As tired as you are from watching and playing with my child all day, you find it hard to believe that nap time is still a struggle. Why is my kid waking up before I want him to, you might ask yourself? What does your toddler like? He used to take hour-long naps in the morning and evening, but now he doesn’t want to go down for a nap in the morning. How about a 2-hour nap in the afternoon?
Is there a reason your child is waking up cranky before he is ready to get up? Maybe he does not know how to self-soothe, and you need to try to teach him.
Make sure the room you’ve put your toddler down in remains quiet and dark, just like nighttime is, otherwise your chances of him having a full nap are also limited.
As a guideline, toddlers age 12 months need about 2.5 hours worth of naps, and usually 2 a day. At 18 months, you can decrease this to one longer nap of 2.25 hours. At 2 years, you can decrease the nap down to one two-hour nap, and by 3 years you can downgrade to a 1.5 hour nap.
It’s important to set a bedtime and naptime so that sleeping habits keep your child more ready for a proper nap.