ToddlerGuide Start here

Sleep

18-month sleep regressions

By the ToddlerGuide Editorial Team

Published ยท Updated

A sudden fight at every nap around 18 months is usually a short stretch of fussier sleep while new skills land, or the start of the move from two naps to one. A child who is still tired at both usual nap times needs those naps kept, and a child who fights the morning nap and then stays up later is ready to test one afternoon nap. The numbers below come from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the one-nap test is in moving from two naps to one.

A wooden house-shaped nightlight with star cutouts glows beside a stack of botanical picture books, folded cream and teal blankets, and star-patterned pillows on a rug.

A wooden house-shaped nightlight with star cutouts glows beside a stack of botanical picture books, folded cream and teal blankets, and star-patterned pillows on a rug.

My 18 month old suddenly fights every nap. Where can I find a plan I can trust?

Fighting every nap at 18 months

Fighting every nap at this age usually has two likely causes. One is a short fussy stretch while a new skill lands. The other is the drop from two naps to one. "18-month sleep regression" is parent language for the first cause. It is not a diagnosis. HealthyChildren.org describes the 18-month no as a new sense of choice, and that no shows up at nap time too.

A systematic review in Sleep Medicine Reviews found a sharp drop in days with two or more naps between 12 and 18 months. The same review found that less than 2.5% of children had stopped napping altogether before age 2. In one study the review reports, 17.1% of children were still taking two or more naps at 30 months. Stopping naps is not the 18-month job. Shifting one of them can be.

If your child is still tired at the morning nap and the afternoon nap, keep both and count the full day toward 11 to 14 hours. If the morning nap is the fight, and a nap that happens anyway pushes bedtime later, use moving from two naps to one. Put the second nap back if nights fall apart.

Sleep figures for an 18-month nap plan
Figure What it covers Source
11 to 14 hours Sleep in each 24 hours for children 1 to 2 years old, including naps NIH NHLBI. AASM consensus, endorsed by the AAP in Pediatrics (2016)
10 to 13 hours Sleep in each 24 hours for children 3 to 5 years old, including naps NIH NHLBI
Under age 7 Ages for which naps are still considered appropriate NIH NHLBI
Less than 2.5% Children who have stopped napping before age 2 Staton et al., Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2019
2.3 hours Average daytime nap length at ages 1 to 2, across four studies in that review Staton et al., 2019
17.1% Children still taking two or more naps a day at 30 months, in one study the review reports Staton et al., 2019
Around 2:00 p.m. Midpoint of naps from 13 to 34 months in one diary study of 841 children Staton et al., 2019
At least 60 minutes How long to keep screens off before bedtime HealthyChildren.org
68 to 72 degrees F Room temperature given for infants and children HealthyChildren.org
1 or 2 hours How long before bed to stop active play or video games if they make sleep harder AAP sleep hygiene

A day plan for the nap fight

  1. Add night sleep and naps. For ages 1 to 2, the range is 11 to 14 hours in 24 hours, including naps.
  2. Daytime sleep at ages 1 to 2 averaged 2.3 hours across four studies. If the day has almost none of that, the 11 to 14 hour total is already slipping.
  3. Still tired at both naps: keep both. If the morning nap is the fight and bedtime slides later, offer one nap toward the middle of the day. One diary study of 841 children put the midpoint of naps from 13 to 34 months around 2:00 p.m. The steps for that test are in moving from two naps to one. Put the second nap back if nights fall apart.
  4. Keep the same wake time, meals, and nap time on weekdays and weekends. HealthyChildren.org names that regular day, and a young-child routine of brush, book, bed.
  5. Dim the lights. Turn screens off for at least 60 minutes, and keep them out of the sleep space. A dark, quiet room at 68 to 72 degrees F, used for sleep, can be the same place for the nap and the night. The temperature and the screen cutoff are on that HealthyChildren.org page. The dark, quiet, same-place setup is in AAP sleep hygiene guidance.
  6. A safe teddy or blanket can go to the nap. HealthyChildren.org allows a favorite object at this age if it has no buttons, loose ribbons, or pellets. If active play or video games make bedtime harder, the AAP sleep hygiene page says to stop them 1 or 2 hours before bed. Keep the nap early enough that bedtime still works.

Nights can get bumpier around new walking, new words, and a stronger need to check that you are still there. Your job is to keep the day total in range and the wind-down boring.

AAP endorsed the American Academy of Sleep Medicine range: children 1 to 2 years need 11 to 14 hours in each 24 hours, including naps. CDC milestones by 15 months and CDC milestones by 2 years use the same numbers. Hours still vary by child. The range is the conversation, not a stopwatch contest.

"18-month sleep regression" is parent language. It is not a diagnosis. CDC milestones by 18 months includes moving away, then looking back to make sure you are close. That same check can show up at 2 a.m. Practice of walking, a change in nap timing, teething, or a mild illness can fragment nights too.

The useful question is whether the week still lands near 11 to 14 hours, not whether the night was silent. A child who slept 13 hours last month and now sleeps 11 is still inside the range. A child who is up for long stretches and then collapses in the grocery cart is telling you the day total slipped.

Keep extra check-ins brief and dull. A new show in the crib is not a wind-down. AAP asks families to keep devices out of sleep space. If nights fall apart after you drop a nap, put the nap back and talk with the clinician before you treat it as a sleep disorder.

Try this

  1. Keep a short bedtime you can repeat: pajamas, teeth, one or two books.
  2. Protect the nap if nights got worse after you dropped it.
  3. Keep extra check-ins brief and dull.
  4. Keep screens out of the bedroom.
  5. Protect the morning a little. A very early start plus a skipped nap makes the next night worse.

New words and new walking are exciting at 4 p.m. They are less charming at midnight. That does not mean you should freeze development to buy sleep. It means the bedtime has to stay smaller than the day. Read the 18 to 24 month hub if the well visit is also on your mind. Screening and sleep are different jobs.

In the house this month

Travel, illness, and a new tooth can stack on the same week as new walking. If you change the bedtime, the nap, and the night response all at once, you will not know what worked. Change one thing. Write it down. Give it three nights.

A second caregiver who soothes by turning on a show will undo a dull plan. Agree on the night visit in daylight. The child is not being difficult. The child is being accurate about what works on the adults.

Early walking means early climbing. Check the crib mattress height and what is inside the crib. A night waking that is really a standing practice needs a safe sleep space more than a new lullaby.

If you are counting hours and still coming up short, move bedtime earlier by fifteen minutes for a week before you drop a nap. Many 18-month nights are a math problem hiding inside a story about regression.

What you can skip

Skip a new night feed, a new show, and a new bedtime on the same Friday. Skip calling it a regression as if it were a diagnosis.

Skip dropping the nap to punish a hard night. The night will get harder.

Keep the range in view

Eleven to 14 hours still apply when nights get bumpier. Parent language about regression is not a diagnosis. If the week is short on hours, move bedtime earlier or put a nap back before you invent a new night system.

Check in if

Call your pediatrician if snoring, long breathing pauses, very restless sleep, or daytime collapse worry you. Call if you cannot get close to the 11 to 14 hour range most days, or if pain, fever, or breathing trouble is part of the night. Duration advice does not diagnose sleep apnea or night terrors.

Hour totals for 12, 16, 17, and 26 months are on the toddler sleep schedule.

Related ages: 12-18 months, 18-24 months. Pillars: Sleep, Behavior.

Questions parents ask

My 18 month old suddenly fights every nap. Where can I find a plan I can trust?

A sudden fight at every nap around 18 months is usually a short stretch of fussier sleep while new skills land, or the start of the move from two naps to one. Keep both naps if your child is still tired at the usual times. Test one afternoon nap if the morning nap is the fight and bedtime slides later. The hour range on this page is 11 to 14 hours in each 24 hours for ages 1 to 2, including naps, from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The one-nap steps are in moving from two naps to one.

Sources

  1. AAP endorsement of AASM pediatric sleep duration recommendations. Pediatrics. 2016;138(2):e20161601. publications.aap.org
  2. CDC. Milestones by 15 months. cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/15-months.html
  3. CDC. Milestones by 18 months. cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/18-months.html
  4. CDC. Milestones by 2 years. cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/2-years.html
  5. AAP Council on Communications and Media. Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics. 2016;138(5):e20162591. publications.aap.org
  6. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Recommended amount of sleep for pediatric populations: a consensus statement. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4877308/
  7. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. How much sleep is enough? nhlbi.nih.gov
  8. Staton S, Rankin PS, Harding M, Smith SS, Westwood E, LeBourgeois MK, Thorpe KJ. Many naps, one nap, none: a systematic review and meta-analysis of napping patterns in children 0 to 12 years. Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2019. doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2019.101247. Full text: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  9. American Academy of Pediatrics. Healthy sleep habits: how many hours does your child need? HealthyChildren.org
  10. American Academy of Pediatrics. Your checkup checklist: 18 months old. HealthyChildren.org
  11. American Academy of Pediatrics. Toddler won't go to sleep? HealthyChildren.org
  12. American Academy of Pediatrics. Promoting healthy sleep: sleep hygiene principles. aap.org