[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”29px|||||” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
It\u2019s\u00a0the\u00a0currency of parenting. Parents can become champions at running on an account\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0constantly in\u00a0the\u00a0red. And\u00a0when\u00a0your child finally settles into a consistent sleep schedule? That can\u00a0feel like winning\u00a0the\u00a0lottery.<\/p>\n
Few things feel more daunting as your child grows than changes to their nap schedule. We\u2019ll be talking about some of those changes over your child\u2019s first five years, and how Celebree School can help support you.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0first year of your baby\u2019s life is all about what schedule works best for\u00a0them<\/em>. Our infant teachers work hard to create an environment that can best match parents\u2019\u00a0schedules. We do, however, experience some bumps along\u00a0the\u00a0way.<\/p>\n During\u00a0the\u00a0first few weeks of school, as babies adjust to a different environment, naps can look different. Per licensing requirements, infants must sleep in a crib and are moved\u00a0there as soon as\u00a0they fall asleep. This means that if a child falls asleep while being\u00a0rocked\u00a0by a teacher,\u00a0they must be transferred to a crib right away.\u00a0 Helping infants adjust to this new routine can\u00a0result in shorter naps for\u00a0the\u00a0first few weeks of school.\u00a0We also commonly see a nap regression around four to five months, which usually lasts a few weeks.\u00a0As children become more aware of\u00a0their surroundings,\u00a0they can be\u00a0resistant to going down for a\u00a0nap in\u00a0fear of missing out. Typically, this can be a sign to lengthen wake windows and start transitioning toward two naps a day.<\/p>\n Most children are ready to begin dropping their morning nap around eleven months to a year old. This transition can feel daunting, especially if your child loves their naps, but it also opens the door for longer stretches of play, learning, and eventually one consolidated afternoon nap. The most successful transitions happen when home and school follow the same schedule. During the first week we recommend making sure to have engaging activities scheduled in the morning to help keep children busy. For most kids, after the first week they adjust to the new schedule and have taken their first step from infant to toddler!<\/p>\n Every person has unique sleep needs. Some people need ten hours of sleep every night without fail; others can run a marathon on six. Children are no exception. There will be kiddos who take a three-hour nap every day and still be asleep by 7:30 PM and others\u2026 let\u2019s just say they view 9 PM as party time.<\/p>\n This difference in sleep needs can create a bit of a push-and-pull in\u00a0the\u00a0classroom as children grow.\u00a0Some parents may not realize that licensing requires\u00a0us to provide all children with an opportunity to\u00a0rest.\u00a0If\u00a0they choose not to sleep,\u00a0then we can\u00a0offer\u00a0them quiet activities to do\u00a0on\u00a0their\u00a0cots, but if\u00a0they do fall asleep\u00a0then we are not supposed to disturb\u00a0them.<\/p>\n If you are experiencing bedtime struggles,\u00a0the\u00a0first thing to do is talk with your child\u2019s teacher and know\u00a0the\u00a0answer may take some time to find. Because we have to offer a\u00a0rest\u00a0time, if your child falls asleep easily,\u00a0there may not be much we can do to prevent a nap.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0also only so much we can do to shorten a nap, especially if your child is a hard sleeper. Trying different routines, such as planning some gross motor activities to help burn some energy after nap and before bed, can allow some\u00a0much-needed\u00a0relief for parents.<\/p>\n The Department of Human Services (DHS) requires us to offer rest time to all children in our care ages five and under. Some children will use that time to rest until the very day they graduate. For others, nap time ends as early as age three. Then there are some who decide\u00a0they\u2019re<\/em>\u00a0done with nap time\u2026 but nap time\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0quite done with them.<\/p>\n When a child begins choosing not to nap, how they\u00a0respond to the day helps guide our approach.\u00a0If your child is still happily\u00a0participating\u00a0in afternoon and evening activities, then all is well. We provide quiet activities during nap time, and we encourage discussions at home about how we can be quiet to help our friends who are napping. No one expects a young child to sit on their cot, perfectly still, not making a sound for two hours. This\u00a0provides\u00a0an opportunity\u00a0to teach empathy and kindness by discussing how we can be courteous to others in our classroom.<\/p>\n If, however, we notice significant behavior changes after nap, such as crankiness, physicality with friends, or lethargy, then we will check in with parents to see if we think dropping naps is appropriate or if we think that this is just a phase we need to work through. For children who still need that\u00a0rest,\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0continue offering support through back rubs and delaying books or toys during the first thirty minutes to encourage sleep.<\/p>\n Nap transitions can feel exhausting, unpredictable, and sometimes downright discouraging, but they are also a normal and important part of your child\u2019s development. At Celebree School, we approach each change with patience, observation, and collaboration, knowing that no two children and no two sleep journeys, are the same. Together, we navigate the tired days, celebrate the small wins, and trust that with time, consistency, and care, rest will come again.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Learn how nap schedules evolve from infancy through preschool and how Celebree School supports healthy sleep routines during every transition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":23174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[403,407],"tags":[449,454,438,444,446,441,451,442],"class_list":["post-23167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-parent-resources","tag-child-sleep-development","tag-childcare-sleep-support","tag-daycare-nap-time","tag-dropping-naps","tag-infant-sleep-routines","tag-nap-time-transitions","tag-preschool-nap-time","tag-toddler-nap-schedule"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/02\/Nap-Time-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/02\/Nap-Time-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Paige Gugliuzza","author_link":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/author\/pgugliuzza\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23167"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23178,"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23167\/revisions\/23178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celebree.com\/franklin-cool-springs-tn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Dropping\u00a0the\u00a0Morning Nap<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Nap Length in\u00a0the\u00a0Toddler Years<\/strong><\/h4>\n
When Does Nap Time End?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Partnership, Patience, and Trust Through Every Sleep Transition<\/strong><\/h4>\n