What to do if your child doesn't like taking a nap

Parents often find that their children don’t like to take naps, which makes them very distressed, because not taking naps will make the baby become listless and noisy. At this time, parents can actually find some relief methods, such as not giving them too much food on normal days, which will affect their sleep quality, and also increase their daytime activity.

What to do if your baby doesn't take a nap

Prevention of insufficient sleep in infants

(1) If the child is full of energy before bedtime and is unwilling to go to bed early, parents should consciously increase his activity during the day and let him play until he is a little tired. However, before going to bed, he should be allowed to calm down and not be overly excited, which will help him fall asleep.

(2) Do not feed your baby too much or too little before bedtime to avoid disrupting sleep due to gastrointestinal discomfort or hunger. Also, do not tease your child too much, so that he or she can remain calm before going to bed and prevent over-excitement. After going to bed, toys should not be given to children to prevent them from refusing to fall asleep due to playing too much.

(3) For children who wake up in the middle of the night, if they can fall asleep after drinking breast milk, they can be given some breast milk or some cow's milk to help them fall asleep peacefully. There is no need to worry about developing bad habits. As the child grows older, the habit of waking up in the middle of the night to feed will gradually disappear.

(4) Most young children like their mothers to go to bed with them. In this way, the child will feel very safe and happy, and fall asleep peacefully to the sweet lullaby of his mother. But be careful not to develop the habit of falling asleep while holding your baby from a young age. They should be trained to be willing to lie down and fall asleep by themselves at the age of one, to be able to go to bed on time and fall asleep without the company of their parents at the age of two, to be able to go to bed and cover themselves with a quilt after the age of three, and to get out of bed and put on slippers after waking up.

Diagnosis and examination of infant sleep deprivation

Children of different ages need different lengths of sleep. Here’s how much sleep children of different ages should get and how to observe their sleep.

(1) Newborns: They should sleep for 20 hours a day. During sleep, make sure the baby’s posture is correct.

(2) 2 to 3 months: The baby spends about 18 hours a day sleeping except for feeding, defecation and urination. The same observations as above.

(3) 4 to 6 months: Sleep three times during the day, each time for about 2 hours, for a total of about 6 hours. Observation is the same as above.

(4) 7 to 12 months: Sleep twice during the day, each time for about 2 hours, for a total of about 4 hours. Observation is the same as above.

(5) 13 to 18 months: Sleep twice during the day, each time for about 1.5 to 2 hours, for a total of about 3 to 4 hours. Observation is the same as above.

(6) 19 to 24 months: Sleep once during the day, for about 2 to 2.5 hours. In addition to observing whether the sleeping posture is correct, you should also observe whether the baby closes his eyes, whether he sleeps quietly, and whether he gets enough sleep.

(7) 25-30 months: Sleep once during the day, about 2.5 hours. In addition to observing whether the sleeping posture is correct, it is also necessary to observe whether the baby can fall asleep quietly and whether he can lie down quietly after being reminded by an adult after waking up without disturbing others, whether he gets enough sleep, and whether he is energetic and happy after waking up.

(8) 31-36 months: Sleep once during the day, about 2 hours. In addition to observing whether the sleeping posture is correct, we also need to see whether the baby lies down actively, whether he falls asleep quietly, and whether he can lie still after waking up without crying or making a fuss.