How Much Sleep Does Your 2-Year-old Get?

When all the grand kids were little they almost all made their own schedule. It was very similar and worked for us.

By age 2 this is basically what they were doing.

Snack around 8:15 or 8:30

Bed around 9pm

Out by 9:15 most of the time.

Up around 7:30-8am on their own

Lunch around noon then down for nap by 1pm. Let sleep until they wake up on their own but no later than 3:30pm.

Then same as the night before.

Our 2 year old goes to bed around 8:30 or 9 and sleeps until 6:45. He naps for two hours each afternoon, 11:30-1:30. I would love for him to go to bed a little earlier, but he won't fall asleep if we lay him down earlier and is not overly tired at all during the day, so we stick with what works!

From webmd:
As your child moves past the first year toward 18-21 months of age he will likely lose his morning nap and nap only once a day. While toddlers need up to 14 hours a day of sleep, they typically get only about 10.

Most children from about 21 to 36 months of age still need one nap a day, which may range from one to three and a half hours long. They typically go to bed between 7 and 9 p.m. and wake up between 6 and 8 a.m.

This is my 2 year old's schedule:

Wake up: between 7 and 8

Nap- down at 12:30. Will sleep anywhere between 1 hr and 2.5 hours. I always wake him up by 3 if he is not yet up, otherwise he is extra grumpy and does not sleep well later on.

Bedtime: Usually around 7:30. We have gone anywhere from 7-8 though depending on his day and how tired he seems. He also does not usually fall asleep right away, usually about an hour or so of him talking and singing. I think that it takes a while to wind down. Even kids need some quiet/alone time!

This schedule works for us very well, and seems to be similar to yours. If your daughter doesn't seem tired throughout the day, then I see no reason to adjust her.

PS- about the not taking a nap thing . . . some people swear that their kids don't nap after they turn 2. It seems crazy to me, since all of the kids in my family are content with taking a nap until they go to kindergarten! But I know all kids are different. If she is still happy in bed during the nap, I might leave it for while, so she can have some down time. Maybe get her up if she is not asleep after a specific amount of time during nap. Or you can try some running around right before nap . . . park or backyard, or even an obstacle course inside, and she might be a little more ready for a nap.

If left to getting up on her own, my 2 yo wakes up between 7-7:30. She takes a 2 hour nap each day from around 1-3. She's usually down for bed around 8:30.
My son was completely different at this age. He went down at 7:30, napped about 2-3 hours, and woke up 8-8:30. I think some kids just require more sleep than others.

Both my kids at that age, napped everyday for about 2 hours.
They went to bed by 8:00pm. And they wake up the next morning between 6-6:30am. So they got at least 10 hours of night time sleep, plus their naps during the day. And this worked for them and they had no problems falling asleep at night.

BUT, PRIOR to bedtime, I set the stage. Meaning, from about 1 hour before their actual bedtime- I make everything quiet, dark with like only 1 lamp on, keep things low key, etc. Because, a child that age and older, needs to keel down and wind down, before bed.
They do not instantly fall asleep... once their head hits the pillow.

With my kids, naps and bedtime was not a battle.
But, from Toddlerhood onward, a child does need to wind-down first, before bed. IF for example, my Husband horse-played with them before bed... or they did physically active things before bed... they got too wound up and "hyper" before bed, and therefore, they COULD NOT WIND DOWN for bedtime. And it sabotaged, their whole ability to fall asleep, well.

My kids are now 6 and 10. And still, they go to bed at about the same time. 8:30 is my ideal, that they fall asleep by. Because, I know them and if they go to bed at this time, they are rested, the next day. But if they get less sleep than that at night, they are tired, the next day.

However, keep in mind, that a Toddler, is an age of changing developmentally. They are not and do not, fall asleep the same way as when they were a "baby." At this age on, their cognition and imaginations, are changing. So, along with that, falling asleep and whatnot, can be a tad more "difficult." But know your child's cues... for tiredness. And what they need per sleep amounts.

A child has a bedtime. BUT, that does not mean... they fall asleep, AT that time. It is only the time that we as a parent, hopes they go to bed. So, if you want your child to go to bed at 7:30pm... then start the bedtime routines... PRIOR to the actual bed, time. So that the child can segue, into it and wind-down, first.

Then for example, if my son bathes right before bed, it actually will "wake" him more. So I don't bathe him before bed nor make it a part of the bedtime routine. I know his, cues. But for my daughter, a bath will relax her and help her segue into bedtime.

Know your child's cues. For sleep needs and tiredness.

For me, naps at this age, are needed. Even in Preschool they have nap times, and in Kindergarten as well.

Also, Toddlers need to get physical activity. So for me, in the MORNINGS, was when I got out and about with my kids and did physically active stuff. Their bodies, are so kinetic as Toddlers. They need to run around. It gets out their yah-yah's, and tires them out, too.
So everyday, some sort of physical activity, is needed. It impacts their whole day. But you need to time it. Per their naps and bedtimes.

My 2 year old is in bed by 8 in the evening and wakes between 7 and 7:30 each morning. She usually falls asleep within 15 and 30 minutes each night. During the day she naps between one and a half to three hours. I usually have to wake her to pick up my older son each afternoon but she won't go down before 12:30 each afternoon. Just in the last two weeks she has been fighting nap time a bit but I am staying consistent as #3 is due in June and I would love for my daughter to still nap even if just for a shorter period! Good luck to you!

My son is 3 now, but when he was 2 he usually napped from about 1-3 also. He also went to bed at about 8 and woke up between 6-7...so it sounds like they are about the same!

My son stopped napping a few months before he turned 3 and although I kinda think he still needs a nap, I do think it would be harder for him to fall asleep at night.

My suggestion is that if she is still awake after an hour, go get her and let her play (for nap time I mean, not bed time). If she does fall asleep you may want to consider waking her after an hour or so. I know it's hard (and some say stupid ;) to wake a sleeping a child, but I do it if I feel like they need to be asleep less to go to bed at night.

Ultimately though if she's not fussing when she's in bed, I wouldn't worry about it too much. She seems happy and if she's not overly cranky in the morning then I wouldn't worry too much. She may be starting to transition herself to another schedule.

I will add that when my son stopped napping we have been putting him to bed closer to 7:30 and it works great!

My daughter goes to bed between 7:45 - 8:00. I don't usually hear any noises coming from her room, so I think she falls asleep quickly. She wakes up between 7:00 - 7:30 a.m.
For naps, it is usually about 1.5 hours, but sometimes as much as three hours (oh, I love those days!!). She takes one nap a day, starting around 2 p.m. because that's when we get home after picking up my older one from school.

My son dropped his nap just after he turned 2, my daughter kept hers until about 2 1/2. DS is now 4, DD is 3. Both got to bed between 7:30 and 8, and wake up around 6:30 - 7:30.

To me that sounds like a lot of sleep or downtime. My daughter just turned 2, and she goes to bed around 9 pm, sometimes later. I would love to get her to bed earlier; her brothers are in bed and asleep by 8, and so we start winding her down by 7:30, but it takes til after 9 for her to sleep. She is up a couple times in the night, and usually up by 6:30. A two hour nap is a long nap in the afternoon, and if we want her in bed by 9, she needs to be up by about 3 at the latest.

Sounds normal to me. My two year old sleeps for ten hours at night. Then she naps for two hours during the day. She does not nap on days Daddy is home, though. She lays down for bed at eight pm. She is asleep between thirty minutes and an hour later. And she is awake between seven and eight in the morning.

Eta: she naps from one to three in the afternoon.

We stopped the nap at 24 months otherwise we had the problems you described. Once the nap went away, she slept 11-12 hours a night easily! No problems. Sometimes she would fall asleep early or grab a carseat nap, but it wasn't a big deal. The naps really made night too crazy!

It very much depends on the kid. Both of my gave up naps at two, but then slept the extra hours at night. 2 year olds should get around 11-12 total hours of sleep.

If I was ou, I'd start the process of dropping the nap. Do quiet time with books or put her in front of PBS for an hour. They need quiet time, but when night sleep becomes more difficult, and the nap starts taking longer, I say they are ready to give up the nap.

My son; who will be 3 in April goes to sleep at 7:30-8:00 and always falls right to sleep. He wakes up around 7:00. He naps everyday for at least 2 hours. He absolutely needs his nap or he is a bear! He has always been a really good sleeper. I think some kids just require more sleep than others.

Mine goes down around 8:30, usually asleep around 9 ish. Wakes at 6am, sometimes earlier. Naps from 1-3. Our problem with him right now is that he wakes in the middle of the night and either calls for us to come lay in his room or gets out of bed to get us. Luckily we broke the habit of just throwing him in our bed but now to get him to stop needing us through the night!

Well, my 2 year old goes to bed between 9:30 and 10 because I would rather him stay up late and then sleep in a little bit in the morning than go to bed early and wake up early. He usually wake up at about 8am.

IF he takes a nap (I try every day, but there's a 50/50 shot that he's not going to fall asleep), he falls asleep between 1 and 2. He usually sleeps for 2 and a half to 3 hours.