Older /preschoolers and napping

[PunkyBoo]

I know most of us complain about our toddlers who quit napping too soon. Heck Punkin quit before his 2nd birthday and it drove me crazy trying to keep him happy and entertained for 14 hours a day. But Boo is 4 and still napping. He goes to preschool 5 mornings a week. He is a high-energy, spirited little guy. There have been days when he didn't want or need a nap. There have been days when we kept him from napping due to events (holidays, day trips, etc) and hes been fine. But most days he wants and needs a nap. He still sleeps fine at night, usually about 9.5 hours and no bedtime protests.

Normally I don't have an issue with his naps. We have arrangements worked out so his nap doesn't cause much trouble for our daily routines (ie a friend brings Punkin home from school everyday so Boo can nap.) But yesterday he just had a catnap in the car on the way to my ILs house for a family gathering and he was a mess. Overly wild. Running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Not wanting to sit to eat (except the leftovers Easter candy MIL left out -thanks a lot MIL!!) He totally wore me out. I know it was because he needed a nap. I mentioned to my mom this morning that I'm tired today because of it and she responded, "I wonder why, at his age, he's so dependent on his naps." Is it so strange? Aren't there other kids tgat burn a lot of energy and still NEED daily naps at age 4? Should I be worried about it (or just irritated that my mom can still plant seeds of doubt in my head after being a mother for over 9 years! ) ?

Any other long-term nappers?

[vonfirmath]

My son napped right up through July before he went to school (K) in late August.

He still naps on occasion on the weekend.

And honestly -- 9.5 hours of sleep at night? Might be part of the "problem" My 5.5 year old has a bedtime of 7:30p and gets up at 6am. when he goes to bed later, we regret it the next day because his behavior suffers due to lack of sleep.

I do know last summer, when he was still napping during the day, we ended up putting him down later (9p or so) because otherwise he had problems getting to sleep at night.

[sunshine873]

My 4 year old still naps, but there are days that she fights it too. I imagine it'll be phasing out over the next 6 months or so. I think it's perfectly common for a 4 year old to still nap,and I think it's also perfectly common for them to not nap. It just depends on the kid.

We had company here this weekend. DD didnt nap at all, and the kids didn't get to sleep until later either. They left Sunday morning and by 10:30 she had fallen asleep on the couch with DH (very unusual.). She'll be catching up on sleep all week.

[ang79]

My DD2 turned 4 at the end of Nov. and she still takes naps most days. Both her and her 6 yr. old sister go to bed between 7:30-8, and both are usually up around 7. She goes to preschool 3 mornings a week, but even on days she doesn't have preschool, I still have her lay down for a quiet time around 1:30. And there are many days I have to wake her up at 3:40 to go get her sister from the bus stop. Sometimes she'll go a few days in a row w/o napping (either her choice or we are out doing something on the weekend), but then she is whines more than usual and I can tell she needs sleep. Like yesterday. She went to bed way late Sat. night because we were visiting friends. Woke up at 7 on Sunday morning and was crying shortly after because some toy wasn't doing what she wanted it to do. Put her down for a nap around 2:30, had to wake her up around 5:15 for dinner. Normal bed time last night, this morning she slept til 7:40. And I think she just fell asleep for her nap. She's always needed more sleep than her sister and has always been a good sleeper. And she won't start Kindergarten for another year, so I'm not worried that she is still napping most days.

[wellyes]

I don't think napping at 4 is a problem. But, I too think it's unusual for a 4 year old to sleep 9.5 hours a night. Mine DD just turned 5 and she sleeps at least 11 hours, usually more, at night.

[twowhat?]

I agree with the 9.5 hours of sleep not being enough - and that is probably why he relies on the nap.

Ours sleep 11-12 hours with no nap and they are 4.5.

I don't think it's a problem if he's on a 9.5 hrs/night plus 1 nap schedule (how long is his nap? I'm guessing at least an hour?) so long as he gets enough total sleep. But if it's making it harder for you to preserve that naptime (and thus he doesn't get enough sleep), then yeah I'd think about increasing his nighttime sleep so that he doesn't rely so heavily on the nap.

You can do it gradually or you can go cold turkey (I recommend cold turkey, LOL!). If you go cold turkey, just make sure you can do it over a weekend when you don't need to go anywhere (in other words don't give him a chance to fall asleep in the car, in the stroller, or anytime during the day!) and then put him down for bed way earlier. If he was going to sleep at 10pm, move his bedtime up to 8pm (with no nap).

And then fully adjusting will take a few weeks.

[AnnieW625]

Some kids are just like that. My DD1 was/is one of them. She napped daily at daycare until she started kindergarten, but gave it up on the weekends when she was 4/1/2 and a preschool playmate told her 4 yr. olds don't nap :hopmad::shake:. DD1 continued to take a nap (maybe an hour) until she was 5 yrs. 8 mos. old which is when I enrolled her at her school's after care program vs. the in home daycare where she had been going. DD1 could go to bed at 7 pm and wake up at 6:30 am or she could go to bed at 9:00 or 10 pm (on a weekend or special occaision of course;)) and still wake up at 6:30 am. She has been like that since birth. I have never once tried to fix it. I figure if she is going to take a nap when she needs one then fine, if not then I just find ways for her to play or read alone so she at least has some quiet time (since she has quit taking her nap).

DD2 is still napping at daycare and I hope has just finished a nap strike (although anytime she poops at the beginning of nap time on a weekend there is no getting her back down--she is still in diapers), but I have no clue when she might give up her nap time. If she naps through kindergarten that is fine with me.

I would not make him give up his nap if he is not ready. If it isn't broke don't fix it. If he is truly ready to give up his nap he will just let him do it on his own.

I took a good 2 hr+ nap until I was almost 6 yrs. old and I turned out just fine (I just really wanted the PM kindergarten teacher because she was young and outgoing vs. the mean old school marm I had for kindergarten). Per my mom I was also the easiest one to get to bed at night.

[PunkyBoo]

Yeah, I'm sure 9.5-10 hours at night isn't enough. With our schedule though its usually 8:30-9 before he gets to bed and he wakes on his own about 6:30 every day. The naps are typically 2-3 hours. I don't mind it because the naps give Punkin time to do homework in the afternoon and on the weekends I frequently nap when Boo naps (I get up for work at 5 all week so I am usually really tired by the weekends).

Punkin only needed about 10 hours of sleep TOTAL in 24 hours since he was about 3 so I know my perspective on what Boo would need is off.

[wellyes]

If it works for you, and he's getting enough total sleep, there is no problem at all.