Can Not Taking a Nap Make a Child Difficult?

Sleep and Age

• Before assessing your little one's need for a nap, take his age into consideration. While all young children typically need more rest than older children, you aren't likely to find one magical sleep number when it comes to how much is enough. Depending on your child's age, he may need slightly more or less sleep than average during a 24-hour period. For example, KidsHealth.org notes that newborns need between 16 and 20 hours of sleep each day. As your child moves into the toddler years -- from 1 to 3 years old -- he needs roughly 14 to 15 hours per day. Preschoolers between 3 and 5, as well as grade-schoolers, typically require 10 to 12 hours of sleep. Keep in mind that total 24-hour period sleep times include nightly rest as well as daytime naps.

Purpose of Naps

• While your child's nap might provide you with the opportunity to fold the laundry or scrub the kitchen floor in peace, carving out chore time for Mom or Dad is hardly its sole purpose. Sleep provides your child with the chance to rejuvenate herself and allows time for growth and mental development. Napping, according to the National Sleep Foundation, can also increase cognitive alertness. An alert child is more likely to explore, play and welcome learning opportunities than a groggy or sleepy one. Additionally, getting an adequate amount of rest also helps to avoid becoming overtired, which may result in moody or emotional types of behaviors.

Napping and Behavior

• Although not every child -- especially preschoolers and school-aged kids -- needs a nap, not getting enough sleep can turn your little angel into a cranky mess. Signs of insufficient sleep, according to KidsHealth.org, include irritable behavior later in the day, trouble waking in the morning, aggression and inattentiveness. While it may seem counterintuitive, a lack of sleep can also cause your child to show signs of hyperactivity. Providing regular nap times that add enough rest to your child's 24-hour daily total can help to head off these difficult types of behaviors. This isn't to say that naps are a magic cure-all for every difficult child, but getting enough daily rest can contribute to your child's ability to control himself and act in much more manageable way.

Special Issues

• Children who have diagnosed issues or disorders may have a greater need for regular naps than those without. The National Sleep Foundation notes that children diagnosed with ADHD are often more sleepy or tired during the daytime hours than those who don't have this diagnosis. The lack of a nap may cause a child with ADHD to become even more difficult, acting out in a moody or aggressive way, along with the expected hyperactivity.