How much sleep does a 2-year-old need?

Eleven to 14 hours across 24 hours, made up of 10 to 12 hours at night and one nap. Wake windows are 5 to 6 hours. The range is wide because two-year-olds genuinely differ: some are rested on 11 hours and others need closer to 14. Judge it by how your child copes with the late afternoon rather than by the number alone.

How many naps should a 2-year-old have?

One. A single nap after lunch is standard at 24 months and is part of how the daily total is reached. It typically runs somewhere between an hour and two hours. If your child no longer falls asleep, keep the slot as a quiet rest period rather than removing it, because the pause matters even when sleep doesn't happen.

When do children stop napping?

Most commonly between three and five years old, and rarely at two. Signs that the end is genuinely approaching include taking a very long time to fall asleep at nap time for weeks on end, or the nap clearly pushing bedtime much later. Even then, replacing the nap with quiet time rather than dropping it outright makes the transition much smoother.

Is two the right age to move to a bed?

Not automatically. The best reasons to move are practical — your child is climbing out of the crib, or you need it for a sibling — rather than the birthday itself. Two-year-olds cannot yet reliably decide to stay in bed, so an early move often brings weeks of getting up at night. If you do it, keep the room safe and the bedtime routine exactly as it was, and ask your pediatrician about timing.

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Baby sleep schedule at 24 months: one nap, bedtime and turning two

At two years old your toddler needs 11 to 14 hours of sleep a day: 10 to 12 hours at night and one nap, with wake windows of 5 to 6 hours. That is the same band they will stay in for a while — the two-year mark is a plateau rather than another step down.

It's worth noticing how far this has come. Two years ago the day was 4 to 6 naps and 45-minute wake windows; now it is one nap after lunch and two long stretches of awake time. Almost all of that happened on its own, through maturation rather than training.

11–14 h

Total sleep / 24 h

10–12 h

Night sleep

Naps per day

5 h–6 h

Wake window

Napping isn't over at two. Most children keep a single nap well into the third year and some into the fourth, and dropping it now usually creates an overtired toddler who sleeps worse at night. If your two-year-old resists, keep the slot as quiet time: same room, same hour, low light, books or quiet toys, no expectation of sleep. Many children fall asleep after ten minutes anyway.

The two-year check-up is a good place to raise anything you have been sitting on: snoring most nights, mouth breathing, pauses in breathing, night terrors, or a child who never seems rested despite a full night. Sleep questions rarely feel urgent enough to book an appointment for, which is exactly why the scheduled visit is the right moment to ask.

A sample day

Below is a typical day for a two-year-old: a nap after lunch, wake windows of 5 to 6 hours, and bedtime around 8:30 pm. It's a guide, not a rule — use the spacing rather than the clock times, and start from whenever your child actually wakes.

Time	What happens
7:00	Wake-up and first feed
13:30	Nap 1 · approx. 85 min
20:30	Bedtime routine and lights out

A sample day to give you a rough idea — every baby is different. Adjust the times to your child's sleep cues, and talk to your pediatrician about anything that worries you.

Does this 24 months schedule match your day?

Lulla times the naps and tells you when the wake window is closing, so you do not have to keep count in your head.

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Tips for this age

Keep the nap slot even on days your toddler will not sleep; quiet time in the same room at the same hour protects both the afternoon and the night.
Hold bedtime steady across weekends and holidays, because two-year-olds lose a consistent schedule faster than they rebuild one.
Two years of sleep is a lot of pattern, and Lulla's history is useful mostly for seeing how much has changed when a difficult week makes it feel like nothing has.
Delay the move out of the crib until there is a reason for it — climbing out, or a sibling needing the crib — rather than doing it because of the birthday.
Take snoring, mouth breathing, breathing pauses or persistent exhaustion to the two-year check-up; these are exactly the things your pediatrician wants to hear about.

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Common questions

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Sources

The figures on this page follow the guidance of these organizations. This information is educational and does not replace advice from your pediatrician.