Will 'capping' naps help with sleep problems when you have a toddler?

In the world of toddler sleep, 'capping' is used to refer to the strategy of waking your small child up after a calculated period of nap time during the day.

The biological ways to make sure your little one doesn't sleep more than she needs during the day are

• Napping in the midst of light, noise and activity

• Not using blockout blinds or dim rooms

• Not trying to be quiet while she's sleeping

• Not trying to connect sleep cycles or return your little one to sleep when she wakes

• Picking up your sleeping child to get on with your day, whether it's to leave the house, or get out of the car, or pack up the stroller. Focussing on your own needs and arrangements means you're trusting that if your little person really needs more sleep as your stir him, his sleep regulators will take it. Otherwise - on with the day!

I worry that the idea of capping naps still keeps us unnecessarily focussed on the clock, counting up the hours and minutes of our little one's sleep. Unfortunately, the adult sleep science tells us that a clock-focussed relationship with sleep makes sleep worse.

It's also true that we often can't help but be aware of our little one's daily sleep durations when we're the primary carer of a toddler, especially with our firstborns! I suggest holding your awareness of your little one's sleep times and durations lightly, or even try not to notice, rather than feeling it's your responsibility to monitor how much sleep she's having.

I reserve the term 'capping', if I use it at all, for the following three situations.

1. You've made the decision to reset your toddler's body clock. In this situation, limiting your little one's daytime sleep can be an important strategy over a two week period, before you come out the other side with more manageable nights. You can find out more about this here.

2. You might ask other people who care for your toddler to limit the amount of sleep your little one takes during the day. This is because carers are often responsible for a group of small children and may set up a night-like situation for naps (e.g. quiet, dimmed room), which can lengthen daytime naps well beyond what your little one takes when home with you, and accidentally result in excessive night waking over time. You can find out about this here.

3. Late afternoon naps, which can disrupt your little one's body clock settings if they become a pattern. You can find out more about this here.