For normal growth and development, the child needs a good rest. But if newborns sleep up to 20 hours a day, then as the baby grows older, the intervals between sleep periods gradually increase. At this time, the child learns the world around him, learns to roll over, sit, crawl, etc. By the year, the duration of his daytime sleep is reduced to 2-4 hours and he usually rests once or twice at lunch time. Gradually, the children abandon such a regime and sleep only once. We will tell about when the child goes into one daytime sleep and how to make it happen as smoothly as possible. Here we will present the opinion of the famous pediatrician Komarovsky about this stage of development of the baby.
Sleep Norms for Children Under Three
Full rest is one of the criteria of health. In compliance with the norm of sleep, the child’s mental abilities and concentration are increased, metabolic processes are improved, and his psycho-emotional state is stabilized. For each age group a “certain amount” of rest hours is “allocated” per day. The following sleep standards should serve as a guide 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 nighttime sleep. But you need to understand that if a newborn child can sleep up to 8 times a day, then a three-year-old baby - only once.
A more stable vacation schedule is developed by about 1.5 years. A child ’s daytime sleep after 18 months is 1-2 hours. The baby sleeps, with rare exceptions, 1 time. The rest of the time is spent on waking and exploring the world around us.
The benefits of daytime sleep for a child
Even if children “fit” into the number of hours set by the norms at night, this does not mean at all that they do not need a good rest during the day. Just the opposite. Daytime sleep has the following benefits for a growing child's body:
- helps strengthen the nervous system;
- increases the concentration of attention and receptivity of new information by 30-50%;
- energizes and invigorates;
- compensates for the lack of night rest;
- reduces the risk of developing heart and vascular diseases, heart attacks and strokes;
- reduces nervous tension, increased excitability;
- improves mental and emotional state;
- improves mood and serotonin (a hormone of joy);
- promotes the production of growth hormone, which is especially important for babies;
- avoids emotional overload and excessive fatigue.
Studies have shown that children who do not sleep during the day are more and more sick than their peers. So, in addition to all of the above, daytime sleep strengthens the immunity of the child. That is why parents need to make every effort to keep it as long as possible.
When do children go to daytime sleep?
Every kid 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 the child goes to one day's sleep. Each baby has its own wakefulness regime and its own needs for rest. The task of the parents is to timely reveal the readiness of the crumbs to switch from two day dreams 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 can develop as follows:
- The baby refuses morning sleep, but sleeps well after dinner.
- The child rests for a long time in the morning, but refuses evening sleep.
- The baby sleeps well for the first and second time, but after a night's sleep wakes up every day earlier and earlier.
If parents notice one of these symptoms, they need to gradually reduce the length of their daytime rest. The most favorable age for switching to 1 dream is 1 year and 3-4 months. At this time, the child calmly withstands 5-6 hours of wakefulness.
What is the danger of an early transition to one day's sleep?
Some children refuse to sleep during the day already at 9 months. And sometimes parents independently choose the time when to switch to 1 day's sleep so that the baby falls asleep earlier in the evening. In fact, there is no need to rush anywhere, since this can negatively affect the health of the crumbs. Lack of rest for the baby is fraught with accumulation of fatigue, which manifests itself in the form of moods, tantrums and increased irritability. There are frequent cases when a child begins to wake up at night, becomes lethargic, lethargic, his health worsens, his immunity decreases.
Many children aged 1-1.5 years are still not physically ready for the transition to 1 dream. In this case, it is better to postpone this event for at least a few months.
The principles of transition to one dream in the daytime
As the child’s regime changes, care must be taken to ensure that he does not accumulate fatigue. In this matter, consistency and patience are important. When changing the regime, psychologists recommend that parents be guided by the following principles:
- Do not switch to one daytime sleep when the child has not yet reached the age of 1 year. It is advisable to reach 18 months. The longer the baby will sleep twice during the day, the easier the transition to 1 full rest will pass and the less likely the accumulation of hyperfatigue.
- Do not try to replace 2 sleeps with 1 in just one go. It is possible that for the first few days everything will go according to plan, and then, with the accumulation of fatigue, the new regime will begin to fail, and it will not be easy to establish it again.
- No need to be afraid to put the child to bed too early, at 7 and even at 6 o’clock in the evening. If the child does not receive daytime sleep, he needs to somehow compensate for the hours of rest. Otherwise, fatigue begins to accumulate.
How to safely switch to one dream during the day?
To change the regimen for the child painlessly, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
- If the parents noticed the first signs that the baby is switching to one day's sleep, when he refuses morning or evening rest, you should gradually reduce the time of one of them by several minutes.
- Put the baby to sleep only on a full stomach. Then his rest will be longer.
- Do not put the child to sleep a second time forcibly if he refuses a second sleep.
- If the child begins to be capricious in the evening, the transition to one dream should be postponed for a month. This will avoid the accumulation of fatigue, which can negatively affect the psycho-emotional state of the baby.
- Putting the child to sleep at night should be no later than 9 pm.
- The child’s sleep at night should be full, lasting at least 10 hours.
- By the age of three, the baby's daytime sleep should be 1.5-2 hours. If the length of rest is insufficient, this can be compensated for by earlier laying down.
When does a complete rejection of daytime sleep occur?
After three years, the child should rest for at least 11-12 hours a day. Usually at this time his daytime sleep lasts 1-2 hours, and nighttime - 9-11 hours. After 5 years, kids often completely refuse to relax during the day and easily tolerate these omissions physically and emotionally. But in some cases, daytime sleep is still necessary, especially when overworked. It all depends on the time of morning rise and nightly laying. The total number of hours of rest at this age is 10-12 hours.
Opinion of Dr. Komarovsky
Usually the baby sleeps well at night, if during the day he was able to fully rest. And for this you need to plan your daytime sleep properly. 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 the rest and wakefulness regime.
Regarding the question of when to switch to one day's sleep, 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 should be of high quality and meet established daily standards.
How to provide your child with a healthy sleep?
For the baby to sleep well, he needs sufficient physical activity. And it is advisable to provide it in the morning. It is necessary to ensure the conditions under which the child would have the opportunity to freely walk up, run in and run up. In this case, it must be ensured that he does not overwork and is not overexcited in the evening. Closer to bedtime, the child should be offered calm games, have a massage, read books. This will help to avoid the accumulation of fatigue during the period when the child goes to one day's sleep.
Strict observance of the daily routine will allow the baby to have a good rest. Putting to sleep at day and evening should be at the same time. In addition, it is recommended to follow a certain sequence of actions preceding that event. For example, it can be water procedures, reading your favorite fairy tale, that is, something that will calm the baby and set him up for a healthy sleep. A calm baby will sleep soundly all night. This is important, among other things, for its harmonious growth and development.
Recommendations for organizing a baby’s sleep
In order for the baby to fully relax the number of hours established by the norms, parents should make every effort:
- provide sufficient daily walks in the fresh air;
- maintain the air temperature in the room at 20 °;
- air humidity - at the level of 50-70%;
- good nutrition (without overfeeding);
- comfortable bed and pajamas.
Observance of these conditions will provide the child with a full day's rest at least until the age of five.
We can summarize that the age when a child goes to one daytime sleep varies from 1 to 1.5 years. Moreover, the longer the baby will sleep twice a day, the better will be his psycho-emotional state.