Looking for a 2 year old sleep schedule for your toddler? Here’s a sample schedule with bedtime, naps, and more tips for your 2 year old.
Sleep can be tricky at this age as your two-year old may start having fears of the dark or monsters in their room. And the 2-year-old sleep regression can hit your family really hard. It definitely did for us!
Let’s make sure your 2 year old’s sleep schedule is right where it should be so you can combat any sleep issues that creep up in this adorable toddler phase.
2 Year Old Sleep Schedule Overview
- 11 to 12 hours of nighttime sleep
- 1 nap lasting 1.5 to 2 hours
- Wake windows that fall between 5 to 5.5 hours
What Time Should A 2 Year Old Go to Bed?
I recommend your 2 year old going to bed between 7–8 p.m.
Too late of a bedtime can lead to worse sleep for your toddler.
Make sure there are 5–5.5 hours between the time your toddler woke up from the nap until they go down for bedtime.
If there’s less than 5 hours between when they wake up from nap and go down for bedtime, it may take them longer to fall asleep at night.
Toddlers thrive off routine so keeping a consistent bedtime and bedtime routine each night can help them sleep better.
If your two year old is taking too long to fall asleep, you may need to shift nap time.
What is A Normal Nap Schedule for A 2 Year Old?
I recommend that your 2-year old take one nap each day, lasting 1.5–2 hours.
This nap can happen about 5 hours after your 2 year old wakes up for the day.
See a sample 2 year old sleep schedule below.
Keep in mind that many toddlers will go through a 2 year old nap strike, where they’ll refuse naps altogether.
Keep offering the nap! Most 2 year olds aren’t able to stay awake the entire day without getting overtired and completely melting down.
Sample 2 Year Old Sleep Schedule
- 7:00 am: Wake up and eat breakfast
- 9:00 am: Snack time
- 12:00 pm: Lunch time
- 12:30-2:30 pm: Nap
- 2:30/3:00 pm: Snack
- 5:30 pm: Dinner
- 7:30 pm: Bedtime
What to Do if 2 Year Old Refuses to Nap?
It’s very common for two year olds to fight their nap, or refuse it altogether.
If your 2 year old is protesting naptime, continue to offer it and then move bedtime earlier by 30–60 minutes.
This will help keep your toddler from being overtired and melting down around 7 p.m.
Keep offering the nap for several weeks as most kids still need a nap until they are 3 or 4 years old.
If you decide to drop the nap, make sure to introduce quiet time during nap time hours, so your toddler still gets a little rest during the day.
How Much Sleep Does My 2 Year Old Need?
Your two-year-old needs between 12 to 14 hours of sleep every day.
Ideally, they’ll sleep 11 or 12 of those hours through the night, with a 1 to 2.5-hour nap during the day.
Not getting enough sleep can lead to sleep issues including toddler bedtime tantrums and fighting sleep.
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Frequently Asked Questions About the 2 Year Old Sleep Schedule
How Many Naps Should A Two-Year-Old Take?
Your 2 year old should take one nap, lasting 1.5–2 hours.
Is 2 Years too Young to Drop the Nap?
Most likely, 2 years is too young to drop the nap. I recommend trying to hold onto that nap until closer to 3 or 4 if possible.
When Do Kids Stop Napping?
Most kids still need a nap up until 3 or 4 years of age. I recommend doing what you can to keep a daily nap in your schedule until then.
Should I Wake My 2 Year Old from their Nap?
If nap time is getting too late in the afternoon, wake your toddler up to preserve bedtime.
You want your toddler to have 5–5.5 hours of awake time between when their nap ends and when they go to bed.
Is There a 2 Year Old Sleep Regression?
Yes, many toddlers go through a 2-year old sleep regression.
The 2 year regression can show up with:
- Your toddler waking up too early in the morning
- Fighting nap time
- Fighting bedtime or having tantrums at bedtime
- Waking up in the middle of the night
Why is My 2 Year Old Waking Up at Night?
There could be so many factors why your 2 year old is waking up in the middle of the night:
- New fears
- Testing boundaries
- Their nap is too long (or too short)
- Separation anxiety
- Transitioning to a toddler bed
If you have any questions about your 2 year old’s sleep schedule, leave them in the comments below and we’ll help troubleshoot.
My goal is to help tired parents get sleep, so the whole family can thrive!
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My daughter is 22 months old. She pretty much refuses to nap unless rocked lately, and since they do that at daycare I’ve been doing it at home. She used to be a great sleeper before she started daycare. Anyways, she’s been waking up at 5:30/6am, and only napping an hour usually from 12:30/1-1:30/2. Then she is in bed at 7. She’s been waking on and off also, but we just got back from vacation so we’ll see if that gets better this week. Any advice would be welcome! I don’t know what to do about the rocking to sleep when I have no control over it at daycare.
@Ellen, I should also mention that she doesn’t fall asleep usually for at least an hour or two after being put in bed because she is constantly overtired. Ugh help! She’s maybe getting 8-9 hours of sleep a night
Hi Ellen! Sleep can unfortunately become quite a struggle around the second birthday. Daycare can make everything feel more difficult too since sleep is out of our control there. But the good news is that babies and toddlers can become great sleepers at home even if sleep isn’t ideal at daycare. The other good news is that at her age, one 1 hour nap can be very workable as far as her sleep schedule goes. I would focus on what you can control: how she falls asleep at home. Even if they continue to rock her at daycare, she will most likely be able to become an independent sleeper at home if that is something you would like to work on. And who knows – she may take that skill to daycare with her! If you are ready to work on moving from rocking to sleep to independent sleep, the Toddler Sleep Training Guide has everything you need to know! It will also talk about scheduling – it sounds like you are doing a great job there working with her as best you can. https://thepostpartumparty.lpages.co/toddler-sleep-training-guide/
Hope that helps!
Lauren, The Postpartum Party Support
Hi!
My 2.5 yo was sleeping well with wake up at 6:30 (even though) I would like her to sleep longer but most recent wake up times over the past 3 week is 5/5:30 am. She naps 12:40/1-2:30.
Bedtime she goes down at 8, falls asleep by 8:20ish
Since the early wake up, there has been night wakings and sometimes refusing nap. I’m a stay at home mom w her.
Should I move up nap earlier to adjust the sleep? Should bedtime be earlier?
Help?!
Hi Lisbeth! I know that must be frustrating! At 2.5, she may be ready to drop her nap. Often, early morning wakes are a sign that a 2-3 year old has gotten enough sleep and simply can’t sleep any longer. Bedtime is usually in its sweet spot 5-6 hours after nap, and at this age, moving nap earlier is typically only a good idea if you want to shift her entire schedule earlier (bedtime and morning wake included). The nap usually goes away between 2-3 years of age, so she might be telling you that it is time.
Hope that helps!
Lauren – The Postpartum Party Support
Hi! I can’t seen your o find the sweet spot for bed. My 2 year old is up at 8, naps around 1/130 for about an /hour and a half/two hours. Put her to bed around s8/830 but most times takes her over 30 min to fall asleep, not sure if normal or when’s the right time. Thanks!
Hi Jessica! As a general rule of thumb, falling asleep within about 15-20 minutes is the sweet spot. Most kiddos this age need 5-6 hours between waking up from nap and falling asleep at night. It may help to try scooting bedtime later in 15-minute increments every 3-4 days and see if you can find that sweet spot! If she seems very tired at bedtime, you can try moving bedtime a little earlier instead. One night generally isn’t enough time to see if a small change like that works, so be sure to give it a few nights.
Hope that helps!
Lauren, The Postpartum Party Support
Hi There!
My 2 year old was a great sleeper until about 6 weeks ago..he would sleep 6:645-6:45 with a nap at daycare 1pm-3pm. He would go down independently and self soothe through the night if he woke (we were very lucky!). He got sick a while ago so would wake up in cough fits so we’d check on him. Since then, he’s needed more comfort when he wakes through the night, otherwise he throws a fit and won’t go back to sleep. He’s waking at 4:30am refusing to go back to sleep. I’ve tried pushing back bedtime to 730 which hasnt helped for him to sleep in. He’s still napping at 1pm because of daycare and he’s so routine that he’ll tantrum in the crib if before 1pm. I’ve moved bedtime back to 630 and still he’s waking at 430. I feel like the 430 wake up has been going on for so many weeks now that that’s just his internal clock but we can’t have him up that early. We are at a loss. Any tips? Do we just keep him in bed crying at 430 in hopes something will give?
Hi Vanessa,
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you!
It sounds like his nap is probably interfering with his night time sleep and causing those early wakings. I would either try to shorten the nap or push bedtime back a little later.
Hope that helps,
Amy
My son turned 2 in October. He was sleeping really well before that! Waking up at 6:00-6:30, napping 11:00-1:00 then asleep for the night by 7:00. But then they moved him to a new room at daycare for the 2 year olds and changed his nap to noon-2:00, sometimes 2:30 and he’s been a mess! And I don’t have the option of changing his nap back. Then, daylight savings time ended and that screwed him up more. And he also got sick for the first 3 weeks of November so then things got worse and we haven’t been able to recover since. He wakes up anywhere from 4:00am-5:30. And won’t go back to sleep. He used to go back to sleep very well by himself before all this. I’ve tried pushing his bedtime to 8:00 since he naps later but that hasn’t helped. Any idea??
Hi Kristie,
That is so rough! I have a few follow up questions:
1. How do you respond when he wakes up early?2. Does he have an okay to wake clock like the Hatch?. Is he in a crib or bed?
@Amy Motroni, he sleeps in his crib but doesn’t have a clock. When he was sick and would wake up early we’d go to his room and try to comfort him and we would get him out to rock in his chair. (Before being sick we would just leave him in his crib and he’d get back to sleep fine). Sometimes if he was feeling extra crappy we’d let him lay with us for a bit to see if he’d fall back asleep but usually I’m a big proponent if not getting him out.
Now that he’s not sick anymore, when he wakes we go check on him physically but leave him in the crib. We give hugs and kisses and explain it’s still bedtime then we leave the room. But most mornings that brings on crib tantrums then the whole house is awake 😔 and he’s wide awake with no relaxing.
Hi Kristie,
I would talk about the expectations during the day and get an okay to wake clock. Introduce it during the day and explain how he’ll know it’s time to wake up or time to sleep. Talk about it and role play with him a lot during the day.
Then, be extremely consistent with how you respond in the morning. Keep him in his crib and you can do very brief checks, but those are typically pretty stimulating in the morning.
You may also want to push bedtime back by about 15 minutes and be consistent with that for about a week before deciding if you need to change it again. He may be getting too much sleep at daycare, but it’s hard for me to tell without more details.
Hope that helps!
Amy
Hello Amy, my 2 year old use to wake up at 7am which was perfect but this was a while ago. But ever since he’s been waking up at 5-5:30am every morning. I’m so exhausted and would love for a 7am waking again. His sleep schedule looks like this wakes up 5-5:30am, nap is usually around 10-11am and only last an hour then bed time is 6-7pm. He has blackout curtains. I’ve tried treating wake times like night time wakings and he just gets mad and wants out of bed. I could really use some help on what to do, I feel like I’ve tried everything and anything.
Hi Amanda,
I would try a later nap! He may be getting overtired with that long stretch of awake time before bed. I would try nap at 12:30-1:30/2 for several days and see how that goes!
Thanks,
Amy
I forgot to add to my question. Our 2.5 year old woke up previously at 730am, nap at 1pm – 230pm then bedtime at 8pm. She didn’t want to nap with this schedule and she fought her nap hard. She wasn’t tired for bedtime and fell asleep at 9pm.
Now, she fights her nap still and sometimes goes without a nap.
Wakes at 7am, 1pm – 2pm nap, bedtime 8pm. Just wondering if an hour is too short. If so, suggestions are helpful.
Thank you
Hi Laurie,
It’s fairly common for a 2.5-year old to fight naps some days. I would hang onto the nap if possible.
I think your current schedule 7am / 1-2pm nap / bedtime 8pm is sufficient.
A 1-hour nap is on the shorter side, but if you notice bedtime is better with it that length, then an hour is fine!
On the days she does skip naps, you can pull bedtime up 60-90 minutes.
Hope that helps!
Amy
Hello,
We are confused on how long to let our 30 month old toddler sleep. We switched her from 1.5 hrs to 1.0 hour since she was fighting her nap and seemed wired. Is an hour ok? She wakes at 7am, naps at 1pm and bedtime at 8pm. Any suggestions? Thank you 😉
Hi! My son is a little over two. He typically takes a 1.5-2 hr nap each day around noon. We start getting him ready for bed around 7pm, but he takes FOREVER to fall asleep. He will be asleep by 8:30pm if we are lucky, but it’s usually more like 8:45 or 9. He then wakes up very early in the morning (he has white noise and a dark room). He learned how to get out of his crib so he’ll just get out of bed whenever and decide he’s ready to be awake. Recently he’s been getting up around 4am, and we put him back in bed but he doesn’t typically fall back to sleep. So we’ll kind of just keep him in bed until 6am, and unless we stay in the room with him, he will just keep getting out of bed. We are struggling to say the least! Please help!
Hi Steffany,
Does he get outside a lot during the day? Do you limit screen time before bed? How long has this been going on?
My two year old had a regular schedule. He goes to bed at 7:00-7:30. He wake up multiple times a night. He won’t sleep past 5:30 am. This has been going on for 5 months. He gets a warm bath every night. He doesn’t have processed food or sugars. He only drinks water and maybe once or twice a week extremely watered down lemonade. We have a noise machine, a weighted blanket, and a dark room. I’ve tried with a night light. I have exhausted all I know.
Hi Autumn,
That sounds so frustrating!
A few questions to help you troubleshoot:
What time is his nap? How does he fall asleep initially for bed?
Hi,
My 2 year old recently started nap striking. It started with having to be rocked to sleep and now it has turned into she will only nap if sleeping on you. As soon as I put her down she wakes up. During naps I have tried cry it out and she is trying to get over the crib she even got a leg over, I tried laying in the crib, i tried putting her in the stroller in her room. I am still offering a nap same time everyday I rarely leave during those nap times. She is sleeping at night, will cry a few mins when i put her down. She usually goes to bed 8-7/8 and was napping 12:45/1-3-3:30. her naps were getting shorter which was fine but she needs a nap. HELP!!! She did have a cold last week and was consistently napping and sleeping at night.
@meghan wieber, also im 8 months pregnant and i work full time so it is really stressing me out 🙁
Hi Meghan,
I’m sorry you are going through this. It can be really rough not having that nap!
This post may help:
https://thepostpartumparty.com/2-year-old-nap-strike/
Thanks,
Amy
Hello!
With naptime…..our 2 year old goes to an in-home daycare with 5 other children. They often nap between 2 and 5. Many times, our little is waking up from a 1.5-2 hour nap at 4:30. I feel like this is making bedtime more difficult because we are trying to put him down at the same time as our 5 year old– around 8. But then, our 2 year old has only had a wake window of about 3.5 hours. Could that be hurting his sleep? I ask too because he is waking up multiple times during the night. I know the 2 year sleep regression is a thing, but I can’t help but wonder how his napping at daycare could be effecting it.
Do you have suggestions?
Hi Julie,
My bet would be that the nap is absolutely interfering with bedtime/night sleep.
2 PM is a pretty late nap. Is there any flexibility with the daycare to do an earlier nap or wake your child up earlier?
My two year old wakes up every morning around 9:30 ( he used to wake up earlier) and he goes down for a nap around 2 he will wake up around 3 or not sleep at all but lay in bed a watch a movie .. now my problem is bed time we will lay him down around 8 with his music but he’s started this “monster/ghost” thing about a month ago and now he will want everyone in the house until someone caves to lay down with him (usually me) and at this point idk what to do he will fight his sleep till about 11-11:30 every night if I don’t lay with him
Hi Rachel,
It’s super common for them to start having fears at this age. I would be very consistent in whatever approach you choose.
If you want to schedule a free call to see how I might be able to help, you can use this link:
https://thepostpartumparty.com/discovery-call/
-Amy
Hi there! I’m so happy I found you helpful page. My almost two year old likes to get up at 6am and for our family just an hour more would really help out! I’ve tried stretch her wake window , but she gets so tired from waking up early and I just can’t get it transitioning. So Analee wakes up at 6a and is ready for nap at 10am then she has been sleeping till 1pm, but really tired by 5p, which I know is obviously too late for nap. Soooo I could start to stretch her wake time every 15min to get her to nap later, but what if that’s just not happening?
Thank you,
Jessica Claudin
Hi Jessica,
Can you try keeping her awake until 10:30 am and starting her nap then? You might have to do a new activity with her or go outside around 10 am to help her push through to the new wake times.
Hope that helps!
Amy