When should children stop napping?
Typically infants can sleep multiple times during the day, but by about 12 months most infants have consolidated most of their sleep into the night time with a morning and afternoon nap.
Any kind of feeding during the nighttime after 6 months of age is problematic. We always recommend eliminating nighttime feeding after 6 months of age.
The morning nap usually goes away between 18 and 24 months, and napping in general typically goes away between 3 and 6 years of age. It depends a little on the child and their “nappetite” – some people have a high appetite for daytime sleep, which is okay.
Daniel S. Lewin, PhD, DABSM is a pediatric psychologist, sleep specialist and licensed clinical psychologist. He is Board Certified in Sleep Medicine and Behavioral Sleep Medicine.
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