Komarovsky when to transfer a child to one nap during the day Komarovsky

Dr. Komarovsky about daytime sleep in a child

The stronger and healthier a child’s sleep, the healthier his entire family is overall. It’s no secret that a twitchy, nervous, screaming baby and the same, but also sleep-deprived mother are a wonderful powerful tandem to ruin the lives of each other and all household members, young and old. That is why it is important to organize normal sleep for the baby from the very first days of his life. Everyone understands this. In theory. But how to do it in practice is only known to a very small percentage of moms and dads. Dr. Evgeny Komarovsky tells what needs to be done for this.

About sleep in general

Children need naps during the day. The baby explores the world, sometimes very actively, and the abundance of impressions greatly exhausts him.

Sleeping during the day allows you to restore strength, give rest to the nervous system and the entire body as a whole. It is important for a growing person in the same way as nutrition and treatment if the baby is sick. During sleep, the composition of the blood is renewed, the muscles and musculoskeletal system rest, the most important enzymes and many vital hormones are produced.

Sleep norm is a rather vague concept, but it nevertheless exists. A baby sleeps longer than a baby after one year. It is considered normal for a newborn to snore sweetly in the crib after each feeding, for a total of 19-22 hours a day. From 1 to 3 months, the child takes 3-4 daytime naps; taking into account the night time, they sleep up to 17 hours a day. From 4 months, the child can lie down during the day 2-3 times for 3 hours, and together with the night sleeps in total up to 15-16 hours a day.

At the age of 1 to 2 years, a child can sleep once during the day, or can be latched twice for 2-3 hours. Pediatricians recommend switching a child to one nap during the day from the age of 2. Kindergarten starts around this time, so it’s usually an easy transition to make. The duration of quiet time for such a child is from 1 to 3 hours.

However, it is impossible to measure all children by existing standards, because children have different temperaments, impressionability levels, and the ability to switch from activity to rest. Maybe that’s why the norms remain norms on paper, but in reality the statistics vary greatly. But this does not lose the value of daytime sleep.

What about kindergarten?

Often parents force their child to sleep during the day only because quiet time in kindergarten is a mandatory element of the regime.

Is your child going to kindergarten? Do not frighten him in advance with a “strict” regime and the need to fall asleep exactly on time. Talk about kindergarten as an exciting adventure. There you can do everything with friends - play, walk, have lunch, sleep.

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In most cases, in a kindergarten group, a child gets into a routine much easier and enjoys sleeping in the company of his peers. But there are also exceptions. And here the main task of parents is not to turn the teacher into an opponent, but to make him their ally.

Tell him about your problems and doubts, ask for advice. Sometimes a favorite toy that the baby can take with him to the garden helps him fall asleep.

And there are also cases when teachers allow the child not to sleep, but simply lie quietly in the crib, looking at pictures in books. There are many options - find yours.

Doctor Komarovsky's opinion

The only thing that does not depend on parents in organizing children's sleep is a diaper, says Evgeny Komarovsky. If mom and dad spared no expense and bought a good, high-quality and comfortable diaper, then this is already half the success, since discomfort and dampness are the most common causes of children’s sleep disturbances. There is no need to invent anything here, says the doctor, everything has already been created and should benefit both children and adults.

Parents have to do the rest themselves. Usually, the baby sleeps better at night if he has had a good rest during the day. However, you shouldn’t think that a good night’s sleep means too much sleep. After all, it is clear that a baby who has slept all day long will be awake at night. Therefore, proper planning of daytime sleep will help solve some disturbances in this process at night.

The need for daytime sleep

Official medicine believes that daytime sleep is necessary for a child until he reaches the age of seven. Evgeny Komarovsky is sure that after five years a child no longer needs daytime dreams. However, if the baby stopped sleeping during the day at 2 years old, then this is a reason to understand the reasons, make adjustments to the daily routine and return daytime rest back as soon as possible. The child is still too young to lead a normal life from night to night without rest.

Evgeny Komarovsky calls on parents to carefully analyze the baby’s lifestyle. Is he eating well, is he not being overfed, is he getting enough fresh air, is the temperature and humidity in the children's room normal. All these factors, according to the doctor, have a direct impact on the quality (and quantity!) of sleep.

The baby's bed should be comfortable, and underwear and pajamas are made from natural fabrics, which are pleasant to the baby and do not interfere with his sleep. The room should have fresh air, the temperature of which does not exceed 20 degrees, and the humidity - 50-70%.

Dr. Komarovsky will tell you more about this in the video below.

Mode correction

A big mistake parents make is to adapt to their child. The baby was brought from the maternity hospital, and mom and dad began to sleep when a small family member allows them to do so. Komarovsky advises immediately transferring the child to the regime that is acceptable for all household members, and not vice versa.

Once you decide on nighttime sleep, you can plan daytime sleep, knowing the average norms for the total amount of time that babies at a given age should devote to sleep. This will require discipline, first of all, from the parents themselves, because the regime they created will have to be observed first of all by themselves, then the child will be able to quickly accept the daily routine as something completely natural.

Evgeniy Olegovich advises, without any doubt or remorse, to wake up a baby who is sleepy during the day so that he does not have problems falling asleep at night, and the daily routine built with such difficulty does not collapse overnight.

In order for your child to go to bed more willingly during the day, the doctor recommends thinking about his leisure time in the first half of the day, in the morning. It’s good if it’s active games, physical activity, according to age, massage or gymnastics, and definitely a walk in the fresh air. After the child eats for lunch, he will not have to be persuaded to sleep, he will really want it himself.

The less healthy activity, the worse the child’s daytime sleep. Therefore, if parents complain that the child “usually sleeps well during the day, but recently he has stopped going to bed,” Evgeniy Olegovich advises simply to reconsider his lifestyle, add walks, sports, and come up with new entertainment.

Useful tips

Pay special attention to the mattress on which the child sleeps. It should be smooth and not press through. It is best to choose an orthopedic mattress.

Until the age of 2 years, a child should sleep without a pillow. This is the recommendation of Evgeny Komarovsky. After two years, parents can give their baby a pillow if they wish, but its size should not be adult size. The optimal thickness of the pillow is equal to the size of the child's shoulder.

If no home measures to improve daytime sleep help, Komarovsky recommends contacting a pediatrician, psychologist and child neurologist; they will help identify the hidden causes of sleep disturbances and help eliminate them. It is important to do this without leaving the problem to chance, if only for the reason that sometimes the pain prevents the baby from sleeping peacefully during quiet hours. Finding and neutralizing is the common task of parents and doctors in this situation.

How to put a baby to sleep at 8 months

Rocking a baby

When your child wakes up at night and then stays awake for a long time, try to lull him to sleep. Our great-grandmothers also rocked children who could not sleep. While rocking, the baby relaxes, becomes calmer and falls asleep.

There are several ways to rock. For example, you can put your baby on your side and rock him gently until he falls asleep. Children rock well while sitting in their mother's arms. So he understands that he was surrounded by a dense protective ring, just like it was in his mother’s tummy.

These methods of combating insomnia are absolutely safe for the baby’s health.

When the baby is still breastfed, rocking him to sleep is easier. Take the baby in your arms, give him the breast, gently rock him, carry him around the room, sing a song. Don't be afraid that he will get used to it and will fall asleep only this way.

Sleeping at night next to mom

Babies bond too closely with their mothers. They can be calm only when they feel her mother’s warmth, her smell, her voice nearby. An eight-month-old toddler cannot feel safe without the person he loves most, which is why he begins to act up when his parents try to put him to sleep in a separate crib.

If you have trouble sleeping at night, try placing your baby next to you.

This is especially convenient for nursing women. As soon as the baby becomes capricious, the mother can immediately give him the breast, hug him, and lull him to sleep.

After a certain time, as soon as the capricious one falls into a deep sleep, he is transferred to the crib. That is, the baby falls asleep under his mother’s wing, and spends the second half of the night on his own. Or vice versa, you need to look at the situation.

The older the child gets, the stronger and longer his sleep becomes. He wakes up less often to feed. Over time, when breastfeeding ends, you need to teach the little man to sleep on his own.

Preparation for sleep

It’s not bad when the family traditionally uses the same ritual of preparing for bed. Daily observance of this order creates an atmosphere of calm and relaxation for the baby before bedtime:

Water procedures. It is very good when the baby is accustomed to bathing before bed. And this is not just a matter of hygiene. So the baby relaxes well

Important! If bathing is not a very pleasant procedure for the baby, it is better to do it at another time of the day; Creating a pleasant environment. In the room where they are getting ready for bed, it is necessary to remove all extraneous sounds long before putting the baby to bed

The light should not be too bright; Establishing contact before bed. When getting ready for bed, hug your child, talk to him, tell him something pleasant; Fairy tales. In order to read bedtime stories or nursery rhymes, you do not need to choose a specific age. Kids always love this. Reading not only calms you down before bed, but helps in a child's intellectual development; Songs for the night. Only the deaf have never heard of the magical properties of lullabies. From time immemorial, children fell asleep to the sounds of their mother's song. Now you can not only sing, but also play any light, soothing melody before bed; After your baby has fallen asleep, lay him down comfortably and cover him with a blanket. If he has fears of dark rooms, turn on a night light in the bedroom.

When to transfer a child to one nap during the day Komarovsky

Children need naps during the day. The baby explores the world, sometimes very actively, and the abundance of impressions greatly exhausts him.

Sleeping during the day allows you to restore strength, give rest to the nervous system and the entire body as a whole. It is important for a growing person in the same way as nutrition and treatment if the baby is sick. During sleep, the composition of the blood is renewed, the muscles and musculoskeletal system rest, the most important enzymes and many vital hormones are produced.

Doctor Komarovsky's opinion

Parents have to do the rest themselves. Usually, the baby sleeps better at night if he has had a good rest during the day. However, you shouldn’t think that a good night’s sleep means too much sleep. After all, it is clear that a baby who has slept all day long will be awake at night. Therefore, proper planning of daytime sleep will help solve some disturbances in this process at night.

The need for daytime sleep

Evgeny Komarovsky calls on parents to carefully analyze the baby’s lifestyle. Is he eating well, is he not being overfed, is he getting enough fresh air, is the temperature and humidity in the children's room normal. All these factors, according to the doctor, have a direct impact on the quality (and quantity!) of sleep.

Dr. Komarovsky will tell you more about this in the video below.

Evgeniy Olegovich advises, without any doubt or remorse, to wake up a baby who is sleepy during the day so that he does not have problems falling asleep at night, and the daily routine built with such difficulty does not collapse overnight.

The less healthy activity, the worse the child’s daytime sleep. Therefore, if parents complain that the child “usually sleeps well during the day, but recently he has stopped going to bed,” Evgeniy Olegovich advises simply to reconsider his lifestyle, add walks, sports, and come up with new entertainment.

Pay special attention to the mattress on which the child sleeps. It should be smooth and not press through. It is best to choose an orthopedic mattress.

Features of sleep in children

The stages of sleep in an infant develop differently: the deep phase occurs first, then the superficial phase. During the first months of life, sleep cycles are not sufficiently expressed: they are of uneven duration and shorter. Moreover, the difference between the phases of a one-month and one-year-old child is significant.

During the first ten months after birth, the baby is able to sleep for 20-40 minutes. This cannot be considered normal, but such a duration of rest is not recognized as a pathology, provided that the baby sleeps more peacefully at night.

An adult's sleep has four phases, but an infant's sleep has two phases. In the first 12 months of a child's life, there is a typical alternation between deep and superficial. During the first part of the cycle, the boy or girl completely relaxes; in the second, as a result of increased brain activity, they toss and turn and move their arms and legs. If during this period you pick up the baby in your arms to move it, or start talking too loudly, then awakening cannot be avoided.

Over the course of two to three hours, during which the baby goes into the arms of Morpheus, the phases change each other every 20-30 minutes.

While the child is very young, the duration of the periods will be as follows:

up to 6 months – 50 minutes (half an hour – deep and 20 – superficial, restless);
6-24 months – 70 minutes.

As the child grows up, other phases characteristic of adults are added to his two phases.

It is important to remember that no matter how deeply the baby sleeps, the deep phase gives way to a quick, restless one, so any rustle can wake him up. To prevent the onset of a premature period of wakefulness, it is necessary:

create silence, preventing street noise from entering the room, turn off or muffle the sound of a working TV;
remove bright room lighting; use a dim nightlight at night;
During the day, it is advisable to close the windows with thick curtains to prevent access to bright sunlight.

The total duration of rest during the day depends on the age of the baby.

In the first two weeks of birth, the newborn sleeps 20-22 hours, waking up every 3-4 hours to feed.
In the following weeks, the duration of rest is reduced to 16-18 hours. Now, during the waking period, the baby not only eats, but also explores the world around him.
By the end of the third month, the baby sleeps 15-16 hours.
From the third to the sixth months, the period of night rest decreases to 8-10 hours, but its total time (together with daytime sleep) is 15 hours.
From the sixth to the ninth month of life, the baby's daily sleep duration decreases to 12 hours. In addition to night rest, during the day he needs a short “quiet hour”: in the morning and after lunch.
After reaching nine months, children rest for 10-11 hours, several of which occur per day. The regime is maintained until 1 year of age

Daytime nap

The duration of a newborn's daytime sleep should ideally be 9 hours. At night, the baby sleeps 10-11 hours and wakes up only to feed. These are average standards, since the baby may not sleep at all during the day, but at the same time not wake up at night to feed.

The infant's daytime rest is segmental. As the baby grows, the need for it decreases: at four months he sleeps three or four times; at six months of age, morning, lunch and evening rest are enough.

By the age of one and a half years, babies sleep no more than once during the day. At this stage, having overcome the rapid phase of sleep, the child can go into deep sleep and sleep for quite a long time.

Biological rhythms

A baby's sleep, like all vital processes taking place in a baby's body, is subject to a certain cyclicity. It is called “biological rhythms”.

Taking into account the current course of biorhythms, which are established at the stage of intrauterine development, it is possible to build a daily routine that is as comfortable as possible for the baby.

The recommendations will be as follows:

The moment of waking up and falling asleep should be timed at a certain time.
Sunlight is largely responsible for coordinating biorhythms. Therefore, in winter, when the sun rises late, you need to turn on the light in the room to wake up. In summer, on the contrary, close the curtains so that the rays do not wake up the baby.

This will help “tune” biological rhythms and reduce the active phase of sleep in newborns in relation to the deep one.

Features of the transition

When to switch to 1 nap depends on the baby’s readiness. Some infants are ready to switch to this regime by the age of one year, and some not earlier than 1.5-2 years. The transition process also proceeds differently. Some children take a long time to get used to it, while others switch right away. Before moving your child to one nap during the day, determine whether he is ready for this.

The first signs of the baby’s readiness appear at 10-12 months:

If you notice these signs, begin to gradually reduce your rest time during the day. Doctors note that suitable readiness is observed in children aged 1 year and 3-4 months. At this time, they can calmly stay awake for 5-6 hours a day.

Early transition: harm or benefit

Some children confidently refuse a second nap during the day as early as 9-10 months. And sometimes parents, on their own initiative, organize a transition at this age, replacing daytime rest with games and walks. But even if the baby accepts such a schedule, it can negatively affect the baby’s well-being and mood. He becomes moody and irritable, begins to wake up frequently at night, and may be lethargic and feel unwell.

This condition is due to the fact that the baby gets very tired and accumulates fatigue. In addition, lack of sleep reduces immunity. Many children under 1-1.5 years old are not yet physically ready for such a transition. Take your time and delay the transition process for a few weeks or even months. It is important that the nervous system is ready for such a regime. For more information on how much sleep children need and how to properly organize a baby’s sleep, read the link

Do not rush to give up this pleasant procedure, because daytime sleep is very useful. By the way, doctors recommend that even adults devote 20-30 minutes to this activity. And if you didn’t get enough sleep at night, the time can be increased to 40-60 minutes. The main thing is that the rest should not be delayed and should take place no later than three o’clock in the afternoon. According to experts, the most useful and appropriate time for this procedure is the period from 13:00 to 15:00.

Complete refusal of daytime naps

After three years, children should sleep only once during the day with a rest period of no more than two hours. During this period, the child’s regime is significantly restructured compared to the regime at 1-2 years. It is important that at this age the baby is already able to understand, negotiate and comply with agreements. Be sure to use this. Don’t yell at the baby, but try to calmly and clearly explain what you want and why it is needed.

In total, children 3-6 years old should sleep 11-12 hours a day. Daytime rest for 3-4 years is 1-2 hours, and night rest is 9-11 hours. After 5 years, many children begin to refuse to sleep during the day. The duration of the process is reduced, and children can easily tolerate skipping it. However, a child of 5-6 years old may still periodically need daytime rest due to overwork. It depends on the time you get up in the morning and the degree of fatigue.

Don't give up naps completely prematurely. This will negatively affect the nervous system, mental and physical condition of the baby. He will be very tired and cranky, often wake up at night and will not want to get up in the morning. The baby will not be able to withstand physical and emotional stress.

The main sign that the baby is ready to give up is feeling comfortable during the day and lack of fatigue. After 5 years of age, if there is no daytime rest, you need to sleep 10-12 hours at night. And what to do if the baby does not sleep during the day already at 2-3 years old, read the article “Why does the child not want to sleep during the day.”

How to improve sleep during the day?

During the day, a child's sleep is very sensitive and is greatly influenced by external factors, especially at a time when it has not yet been established. You can help you fall asleep quickly by creating the most comfortable sleeping conditions. You should provide lighting in the room that is as close to night lighting as possible, this will help the body fall asleep faster. It is recommended to provide white noise to promote sound sleep and prevent exposure to sudden sounds such as a phone ringing or window noise. Some children like to sleep in complete silence; you will have to provide such conditions and try to protect the baby from extraneous sounds. The bed also plays an important role. For a comfortable sleep, a child must have:

low pillow;
comfortable mattress;
light blanket;
clothing made from natural fabrics that will not restrict movement.

We recommend reading: A lullaby is

After birth, up to two months, newborns very rarely sleep according to a schedule; the change from wakefulness to sleep occurs chaotically. During this period, it is enough for the child to sleep for 30 minutes every 2-3 hours, at any time of the day, and already at 3-5 years old it may not be possible to put him to bed at all, or 1-2 hours will be enough to recuperate. It is difficult to put a newborn baby’s sleep on a specific schedule; you will have to adapt to it and follow the feeding schedule.

How long should a child sleep during the day?

What if the child does not want to sleep during the day?

Children do not want to sleep during the day for completely different reasons. Perhaps the child is simply not tired physically and emotionally or cannot fall asleep on his own. Or the room is very hot and stuffy (this happens to many people when the heating season begins). Or perhaps the mother simply does not have time to put the child to bed, so napping during the day cannot become a regular habit.

So, let's figure out what to do if the baby refuses to sleep during the day:

The key to a good daytime sleep is a routine. No matter how scary it may be for mothers, a routine for a child is a must. Children quickly get used to it and are ready to eat/walk/sleep at the appointed time. If your baby doesn't want to fall asleep during the day, reconsider his daily routine. Perhaps the child wakes up late because he goes to bed late, so he’s simply not tired yet for nap time. Make morning walks regular (this is useful not only for the baby, but also for the mother). Put your child to bed immediately after lunch. Thus, you will create certain rituals, by performing which, the child will more calmly agree to a daytime nap. The main thing is to always follow the established regime.

Monitor the temperature in the room. Air it out before going to bed. Children sleep very poorly when the room is hot and stuffy. Also, such a microclimate has a very bad effect on the nasal mucosa, which negatively affects the child’s susceptibility to viruses and bacteria.
Never use naps as a punishment. On the contrary, tell your child why they need to sleep during the day, what happens in the body when they sleep.
Go to bed with your child. It happens that in the evening children fall asleep on their own, but during the day they are completely unable to fall asleep on their own. This is exactly the situation at our house. Therefore, during the day I always go to bed with them, and the three of us fall asleep. This way, the children fall asleep peacefully, and I manage to get some rest.
Putting a child to bed takes from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Daytime sleep requires patience not only from the child, but also from the mother. Don't stop going to bed if your baby hasn't fallen asleep after 15 minutes. At different ages, children need different times to fall asleep.