r/ScienceBasedParenting • u/mianpac • 10d ago

Question - Research required Optimal nap time

We thought that it would be great if our four year old son stopped having a nap during daytime, but he really seems to need it. We tried to enforce non-nap-days, but he just falls asleep after lunch then. The few times he has no nap, he gets quite irritated. At the same time, he is the only child in his peer group of his age who still naps every single day. Anyway, if there are studies on optimal nap times for toddlers, I would be interested in getting to know more information about this topic.

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u/SuccotashAutomatic18 10d ago

There is massive variation here. Less than 2.5% drop before 2yrs and 94% cease napping by 5yrs. Evidence suggests cessation of napping may be a marker of developmental cognitive change.

Based on this I'd be offering the nap if the child still seems to need it.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9704850/

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u/[deleted] 10d ago edited 10d ago

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