child stop sleeping during the day? Everything is purely individual, for some it is six years, for others it is five years. It is important to remember that if the baby is moving to a new daily routine, then this process should be gradual. Initially, during daytime sleep, it is advisable for him to lie down, rest, and you read a book to him. Try to have your child fall asleep and wake up at the same time. As a result, the child’s body easily adapts to the new rhythm of life.

Possible reasons

Lack of naps and frequent crying in a baby may indicate health problems

1. If your baby doesn't sleep well during the day, he may have been overexcited the day before. In such a situation, the lack of daytime sleep will be sporadic or periodic. For example, in the morning an event with a strong emotional connotation occurred in the child’s life; he visited the circus for the first time or went to the zoo. The event can also have a negative connotation. The main thing is that what happened greatly impressed the little one. If the baby receives strong emotions day after day, then daytime sleep may be absent for a long period of time, and night rest may also deteriorate.
2. Presence of hyperactivity. Such little ones are too impulsive and active. In addition to the lack of daytime sleep, deviations in night rest, insomnia, and the possibility of enuresis may also occur.
3. The child does not need daytime rest; night sleep is enough for him. If this is your case, then in such a situation the baby feels normal during the day, sleeps soundly at night, falls asleep quickly in the evenings, and wakes up easily in the morning.
4. Lack of daily routine in the life of a toddler. A situation where everything in a child’s life is mixed up, active games and rest every day at different times.
5. Impact of external factors. When a baby is one month old, he can fall asleep in any situation. As you get older, external factors influence your difficulty falling asleep more and more. Changes in the weather, a stuffy room, prolonged use of the TV (whether the child is watching cartoons or simply being in a room where something is being broadcast for a long time), rearranging the room, the presence of warm clothes or an uncomfortable bed - all this can cause problems with daytime sleep.
6. Transition from sleeping twice a day to once. The baby may still sleep in the morning, but in the afternoon he protests. In such a situation, age-related changes occur; there is no need to panic.
7. A sharp change in activity. A situation when a toddler is playing, running, having fun, and suddenly his mother says that he needs to go to bed. The child cannot quickly change lanes. It is almost impossible to fall asleep immediately after vigorous activity.
8. The presence of serious stress in the life of a toddler. For example, you could move, or another child was born in the family, or your parents divorced, or your little one went to kindergarten. All these events could affect the baby’s psychological well-being and lead to difficulties falling asleep, both during the day and at night. In such a situation, crying at night is often observed.
9. Lack of daytime sleep is the result of health problems. In this case, the child can sleep during the daytime, but his sleep will be very restless. Health problems may include sore ears, colic in the tummy, an allergic reaction, a stuffy nose, or the onset of a viral infection. Teething may also be to blame.
10. The presence of neurological problems.

Lack of sleep during the day plus accumulated fatigue can lead to serious problems with sleep at night; the baby may have difficulty falling asleep, often wake up and cry.

Child does not sleep during the day at 5 years old

Children of different ages have a certain sleep norm. At the age of five it is ten hours a day. Therefore, if the baby adheres to the daily routine and has a full night's sleep, then he may not sleep during the daytime. However, most often situations occur that he needs additional rest, but does not want to go to bed. Let's consider the possible reasons for this phenomenon:

• Inappropriate behavior, increased excitability, moodiness.
• Hyperactivity.
• Severe overexcitement or fatigue.
• Absent or the child has lost his daily routine. For example, I slept in the car.
• Psychological or physical discomfort - moving to a new apartment, rearranging furniture, etc.
• Malaise.
• Important events have occurred in the child's life - the birth of his second baby, he went to kindergarten for the first time, or another event to which he is not yet accustomed.

However, if your baby, despite the lack of sleep, is cheerful, cheerful, and active, then there is no need to worry.

Adviсe

If you are interested in how to put your child to sleep during the day, then you should listen to the recommendations below.

1. Create a daily routine for your little one and follow it strictly. Determine hours for active pastime and rest (including sleep), meals, and walks.

It is important to know that in the first months of life, babies have unformed biorhythms; it is almost impossible to accustom them to a daily routine.

1. When you put your baby to bed, play lullabies or hum a soothing song yourself. During the day, hearing a familiar tune, the little one will feel drowsy.
2. Before putting your baby to bed, take care to create a comfortable environment. Remove all sounds and light sources that may interfere with sleep, check that the temperature and humidity in the room are suitable for the toddler (19-22 degrees, 50-70%, respectively), the bed and clothes are comfortable.
3. Make sure you put your baby to bed at the appropriate time. It is important that no less than an hour and a half pass from the time of morning awakening to the first daytime nap, so that the child has time to accumulate fatigue. After lunch, it is recommended to lull the baby to sleep after a walk.
4. If you have problems with daytime rest, create a ritual for going to bed. Subsequently, it can be used in the evening, preparing for a night's rest. For example, this could be reading a fairy tale or, for example, a walk in the fresh air.
5. If serious changes have occurred in your life, and this has affected your child, try to show him more love, care, and affection. During a difficult period for a child, in particular in the presence of psychological tension or severe stress, it is extremely important for a child to feel parental attention and support.
6. If a toddler has health problems, and this will most likely be indicated by the presence of certain symptoms, ranging from causeless crying and moodiness to elevated body temperature, for example, then it is mandatory to consult a pediatrician and, if necessary, undergo tests. The doctor, having determined the cause of the baby’s illness, will prescribe appropriate treatment.
7. If the baby has neurological problems, then observation by a neurologist and specialized treatment are mandatory. It is also important to protect your toddler from nervous shock and very active games.

It is important to understand that if a toddler sleeps little during the day or refuses to go to bed at all, then there is some reason to blame, and sometimes we are talking about health problems. That is why it is so important, when parents have anxious thoughts, not to delay visiting the children’s doctor, especially if there are a number of accompanying signs indicating a deterioration in the baby’s well-being.

Daily routine is the key to good sleep

For a small child, daily routine is as important as sleep. Without being guided by time, the baby remembers the sequence of actions and subconsciously tunes in to this or that action.

After the morning toilet - feeding, then games, played and had a snack again, after that a walk in the fresh air, upon returning - lunch, and after lunch - time for sleep. If the same sequence of actions is followed day after day, the child has no reason to be capricious when going to bed, and the mother does not need to figure out how to persuade the child to sleep every time.

However, it is very difficult to completely subordinate the day of a small child to a routine. If he has moved a lot or is overtired, there is no need to wait until the hand on the clock points to the desired number, but put him to bed early. It’s the same with waking up: if he’s fast asleep, there’s nothing wrong with waking him up later.

The indicator of the correctness of the regime should be the child’s behavior, and not the arrow on the dial. If your child falls asleep well, has a sound sleep, after which he wakes up cheerful and in a good mood, then you are doing everything right.

Possible causes of daytime sleep disturbances in infants

The reasons why an infant does not sleep at all or sleeps very little during the day can be very different. The most common things that bother him and prevent him from falling asleep are:

• intestinal colic caused by the formation of the digestive system (for infants up to 3-4 months);
• pain and discomfort caused by teething (for babies 5 months and older);
• feeling hungry or thirsty;
• irritation of delicate skin and discomfort due to a wet diaper;
• uncomfortable temperature, humidity and bright lighting in the room where he sleeps;
• sharp sounds (knocking, noise, loud music);
• absence of mother nearby;
• emotional overload, unfavorable atmosphere in the family.

Many babies can stay up all day when they are in an apartment, but fall asleep perfectly in a stroller while walking outside. Closer to the age of one year, the child does not want to sleep at lunchtime if he goes to bed early enough in the evening and wakes up late in the morning. During the day, such a baby, instead of sleeping, prefers educational games, communication with parents, and actively explores the world around him.

There is no doubt that healthy naps are very important for children. It is in sleep that babies draw strength for full growth and development. A well-rested child is always cheerful, alert and active. He eats well, plays and enjoys making contact. It is believed that a child should sleep during the day until about 6-7 years of age. In addition, there are certain sleep standards. For example, for newborns the norm is sleep that lasts 16-20 hours, of which 6-8 hours (at least 4 times) are naps during the day; for one-year-old children this daily norm is reduced to 4-6 hours (2 times); and for children from one and a half to 7 years old - up to 2 hours (1 time). However, we must understand that these data have average values ​​and are only advisory in nature. All children are different and each baby's need for daytime sleep is individual. Some children sleep soundly during the day even in adolescence, some refuse daytime sleep after 2 years, and some do not sleep even in a year.

By the way, 2 years of age is a turning point and it is at this time that children often refuse daytime sleep. At the same time, mothers’ concerns are often associated not with the fact that children deviate from accepted sleep norms and any opportunity for them to take care of personal affairs disappears, but rather with the fact that children who refuse lunchtime naps become disobedient and capricious. At the same time, in the evening they begin to whine and fall asleep, and when it is time to go to bed for the night, they again become restless and active. Therefore, today we will talk about why a child does not sleep during the day, and how to teach him to rest during the daytime?

The main reasons why a child does not sleep during the day:

The child does not need naps during the day.

Of course, sleep is a natural need of the human body, however, not daytime sleep, but nighttime sleep is considered an indicator of normal and full-fledged life of a child! If your baby sleeps soundly and sweetly all night, falls asleep calmly and quickly in the evening, and wakes up without problems in the morning, there is no need to worry about him refusing naps during the day. Why doesn't the child sleep during the day? Because he doesn’t need it. But we are talking here only about those children who are not characterized by such things as: nervous breakdowns, poor health, inappropriate behavior, groundless whims, increased excitability or attempts to fall asleep earlier than usual. If you periodically encounter similar problems, then most likely the reason why the child does not sleep during the day is completely different.

What to do in this case?

Calm down, understand the specifics of your child’s body and come to terms with the fact that your baby does not need naps during the day. However, in this case, you still need to teach your baby to relax for a few minutes in the middle of the day. It is necessary that the child can lie quietly, even without falling asleep, for some time. This is especially important for those children who go to kindergarten.

To get your baby to bed, try getting him interested in a book, a story, talking, or a massage. And perhaps, to your delight, he will fall asleep after all.

This is the specificity of his temperament.

In pediatrics, there is such a thing as “children with increased needs,” or, more simply put, children with neurological characteristics. This is not a disease, but a diagnosis that you are unlikely to get rid of, but to which you can adapt. Essentially these are hyperactive children. They are very emotional, impressionable, impulsive and overly active. At the same time, they get tired quickly, do not know how to relax and have difficulty falling asleep. As a rule, it is these children who have problems sleeping. They may suffer from insomnia, sleepwalking, nightmares, pathological drowsiness, enuresis and other diseases associated with sleep disorders, even in adulthood.

What to do?

Consultation, observation and, most likely, treatment by a neurologist are required. Such children are shown a strict daily routine, emotional calm, the love and patience of their parents, as well as the absence of any nervous shocks. Computer games, watching TV for a long time and playing too actively are contraindicated for them.

The child is overtired or overexcited.

In this case, we are talking about one-time events: a trip to the cinema, circus, zoo, a long trip or some kind of strong shock, both positive and negative. This also includes accumulated fatigue - hyperfatigue. For example, if for some long time a child had to get up early or go to bed late, and also if for several days his life was too busy, active and emotional, then the reluctance to sleep is a response of the child’s body to overwork.

In such life circumstances, try to put your child to bed a little earlier than he wants to sleep. Try to take breaks between your child's active activities, play passive games and give your baby the opportunity to rest more.

The child, on the contrary, was not tired and did not spend his energy.

This reason is also usually short-term. Children aged from one to 7 years have so much energy that any adult can only envy. Perhaps, for some time, due to some reasons, your child walked and played less than usual and, accordingly, did not use up his daily energy reserve.

Increase your time outdoors, send your child to a dance club, play sports or play outdoor games.

The child does not have a daily routine.

If yesterday you woke up at 9 am, skipped a lunch nap, went to bed at 10 pm, and today you got up at 7, went for a walk instead of a nap, and at 8 pm you already fell asleep for the night - it’s not surprising that your baby does not want to sleep at lunchtime, and also has difficulty sleeping at night.

In this case, it is necessary to create a daily routine for your child and be sure to stick to it!

The child has disrupted his sleep schedule.

Why doesn't the child sleep during the day? Remember, perhaps today he took a nap on the bus or closed his eyes for a couple of minutes in the car. Perhaps yesterday he slept late because of guests or got up very early in the morning to go to the clinic.

What to do in this case?

Try to distract your child in every possible way during trips and do not let him nap outside the bed. Observe the time and place of his night sleep and daytime rest, no matter what the circumstances in your life. Follow your child's bedtime routine. Lonely, repeated actions before bed: reading a book, singing a lullaby, massage, kissing, and similar things habitually relax the child and prepare his body for sleep. Try to ensure that your child always sleeps in the same room and in the same bed.

The baby experiences physical and psychological discomfort.

Bad weather, wind, heat, cold or stuffy room, clothes that are too tight or warm, uncomfortable bedding - all this can negatively affect a child's sleep. The reason for the child’s reluctance to fall asleep may be rearranging the furniture in the room, renovating or moving to a new apartment. Computer games and prolonged watching of TV also have a bad effect on the baby’s sleep. Perhaps he has seen enough horror movies, he is unfamiliar with the new environment, or he is simply afraid to be alone in bed.

What to do?

Make the moment your child falls asleep comfortable, and when the environment changes, stay with him. Talk to your child about what might scare him, and to calm him down, give him something familiar, such as a favorite toy.

He feels unwell or is sick.

Teeth are being cut, the tummy hurts, the ear is shooting - you never know what can bother a child. Such sleep problems begin suddenly: the baby falls asleep, but suddenly wakes up, screaming and crying.

Find and eliminate the cause of the child’s discomfort.

Serious changes have occurred in the child's life.

Why doesn't the child sleep during the day? Perhaps this is a reaction to significant changes and events: you moved or divorced your husband, your second child was born or your baby went to kindergarten - something extraordinary happened in your life, which the child is not yet used to and because of which it may worry a lot.

If something has changed a lot in your life, be patient with your child, show him more care, affection and love. Show your child that no matter what, nothing has changed in your relationship with him and that you still love him.

The result of a child's sleep should always be his excellent mood, active behavior and good health. If your baby, despite the lack of daytime sleep, is alert, active and cheerful, there is no need to worry and think about why the child does not sleep during the day. However, if the baby does not sleep well at night, wakes up hard in the morning, is capricious during the day, falls asleep in the evening, and a little later cannot fall asleep - try to find the reason for this behavior and teach him during the day, if not to sleep, then at least to rest.