Does your 3.5 DC still nap?

[tlw]

My son has been napping from 2-4 p.m. but lately it's hit or miss. He may not fall asleep until 3, and then he's awake until 9, even though I put him to bed around 8.

Is it time to forgo the nap in lieu of an earlier bedtime? And make playing quietly in his room or resting the option instead?

I'm expecting #2 in July and feel that I will need everyone to nap in the afternoon (including me!) Is this selfish/unrealistic?

We've, fortunately, never faced any sleeping issues, so this is all new to me.

[maestramommy]

Yes, my 3.5 yo still naps. From 1ish to anywhere between 3ish and 4:30ish. At least she's quiet. I don't actually know how much of that time is spent sleeping.

[infocrazy]

We lost the nap a few months ago. His sitter still swears he takes one for her, but I think it is more like quiet time. I kept trying but when he stayed awake for our 4 hour drive and the quick trips after...I gave. We try for quiet time but I'm off right now and he would prefer to help me do projects.

[pinkmomagain]

Not for a loooooooong time. I should say that sometimes if we are in the car for a long drive in the afternoon, she will doze off. No naps = the witching time between 4:30 and 6:30 pm everyday, and then, of course a second wind of energy until bedtime.

[kayte]

Yes, but we moved her nap to 12ish (sometimes even 11:30) when it started to interfere with when we thought she should go to bed. She is an early riser...but she gets up at 7 --She is up for about 5 hours, goes down at noon and naps for 1 1/2 to 2 hours and is up for about 5 hours before going to bed at 7:30ish. I read somewhere to figure out when they get up (since it usually is independent of their bedtime) and figure out when to put the nap so it splits their awake time into two equal blocks.

A regular nap and sleep schedule makes WORLD of difference for our DD.

[doberbrat]

not since she turned 2. not even in the car. *maybe* on a LONG LONG trip (like more than 12h) but I figure thats boredom more than anything else. and then, on those trips, she's up till midnight or so.

w/o a nap, she goes to bed at 7:30 or 8 -no fuss no muss.

[KrisM]

My kids would have continued napping past when they did (2.5 and 2 years), but it pushed bedtime back so far, I wasn't happy. DD gave hers up 3 weeks before DS2 was born. Not good timing! But, I would much prefer her in bed at 7:30 with no nap than a 2 hour nap and a 10pm bedtime. While I need the daytime downtime, I more need the evening time to myself.

Now, she will still nap in the car at times and if it's early enough - pre noon or so, I'll let her and it won't mess up bedtime. So, maybe try what the PP said about splitting their awake time into 2. I might try that, although I'm sure I won't be able to convince her to go into her room to nap anymore.

[hellokitty]

My 3.5 yr old has been fighting naps too. I think the biggest thing is that his 5 yr brother rarely ever naps anymore and he wants to stay up too. For now, he still needs a nap, but there have been times where all he has done was goofed off in his room. On days where he doesn't get a nap, he is usually unbearable to deal with by dinner time. Today for example, I had errands to run and he insisted he didn't want to nap, so I let him skip it. Well, he already has that sleepy eyed look, but the weather is nice, I'm going to let him wear himself out (they are playing outside right now), and we'll just put them down for an early bedtime to try to make up for it. It doesn't help that the booger has been waking up at 5 am in the morning either...

[hellokitty]

Sorry, double post.

[geochick]

My dd is nearly 3. She doesn't nap much because if she does, she stays up until very late at night. She's slowly adjusting and becoming more bearable in the afternoon. She still has 1 hour of quiet time (on her bed with books, or in a nap bed on the floor in front of a movie). Either way, I still get my time, and she gets quiet time.

Her older brother needed a nap until he was 4.5.

[melrose7]

DD will be 4 in july and we still have quiet time almost everyday but it usually ends up not being very quiet. She may take a nap once a week but when she does it does push bedtime back. Without a nap she sleeps 7:30-7:30. Sometimes I even put her down earlier. With a nap she can be up til after 10. We usually say if she isn't asleep by 2:00 we get her up. I said her quiet time isn't usually quiet because she doesn't have a quiet voice (she's on th autism spectrum) and I don't want her to wake DD2. She makes a mess of her room and even though I want the break in ther afternoon sometimes it's more trouble than it's worth, plus I like the evening time to myself. Good luck with the new arrival.

[LBW]

My 3-year old is starting to fight his nap. On the days when he does nap, though, he can't fall asleep at his usual bedtime.

Sigh.

[g-mama]

Yes - and so does my 5 1/2 year old! All three of my kids have needed lots of sleep, like their mama. :) But they do go to bed at 9pm b/c dh doesn't get home from work til around 7. It feels okay to me but I think a lot of kids (at least on this board) go to sleep earlier.

[elliput]

My DD started regularly dropping her nap before she turned 3. It is very rare that she naps now at 4yo.

[frgsnlzrds]

DS2 is almost 3 1/2 and most of the time he still takes a good 2-3 hour nap. It's getting stressful-most of the time I have to put the kitchen timer in there and tell him he gets one hour of quiet time to stop the crying and complaining. 90% of the time he falls asleep and the timer doesn't wake him up, but the other 10% of the time he calls me just before it goes off to tell me it's almost done. He still needs it if he doesn't want to fall asleep in the middle of dinner, so I'll keep pushing for it. Some days it just doesn't happen though.

[clc053103]

DS will be 4 in July. Still naps every day, 2 hours a day, and sleeps 10-11 hours a night. His nap has migrated from 1-3, to 2-4, and now from 3-5. He rarely fights napping though and the one time he went without it, was a mess the next day!

[s7714]

My DD will be 4 in June and she still naps daily. Some days I do just give her an hour or so of quiet time in her room if I don't feel like battling for a nap. If she goes without naps for too long it becomes very apparent that she's not getting enough sleep.

My older DD took naps about 1-2 a week even as old as 5. It was like a nap every day was just too much, but she did need just that little extra bit of sleep each week to top off what she was getting at night.

I would continue putting your DS down for a "nap" at the same time, but set a cut off time. Regardless of when he falls asleep, still get him up at a consistent time so it doesn't interfere with his set bedtime. If he doesn't fall asleep by the cut off time some days then I'd just call it quiet time and let him get up. A while ago my DD started not falling asleep until really late in the afternoon and would sleep a long time. She then started not wanting to go to bed at night and not falling asleep until late at night. We were fighting her to stay in her bed and room which had never happened before. And she was misbehaving like crazy all day long. It was a vicious cycle that only resulted in her getting really sleep deprived and us stressed out. Finally we started cutting off her nap at one hour. It took a couple weeks for her to get back on schedule, but finally she was going to bed easily again, getting enough sleep over all and we were all much happier. Now she can occasionally sleep a couple hours at nap time and still be fine at night, but I don't let her go over two hours (unless she's sick) because it's a sure thing she won't be able to sleep at night.

[citymama]

Yes, but we moved her nap to 12ish (sometimes even 11:30) when it started to interfere with when we thought she should go to bed. She is an early riser...but she gets up at 7 --She is up for about 5 hours, goes down at noon and naps for 1 1/2 to 2 hours and is up for about 5 hours before going to bed at 7:30ish. I read somewhere to figure out when they get up (since it usually is independent of their bedtime) and figure out when to put the nap so it splits their awake time into two equal blocks.

A regular nap and sleep schedule makes WORLD of difference for our DD.

Wow, I don't mean to hijack but I am in awe of this post. Your 3.5 yr old sleeps from 7.30 pm to 7 am every night *and* naps? I want to know your secret! Seriously, I completely agree with your comment about good sleep making a world of difference. These days we are having an impossible time with our 3.25 yr old - she naps at preschool from 1-3, we can't change the time. But she doesn't sleep at night till after 10pm!!! And wakes up at least once every night (wants one of us in her room) and then wakes up at around 7.30-8 am. I would love to hear any suggestions for trying to get this night owl on an 8 pm-7 am sleep schedule, with sleep *all* through the night.

I apologize OP, for the detour, but kayte's post definitely struck a chord! In answer to your original question, yes, my 3 yr old does nap, 2 hrs, and seems to need it. However many other kids her age in her preschool don't.

[tlw]

Yes, but we moved her nap to 12ish (sometimes even 11:30) when it started to interfere with when we thought she should go to bed. She is an early riser...but she gets up at 7 --She is up for about 5 hours, goes down at noon and naps for 1 1/2 to 2 hours and is up for about 5 hours before going to bed at 7:30ish. I read somewhere to figure out when they get up (since it usually is independent of their bedtime) and figure out when to put the nap so it splits their awake time into two equal blocks.

A regular nap and sleep schedule makes WORLD of difference for our DD.

This is great advice! My semester is ending (I'm a professor) and will now have the flexibility to get him down before 2. I love the idea of rising at 7 and going down after lunch, for a 12-2 nap window. It also allows for a reasonable bedtime at 7:30. Thanks again!

[DrSally]

DS stopped right around 3yo. When it starts to get spotty and they need a very late bedtime, I think it's time to skip the nap and move to an earlier bedtime. DS goes to bed at 7pm, sometimes even as early as 6 or 6:30 when we first were transitioning.

ETA: I did the same thing as some of the other posters, the nap kept migrating later and later b/c DS wasn't tired at 1pm and couldn't get to sleep. For quite awhile, we had success with 2-4pm, and then 3-5pm, then it went to 3:30-4pm, and then more often than not, he couldn't get to sleep. I didn't want to struggle with him about it, so we just dropped the nap. He gets 12 hours of sleep every day, which I think is sufficient. On days when he seems tired or sick, I'll put him down for a nap and he'll sleep happily for a few hours plus his 11.5-12 hours a night.

[SASM]

DS napped until around 3.5. DD1 still naps at 4. She protests but ALWAYS falls asleep. It can be quite a chore waking her up to pick up DS from school. It is not selfish at all of your wanting everyone to nap. On weekends, I often send DS into his room for quiet time to given Mommy some Mommytime...we NEED that, especially when sleepless nights & new routines are involved! As far as late naps, I guess that my family is extremely blessed (knock on wood) that despite the time that they wake up (sometimes as late as 5pm), both DDs always tend to fall asleep at bedtime (8pm at the latest). Again...knock on wood. Good luck!

[MommyAllison]

DD gave up her nap right around her 3rd birthday. However, since we've been able to be outside a lot more, she's napping again most days, though it's usually in the evening, which is super *not* convenient. She will fall asleep in the car now too.

[LexyLou]

My DD totally gave up her nap right before turning 3. I wanted to die. I would send her to her room for "quiet time" which always ended up in what I like to call "un-quiet time".

She would be in bed my 7pm though and sleep until 8am.

Then in Feb, we discovered she had sleep apnea and had her tonsils and adenoids removed. Since then she's sleeping much better at night and just recently has started napping about 3-4 days a week, she's just over 3.5 yrs. I guess she was so overtired before she couldn't get her self to nap.

I have to limit her nap to 1 hr, maybe 1.5 hrs and she needs to be up by 2:30-3 pm or else she won't go to sleep until 9-9:30pm and she doesn't do it every day.

It just depends on how tired she seems. Sometimes I still make her take un-quiet time even if I know she won't sleep, sometimes I let her take it on the couch and let her watch TV while I get things done. Just depends.

[JTsMom]

DS dropped napping daily around 3, but will still fall asleep in the car, and occasionally at home at 4. We call him the human fly. If he sleeps for 5 seconds, it pushes back bedtime by hours.

[kayte]

Wow, I don't mean to hijack but I am in awe of this post. Your 3.5 yr old sleeps from 7.30 pm to 7 am every night *and* naps? I want to know your secret! Seriously, I completely agree with your comment about good sleep making a world of difference. These days we are having an impossible time with our 3.25 yr old - she naps at preschool from 1-3, we can't change the time. But she doesn't sleep at night till after 10pm!!! And wakes up at least once every night (wants one of us in her room) and then wakes up at around 7.30-8 am. I would love to hear any suggestions for trying to get this night owl on an 8 pm-7 am sleep schedule, with sleep *all* through the night.

I apologize OP, for the detour, but kayte's post definitely struck a chord! In answer to your original question, yes, my 3 yr old does nap, 2 hrs, and seems to need it. However many other kids her age in her preschool don't.

Well I am by no means a sleep expert. I was here several months ago trying to figure out what to do myself. (I posted about surrendering to the earlier nap which meant giving up some morning activities that we had been doing for a while --and that I depended on for adult interaction--- but with the time change that eased a little)

And every kid is different.

But I feel for you that you have a kiddo that needs a nap. Mine is a disaster when she doesn't nap--and it does occasionally happens and it seems to knock her off her schedule (and her pleasant disposition) for a day or even two. We are also blessed (cursed) that she is very rhythmic. So we cash in on that with our bedtime routine. It is calm and consistent. I know it makes a big difference in getting her to fall asleep at night (as evident by the fact that she has trouble when we try to fudge it because it's late or we aren't home). Maybe you could try an new night time routine and try to stick with it for two weeks whether it works at first or not???

All that said, it doesn't go smoothly everyday. BUt we decided that even if it takes extra efforts some days we would really try to help her stay on schedule but also be aware that as she grows we must see where she takes us to change it (gently).

We have trouble with growth spurts---every few months --and it coincides with eating every thing in site-- she has a bad 5 days. She will struggle to fall asleep at nap or in the evening. If she misses the nap, then she wakes in the early evening(after crashing before her normal bedtime). And during a growth spurt she can wake up in the middle of the night (like at 1) and will usually want us to tuck her back in before going back to sleep (which she does quickly). Then when it's over she goes through several days of not eating anything and sleeping more than usual. It's just her pattern. I used to get so frustrated and when I talked to my sister (a mother of three) about it she would lecture me that it was time to give up the nap. We second guessed ourselves. But I just knew she wasn't ready. Now my sister comments on how I have a freakish child, since she often gets up from the lunch table and asks to take a nap.

I have read lots of books on sleeping --I like Pantley's books. That may have been where I read about splitting the day and realizing that not every kid should nap in the mid afternoon--as not every kid wakes at the same time or has the same energy level . DD is very active in the morning. It might also have been in You are your Child's First Teacher.

Based our experience with DD, when she goes to sleep later (or misses a nap) that's when she tends to wake in the night --I know it seem SO counterintuitive. So maybe doing what ever it takes with your little one--patting her back for a few minutes, sitting her room while she settles, etc--to get her fall asleep earlier for a week or so might show you if going to sleep earlier might help with the night waking. But I wouldn't expect it to work overnight, as kids gets used to how much sleep they have been getting and tend to stay with it for a few days.

And hugs to you. Sleeps issues are very tough on the mommy! Let me know if you try it and how it works.