I have mentioned before that concerns over whether or not a child is getting enough sleep start early for most parents. We start by fussing over how to get them to sleep through the night and how to balance out all the sleep needs and schedules in a family. Soon, we are trying to come up with a good, working bedtime routine and as our children grow and their sleep patterns change and shift, we have to adjust to these as well. One of the questions that comes up concerns napping–not only how old a child should be when he or she gives up naps–but how long should an adequate and useful nap actually be?
With three different children, they all had three very different sleep patterns and napping patterns. My eldest daughter always loved sleeping and would take a good three-hour nap every day until she was nearly 6 years old. My second child just needed a brief, one-hour nap every day and then would sleep all night. My son, on the other hand, gave up his naps altogether by the time he was about 18 months old and has needed less sleep at night as well. Every child is different, but in general, a nap should be long enough to allow the child to get rest and refreshment.
Even a short cat-nap has benefits. I have known children who got by just fine on a couple short snoozes during the day, while others seemed to need a long, deep sleep in order to stay healthy and happy. If a child is sleeping well at night–getting into that deep REM sleep and getting a full sleep cycle, then day time sleep and naps can be a way of supplementing that overall sleep and giving the child a break from a busy day. How busy and active is the child during the day? You can expect that longer naps will be necessary for very active children (unless they just physically need less sleep) and expect longer naps on days that are especially busy or taxing. Also, a child who is going through a growth spurt or getting sick will likely sleep longer during nap time too.
Also: Toddlers and Naptime