Why Your Little One May Suddenly Be Protesting Bedtime (and What to Do About It)
Lacy Hess • May 5, 2025
Why changing sleep needs can lead to bedtime battles—and how to fix it.
Why Overtiredness (and Undertiredness!) Might Be Behind Your Child’s Sleep Struggles
As a pediatric sleep consultant, one of the most common patterns I see when working with families of infants is overtiredness. Parents are often surprised to learn just how much sleep their baby actually needs, and once we update their child’s schedule to better meet those needs—and introduce some practice with independent sleep—things can drastically improve.
But here’s where it gets tricky: as our little ones grow, their sleep needs change. And while most parents do their best to avoid an overtired child, it’s easy to forget that undertiredness
can also lead to sleep struggles, especially around bedtime.
Understanding Infant and Toddler Sleep Needs
During infancy, babies typically need a lot of sleep—often more than parents realize. Missing those ideal sleep windows can lead to overtiredness, which makes it even harder for your little one to fall and stay asleep.
Once a child enters toddlerhood, things shift. Between 18 months to 2 years of age, a toddler’s total sleep needs decrease
from about 13.5 hours
per 24-hour period to 12–12.5 hours. Then, around age 3, their needs drop again to around
11–12 hours per day.
These shifts are subtle, but they matter. What worked last month might suddenly lead to a bedtime battle or early rising. That’s because the pressure to sleep (also called “sleep drive”) at their usual bedtime may no longer be strong enough.
How to Adjust When Sleep Needs Change
If your toddler is still taking one nap a day and isn’t quite ready to drop it, that mid-day rest is still important. But since toddlers need less total sleep in a 24-hour period as they get older, something has to give—either bedtime needs to be later, or the nap needs to be shorter.
Both approaches can work! The best option depends on your family’s routine:
- Shorten the nap: If you're home during the day and have control over nap length, you might try gradually waking your toddler after 60–90 minutes.
- Adjust bedtime: If, like me, your child is in daycare and nap schedules aren’t flexible, adjusting bedtime may be the simpler solution. Moving bedtime a little later can help increase sleep pressure and reduce bedtime battles.
The Bottom Line
Whether your child is overtired from too little sleep or undertired from too much, the key is to stay flexible. Monitor their total sleep needs and adjust accordingly as they grow.
Not sure how to solve your child’s current sleep struggles? Let’s talk!
👉 Book your FREE
30-minute consultation today and let’s discuss how I can help bring sleep back to your home.
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