Rest
In my project I respect the children's need to rest, they sleep when and as much as they require.
Children tend to self-regulate, we have to trust them, they sleep as much as they need to gain strength and keep active during the day. There are children who can take a 20 minute nap, and there are some that need more than two hours nap.
The important thing is not to force them, but to establish a routine that will allow them to rest and invite them to take a little nap if they need to.
It is important to establish a routine, to put children to bed at approximately the same time, in a calm environment and with a little bit of daylight, so that from an early age they can learn to differentiate between daytime sleep (nap) and night-time sleep.
Benefits
Taking a nap brings great benefits to children.
It allows them to be calmer, to increase their attention and to assimilate what they have learned during the day more effectively.
During sleep, more
neuronal connections are generated and the plasticity of the brain is increased, which consolidates memory and learning.
Some scientists point out that lack of sleep can have a bad effect on infants' behaviour and development and can have a negative influence on the immune system, causing them to get sick more often.
