Any parent knows that naptime is important for small children. From infancy to about the age of five, children need a lot of sleep. Sleep helps kids keep up with the needs of their rapidly growing and changing bodies and replenish their energy reserves. If your baby or toddler attends a child care center, they should be getting a regular naptime in the afternoon to address this need for sleep. Only choose a child care center that allows naptime, for your child’s health and emotional well-being.
Why are Naps so Important?
Growing kids need lots of nourishing food, love and sleep in order to grow up healthy. Food nourishes the body, love nourishes the soul, and sleep does both. Although a child’s sleep needs will have gone down by the time they are about three, most kids need an afternoon nap until they are five or older. Studies have shown that the afternoon nap’s sleep quality is different from normal, REM (dreaming) sleep. Naptime sleep is heavier and of a “refreshing” quality. Any mom who has battled a cranky, over-tired toddler who missed their afternoon nap knows this is true on a visceral level: naps are necessary.
Napping and Age Differences
During the first four months of life, newborns sleep an average of 18 hours per day. By the time the child turns three, they average about ten to twelve hours of sleep at night, plus an afternoon nap of anywhere from 1.5 to two hours. By age five the afternoon nap normally is no longer necessary, since the child’s body has stopped growing so rapidly, but many still need a nap into their pre-teens, when sleep needs climb again. Kids who attend a child care center are normally age five and under, so logic would dictate that the center promotes a regular afternoon nap. However, this is not always the case.
Why Not Nap?
Some child care centers have stopped allowing the afternoon naptime for children age three and up. Their reasoning is that by this age, the kids need less sleep, and many do not respond well to being forced to lie down and be quiet. Other child care centers have “nap” and “no nap” class groupings, where those who do nap are allowed to do so, and the others get “quiet time” instead. If your child still needs naptime in the afternoon do not allow the center to dictate whether they can nap or not. If the center is not responsive to your child’s needs, it might be best to seek new care arrangements,
Naptime Rules of Thumb
Child care centers need to have naptime at set times that are not too late, not too early. The best time is in the early afternoon, after lunch has had time to digest, since sleeping on an empty stomach is not advised. Naptime should end before four PM, so as not to interfere with the child’s evening habits and bedtime. The child should not be allowed to sleep more than two hours straight, as this can alter their everyday rhythm. The room at the child care center where naptime takes place should be dim, without distractions, and every child should have their own mat, blanket or cot. Music also aids in encouraging sleep.
In order for a preschool-aged child to develop properly, they need enough sleep. Regular afternoon naptime at a child care center will help meet this need. Naptimes should be age-appropriate in duration and allowances should be made for those kids who do not need as much sleep as others in the child care center.
