Dream Baby Sleep® Founder Carolynne Harvey answers frequently asked questions about 9-14 month olds. Read below.
Getting enough sleep is vital to the health, well-being, and development of babies and toddlers. How much is enough sleep, though? Of course, if your toddler gets too little sleep, they will let you know with crankiness, however, we do not want to wait for that to happen. Getting enough sleep allows children to grow and develop as they were meant to, and knowing that sleep range sooner rather than later is always a good thing.
Getting Enough Sleep at 9-14 Months
Although they are getting older, toddlers still need quite a lot of sleep in order to grow and develop properly. While they may begin to resist napping, it is vital that parents keep a proper sleep routine in place to ensure their physical, emotional, and cognitive development continues to progress on course.
- Babies 9-14 months old sleep 12-14 hours in a 24 hour period
- They should have 2 naps per day that range from 1-2 hours per nap
The #1 Sleep Issue or Pain Point for This Age Group
Ensuring that our toddlers are getting enough sleep can be tricky at this age for many parents. We often see a nap strike around 12 months old that is tied to a developmental leap. Unfortunately, many parents make the mistake of dropping down to 1 nap per day too early. Remember, just because toddlers don’t want to nap does not mean that they should not nap. We want to hold on to 2 naps for as long as possible. Without enough day sleep, we start the evening overtired, which triggers multiple night waking and early rising.
- Your baby is dealing with developmental leaps like standing, talking and walking
- Developmental milestones often interfere with sleep because babies practice their new skills in the crib
- Hoping they grow out of night waking is the wrong approach, healthy sleep is a learned behavior
Tips for ensuring You Toddler is Getting Enough Sleep
There are actions that parents can take today to begin setting a healthy sleep foundation and ensure that their toddlers are getting enough sleep.
- Use blackout curtains
- Use continuous white noise for all sleep – some great brands are Marpac, etc.
- Offer 2 naps per day at roughly 9 am and 1 pm and apply the 1-hour rule to short naps to teach baby how to connect sleep cycles and return to sleep if they wake after 30-45 minutes
Learn how you can improve baby short naps.
Have a burning question about your baby or want to learn more tips to improve short naps? Sign up for your free 15 minute sleep consultation with one of our certified Sleep Experts.