You can consult tables and charts to see how long your toddler should sleep, but unfortunately most toddlers haven't read those charts. From infancy through toddlerhood into adulthood, people assert their individuality. Your one- to three-year-old toddler may require more or less sleep than others, so prepare to explore and experiment to discover your child's needs.
Changes
The nature of children's sleep changes over the course of development. As they mature, their sleep becomes more and more like adult sleep. At birth, infants sleep 16 to 20 hours a day in short cycles of 2 to 4 hours. REM sleep--a deep sleep characterized by rapid eye movement, or REM--fills an average of 40 percent of their snoozing time. By one year of age REM has decreased to the adult proportion of 25 percent of their sleep time, and toddlers are sleeping a total of 13 or 14 hours per day, according to It's a Mom's World.
Toddler Sleep
Between the ages of one to three years, toddlers spend a total of 10 to 13 hours sleeping. Toddlers vary considerably in their individual needs. Young toddlers usually take one or two naps during the day. Daytime naps usually last one to one and a half hours, according to Keep Kids Healthy. Many toddlers transition to only one nap a day sometime around 18 months of age. As your toddler approaches three years of age, he may stop needing daily naps altogether.
To Nap, or Not to Nap
Some parents feel that daytime naps interfere with night-time sleep. This may be true for some older toddlers, but for others being tired and fatigued from not taking a nap makes it more difficult for them to fall asleep at night. They simply get wound up, hyperactive and irritable. If your child shows these signs when you are trying to get her to sleep at night, revisit your child's daytime nap routine.
Rituals
Toddlers benefit from routine. Establish a regular bedtime, and stick to it. Develop night-time rituals that signal your child it is getting closer to sleepy-bye time. Turn off the TV and stop stimulating play 30 minutes before sleep time. Make the process of getting ready for sleep enjoyable. Make it a period of bonding and relaxation for you and your child after a busy day. Get the night-time hygiene out of the way, but then give your child a choice of which pajamas to wear and what book to read. Incorporate calming activities into the ritual such as bathing, listening to gentle music and stories. Anticipate his stalling techniques and incorporate your response into the ritual. For example, ask him at the same point during the bed-time routine each night if he wants a drink of water.
Sleep Problems
Toddlers sometimes resist going to bed because they are attached to mom and dad, and they don't like being alone. Help your child learn how to self-soothe by giving her a "transitional object"--a blanket or favored stuffed animal that comforts her. If your child awakens due to nightmares or teething, give her a hug and a few moments of comfort, and then set her back in bed. Tell her you will check on her in 10 minutes as long as she is quiet and still in bed.
Signs of Too Little Sleep
Look for signs that your toddler is getting too little sleep. According to the Baby Center, these signs can include almost always falling asleep in the car, irritability during the day, difficulty awaking in the morning and occasionally crashing earlier than usual.
