2 year old sleeping too much?

[onlywork55]

I promise this isn’t a stealth boast, I’m genuinely worrying about it so wanted to ask here (wouldn’t admit it to other mums in real life).

My DD was 2 in February and sleeps for nearly 12 hours every night and still has a 2 hour nap every day without fail. At nursery she sometimes naps even longer. She actually asks to go to bed for her nap, I wouldn’t be able to keep her awake if I tried.

All her peers seem to be dropping their naps, refusing to go to sleep at night and waking up at 5am. My eldest had already dropped her naps by this age.

is it anything to worry about? Is it possibly down to a deficiency in her diet? Or could it be something worse? I’m wondering if I should take her to the GP but not sure if they will think I am crazy.

Just to add she seems normal when she’s awake, just your usual toddler really. No concerns with her development, milestone etc.

My ds was the same, he napped most days until he was 4 and I had to phase it out ready for school. He was bright, energetic, running around etc when he was awake so it didn't concern me.

Wow, 4! I can’t imagine that.

I guess maybe she just really likes her sleep 🤷‍♀️

My 2 yo is the same, but we limit day naps to 1.5h as any longer causes bedtime issues.

He actually refused naps for about 3 weeks, but was terribly tired and grouchy without, so we kept trying and he’s gone back to them. Seems like it was just a phase!

I love him, but that nap gives me sanity!

That was normal for my 2 year old until about 2 years 7 months. Now it's intermittent dependent on how tired she is and whether I want a battle at bed time or not.

They vary.

Presuming diet pretty healthy?

My 3yo has only just dropped her nap, it's perfectly normal to still be napping at 2

Average sleep at this age is 11-13 hours in 24, so she’s only 30-60 minutes odd over this. I think it’s probably okay, assuming no other concerns with diet or development.

My 2.5yo still naps for a good 2 hours and often has to be woken from her nap, she sleeps 7.30-7/8ish every night too, I wouldn't be concerned

Same here. 22 month old, sleeps 7-8.30am, and 2-3 hour nap. But she’s an absolute fire cracker and never still in the hours she is awake so just burns herself out! I’m currently pregnant with no 2 and know this one just won’t ever sleep to balance things out so I’m terrified 😬

Hi there OP,

I’ll swap you one of my finest kidneys for what you’ve got going on?!

Its totally normal, please enjoy it and feel smug that you’re getting some decent rest when so many other toddlers are up at 5.30am at this point!

If she is healthy, not ill much, a good colour, energetic and hitting all her learning and development milestones, just enjoy it. You have probably jinxed it now and she will become the school age child who refuses to go to bed hahahaha ;)

It’s at the higher end, most 2yr olds sleep between 11-14hrs sleep in a 24hr period. Enjoy whilst it lasts

Sounds fine as long as she has plenty of energy when awake. DD used to nap for 2.5, sometimes 3 hours and still sleep 7.45-6.30 most nights. She napped until turning 4.

DS is 3. He can have up to 2 hours nap and 8-7 at night, although sometimes he doesn't want to go to bed.

My son was like this, absolutely loved his sleep, it was me waking him up in the morning, not the other way around! Perfectly normal and active while he was awake, hit all milestones etc. He's nearly 11 now, is a bit of a night owl, likes to stay up late whenever he gets the chance, but will always have a lie in next day.

my little girl did the exact same. She is 3 and a half now and still sleeps 12-13 hours (no nap now tho)

I remember worrying about it at the time.

she is fine, and is just one of those kids that needs her sleep.

if she is late to bed for whatever reason, she still sometimes takes a nap the next day to make up for it.

I have one who was like this. My eldest you couldn’t have paid to sleep. She never needed more than 9hrs a day, even as a newborn (I remember tearing my hair out and my HV giving me loads of crappy advice on how to get her to sleep more which I tortured myself with… none of it worked) and dropped all naps by 18m. My youngest however slept literally 23hrs a day as a newborn and 18hrs a day well to being 18months old. She would also take herself off for a nap, or sometimes just fall asleep while she was playing on the floor with other kids 😂she was basically a sloth. At nursery they used to laugh about how much she loved her food and her sleep: nice it of sausage and mash for lunch and onto the mat for a 2.5hr kip, before waking up for another nice snack.

Now aged 10 and 8, the eldest needs no more than 7hrs a night. She sits up reading til midnight and is never tired. Whereas the youngest still does 7.30-7.30 and if is in a soporific scenero (back of the car for any length of time, cinema) she just falls asleep. She fell asleep at the planetarium last year. Everyone else was “ooh”ing and “aah”ing at the light show and then they put the house lights up and she was laid back, head up to look at the “sky” dribbling and gently snoring. When we were laughing about it later she said “they shouldn’t make it dark if they don’t want you to sleep!” 😂😂