Toddler

Q: How can I tell when my preschooler is ready to give up napping altogether?

A: Watch for these signs:

• Your child goes through his normal daily activities without seeming sleepy.
• A missed nap doesn’t lead to tears or a tantrum over his chicken nuggets at dinner.
• He isn’t overtired at bedtime and settles easily.

Keep in mind that your big kid may not be ready to go cold turkey. He may still need a nap every other day or, perhaps, only on really active days. Be flexible enough to offer an afternoon nap or quiet time if he shows signs of tiredness or irritability. While the majority of children drop their nap sometime around their fourth birthday, yours may be ready sooner, or later.

Q: Sometimes my toddler is cranky and aching to nap at 5 p.m. Should I give in, or try to keep her up till bedtime?

A: Ah, this is a doozy! After a late-day nap, your toddler may be energetically playing Daddy-back rodeo until 9 or 10 at night; but forgo it and she may be overtired and difficult to settle at bedtime. This can happen when a child is almost — but not quite! — ready to give up naps. There are a couple of strategies you can use to manage this transition phase in her development. If she won’t nap mid-afternoon, have your child chill out with half an hour or so of quiet time, followed by an early supper and a dialed-back bedtime; or let her have the later nap she craves, but wake her after a short while. Finally, you could try napping every other day.

Q: My 13-year-old often crashes for an hour or two after school. Is this normal, or should I be worried?

A: As children enter the teen years, their sleep/wake rhythms shift, making them want to hit the sack later at night and rise later in the morning. That puts them out of sync with the schedules imposed by school and activities. So if your kid’s alarm clock is getting her up before she’s had the solid eight to 10 hours she needs during puberty, she’ll have to make up for the lost sleep somewhere. If those 40 winks help her get through the nightly mountain of homework, leave her be. Just ensure that caffeine, computer use and late-night TV aren’t keeping her awake later than necessary. And note that if long hours of sleep are interfering with your teen’s school attendance or social life, it could be a sign of depression. Consult her doctor if you have any concerns.

Originally published in Today's Parent, October 2007