2 year sleep regression

Around the second birthday some toddlers start refusing the nap, stalling at bedtime or getting out of bed. Here is what is known and what you can do.

Is there a 2 year sleep regression?

Sleep regression is a popular name for a stretch of worse sleep in a baby who was sleeping better before. It is not an event that research has pinned to the calendar: Cleveland Clinic notes that research has not shown regressions happening like clockwork at a specific age for every baby.

No medical source names a 2 year sleep regression. Parents and sleep consultants use the term for a rough patch around the second birthday.

What often unsettles sleep at 2 years

• Nap refusal. Fewer than 2.5% of children stop napping before their second birthday, and most stop between 3 and 5 years, so 2 is early to drop the nap.
• The move to a bed. Most children move from a crib to a bed between 2 and 3 years. A child who can get out of bed has a new way to put off sleep.
• Teething pain or an illness, which Nemours lists among the causes of night waking at 1 to 2 years.
• Screens. Nemours advises no screens in the hour before bed and none in the bedroom.

How long does the 2 year sleep regression last?

Cleveland Clinic says regressions typically last a week or two. The Sleep Foundation says that in most cases the trouble lasts a few days to a few weeks. Nobody can give you a date, and it is different for every child.

What to do

• Rule out other causes first. Illness and teething can look the same.
• Keep the same bedtime routine every night, in the same order. In a study of 405 children of 7 to 36 months, a consistent routine improved how fast they fell asleep and how often they woke.
• Keep offering the nap at the same time every day, even if it is refused for a few days.
• Keep wake-up time and bedtime at about the same times every day.
• Answer night wakings the same calm way every night.
• Keep your toddler in a crib for as long as they cannot climb out of it. It is time for a bed when they are 35 inches tall or can get a leg over the rail.
• When a toddler gets out of bed, walk them back calmly and quietly, every time, with as few words as you can.

Can you sleep train a 2 year old?

Yes, if you want to. The same approaches are used with toddlers: staying in the room and moving away over two weeks, timed checks (the Ferber method), and saying goodnight and not going back in (cry it out). A toddler in a bed they can leave needs a version with check-ins.

A 2006 review for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that 49 of 52 studies reported better sleep. Most of those studies were small, and no method works for every child.

When to call the pediatrician

Talk to your pediatrician if sleep does not get back on track, if something does not seem right to you, or if you notice snoring, trouble breathing, a fever, poor weight gain or feeds that are a struggle.

Related guides

• 2 year old sleep schedule
• Sleep regression ages

Sources

• Cleveland Clinic. The 4-Month Sleep Regression: What Parents Need To Know. July 2022.
• Sleep Foundation. 4-Month Sleep Regression. Updated July 2025.
• Staton S, et al. Many naps, one nap, none: a systematic review and meta-analysis of napping patterns in children 0 to 12 years. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2020.
• Nemours KidsHealth. Sleep and Your Baby, by age; Naps.
• Nationwide Children's Hospital. Moving Your Toddler From Crib to Bed.
• Mindell JA, et al. Behavioral treatment of bedtime problems and night wakings in infants and young children. Sleep, 2006 (review for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine).

General information for parents, not medical advice. Independent, not affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics or any medical body. Talk to your pediatrician about your baby's health.