Is napping important for baby and child?
By vingyan06
@vingyan06 (2486)
Malaysia
October 17, 2009 10:18am CST
I always think that a napping baby is a happy baby. I always ensure my two kids get nap everyday. I can see napping is important for them to get a rest and let the body recharge the energy. Some times, if it has pass the normal napping time, my kids will act more cranky than usual. It is important to learn your child’s signs for being tired. When it is time to nap, they will have signs of tiredness.
One of my friend's daughter does not like to nap at all. She is only 13 months old now. Even if she nap she only nap less than half an hour time. The mother is thinking to stop her for nap so to help the baby sleep more at night.
So I am wondering how do parents know how often their child should be napping, for how long and when those requirements change.
Do you know how much sleep is enough for a baby?
Do your baby or your kids take nap everyday? How long their naps are?
Where do your babies take nap?
2 people like this
21 responses
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
17 Oct 09
hi vingyan06 I am now way past those days but I do think if you just watch your children you will soon know how much nap time they need. as for when you will soon see that if they are starting to become fussy and cranky,they are tired. put them down for a nap. No two kids are alike so you learn through
watching them how long they need to nap and how many hours of
'sleep at night they may need. also seek help from your child's doctor regarding hours of sleep.
1 person likes this
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
17 Oct 09
Hi Hatley,
Thanks for your response. I have 2 kids and they both just nap every day. I will put them to nap every afternoon. If they wake up late in the morning, I will let them nap a little late afternoon. They normally don't have any problem when it comes to nap time. They will fall asleep very fast.
WHat I mentioned just now about they pass the nap time is the time we go out and they do not get nap at the usual period. 
@clorissa123 (4926)
• United States
17 Oct 09
that is right, observation is the key. If I have a child, I would observe his/her daily activities, and I would know when would be the best time to put them on sleep. It won't be easy to be a parent, but we just love our children.
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
18 Oct 09
Yes baby and young children need naps. When my son was young he never wanted to nap but I would put him down for a nap anyway. He would fight it but usually after 15 minutes when I would go check on him he was sound asleep sometimes in bed other times on the floor. He would usually sleep for and hour or two. I never let him sleep longer so he would sleep at night.
1 person likes this
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
18 Oct 09
Hello Happy,
Thanks for your response. My kids sometimes refuse to take nap too. This happen when there is visitors at home. Of course they will fight for a while but still they need to go for napping. My kids normally will nap about 2 hours. Lately they nap at late afternoon and so they wake up late. When comes to bed time, it is a bit uneasy for them to fall asleep.
@margerydaw14 (735)
•
18 Oct 09
I can only go by my own experience, which is a long time ago, but unlike fashions , babies are the same the whole world over. My own son was a little perisher, I was told by a nurse and various other people,"your baby will sleep at least 20 hours out of 24"
Ha !! i dont think so!!
he slept about 4 hours out of 24 !! i was living with my in laws at the time and that didnt help. i think anyone who has ever lived with their in-laws then they first got married and had a baby, will understand.
but i think if you can let your child have quiet time in their room, they will eventually nap and get used to it.
I don't think its a very good idea to try and keep them awake during the day, as they will only get irritable and over tired, and that make it even more difficult for them to get to sleep at night. Take a hint from someone who knows 
. best wishes to you
Ha !! i dont think so!! he slept about 4 hours out of 24 !! i was living with my in laws at the time and that didnt help. i think anyone who has ever lived with their in-laws then they first got married and had a baby, will understand.
but i think if you can let your child have quiet time in their room, they will eventually nap and get used to it.
I don't think its a very good idea to try and keep them awake during the day, as they will only get irritable and over tired, and that make it even more difficult for them to get to sleep at night. Take a hint from someone who knows . best wishes to you @margerydaw14 (735)
•
18 Oct 09
sorry, now i am laughing , i have just caught sight of an earlier post, saying babies grow when they sleep. I have heard this before. but even though my son didnt sleep very much when he was a baby, he is now 6'2" tall. bless him ! @clorissa123 (4926)
• United States
17 Oct 09
I observe that most babies like to nap, and they seems sleep a lot most of the days. I would like to play with babies or those toddlers. But they seems sleep more during the day time, especially the afternoon time. I have less chance to play with them. Well, maybe you are right, sleepy baby is a happy baby.
@JamesKYTan (1605)
• Malaysia
19 Oct 09
An infant needs more than 20 hours of sleep a day, and a week old infant in fact needs 22 hours of sleep.The baby will only wakes when he or she is hungry. It is only during sleep that a growing-up child grows. As a baby grows he or she requires less and less sleep. This it the pattern of growth.
@Craicha (801)
•
17 Oct 09
proper sleep for the baby, i dnt have an idea but the proper sleep we needed when we sleep at night 6hours the less or enough for our body....and for taking a nap for kids and baby they need it bcoz they are in the process of growing up ....and yah the mother of the baby she did right let her baby play at day that during at night in her sleep for sure she have long sleep bcoz shes tired ....
@clorissa123 (4926)
• United States
17 Oct 09
I don't see anything wrong with babies sleep alot. Like you said, maybe they are tired after long day playing. Or they simply need more sleep for the day. They are growing, and they needs the nap to help them refresh.
1 person likes this
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
18 Oct 09
What I know is new born baby really need lot of sleep. From birth to four Months old baby, they need quality sleep.
Newborns sleep a lot. At this age the child is establishing good circadian rhythms. The baby begins to associate external cues with sleep.
I have read an article about napping for babies :
It is important to learn your child’s signs for being tired, i.e., yawning, rubbing eyes, and scratching or pulling ears. Use these signs as a guide for when to put your child to sleep. The idea is to put your baby to sleep before the first signs of being tired appear. Until about seven to eight months of age, a baby should not be awake for more than two hours at a time. Some babies are ready for sleep after only being awake for an hour or so; it is critical to learn your baby’s “comfortable” awake time and put your child to sleep accordingly.
@carolbee (16230)
• United States
18 Oct 09
I do think napping for babies is important. Have always heard that babies grow while they are sleeping. Our kids are grown now but I did insist they catch a nap whether it be for 30 minutes or 2 hours. Not only was it healthy for them but my mind had a chance to rest also. Tough job having 3 girls. Our kids always napped in their bedrooms.
I take care of our youngest grandbaby several times a week and she naps but not for very long. She's a great sleeper at night. She generally sleeps between 11 and 12 hours each night. As she begins to get older the naps will decrease but do think it's important for both baby and mom to have some kind of rest throughout the day.
@smart44 (510)
• Philippines
18 Oct 09
yes its very important to babies or to children, as they grow older they need to nap or have enough sleep so that they are beeing recharge like a battery. Its very important to babies to have enough sleep. my kids are taking a nap if theres no classes i see to it that they have nap. and i always let them to sleep early so that when they wake up in the morning they are very happy in deed they will do their task attentively.
@dorisday1971 (5657)
• Philippines
18 Oct 09
I believe that sleeping is very important for a child for him to grow. If a child has less sleep, chances are he he will have a stunted growth. Babies should have quality sleep for him to stay healthy.
@Ritchelle (3790)
• Philippines
18 Oct 09
your post makes me think of another post to put up here. but i'd still respond. i think the human body is smart enought to really make things happen. i mean if it is really tired you'd find yourself in a snooze one way or the other. i think...
@haiershen (1080)
• China
19 Oct 09
i'm not married, so i don't know very well for how to take care of a child is good. but in my opinion,the baby often sleeping very long than open their eyes per day, so i'm thinking of that the sleeping is very important for them to growing up.i used to have a nap,sometimes more than two hours, sometims only thirty minuters.no matter how long is,i fell very well after having a nap.so i support that partents who try their best to help body to have a good habit of taking a nap is necessary.good luck and have a nice day.
@vivianchen (2646)
• China
19 Oct 09
I don't have a baby yet, but i am sure, nap and sleeping is very important for a health baby to grow up! Even for our adults, it's good if we can take a noon nap, then we can handle our afternoon a lot better, and our body will feel much better. SO, i think, taking a nap will be important to both baby, child and adult!
@submerryn (1304)
• Malaysia
19 Oct 09
vingyan,
When my boy was younger, he napped for twenty minutes every two hours. But as he gets older, he napped longer hours. His nap can be around 1-2 hours twice a day. Since he hit two years old, he naps only once a day and that nap can last for a couple of hours. But these few days, I've noticed that he doesnt nap at all! And I'm wondering now..
@liaw4ny3n (19)
• Indonesia
18 Oct 09
i've read the news about the psychology of children adequate rest for the children during the day is 3 hours. siesta for the child at the age of 13 months or were still good enough for a toddler can add to the body's immune,but remember don't forget to consider food and nutrient intake in children because it influences sleep patterns
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
18 Oct 09
Hello vingyan. I think that a baby who sleeps more grows faster and gains more weight than one who does not, so it is same with babies when it comes to taking a nap. Both my brother-in-law and I have a very small baby of our own. His baby sleeps a lot and is heavier, but mine sleeps much less and is less heavy. A baby grows faster during the sleeping hours, including napping time. This is what I think from the experience of observing the two babies. Happy parenting, friend.
@jugsjugs (12967)
•
17 Oct 09
I think that all young children as well as a baby needs alot of sleep as this helps it to grow as well as if they are ill they seem to get better quicker.I do not think it makes any difference if you stop the nap during the day as they still seem to have that problem for a while at night.
@vathsala30 (3732)
• India
18 Oct 09
New born will be napping for more than 10 hrs and that is what my children, when they were in that stage did. After growing upto 7 - 8 months old, they napped for 3 hrs. Now they are grown ups and will nap for 2 - 3 hrs and not every day but when they are tired and exhausted
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
17 Oct 09
I think that babies and small children do need to take naps. Their little bodies are still growing. They need that extra rest to aid in their growing process. Children who don't take naps sometimes lose their momentum and energy through the day. They may not like going to sleep before bedtime, but they really do need it.
@tuhkatriinu (283)
• Finland
17 Oct 09
I have 14 month old baby. When he was born he was allready sleeping on daytime a lot and full night. Around year he was sleeping 2 times like 1 hour before lunch and 1 hour after lunch + night sleeping. Now we went over to 2 hour sleeping after 12 o`clock in midday. I think its good coz he gets so tired and cranky when hes not sleeping at all in daytime.
@calai618 (1773)
• Philippines
18 Oct 09
I never had any child yet but mother told me that the only thing a baby that young does in his or her lifetime is to eat and sleep so I don't think it's the right idea to control what time she does what. I think you should just follow the baby's own time. If he/she cries, then feed him or check the diaper. If he/she is satisfied, then he/she would play or take a nap. Crying is the best, if not the only, indication of schedule the baby has. The baby does not really care if it's day or it's night because he/she is dependent on his/her needs. I think it's not a good idea to change the baby's onw schedule just so it would be convenient for you to sleep at night, at least not now that the baby is too young.
