Does your 3 year-old still nap?

[kmack]

My DD will be turning 3 in a few months and she is a terrible napper. We just moved (to another country!) and I am really trying to get a schedule back in place. The problem is that if I do get her to nap, it takes forever to get her to sleep (if i start at 1:00 sometimes she wont fall asleep unitl 2:30) and she can sometimes go for 2 hours. and then it takes forever to get her to sleep at night - the other night she didn't fall asleep unitl almost 11 pm! on the days that she doesn't nap she (usually) falls asleep by 8:30-9pm. i imagine that once i consistently get a routine going she will eventually fall asleep faster (both at naptime and at bedtime) but there is no guarantee of that b/c when she was younger we went through several extended (6 weeks +) of nap strikes.. now i'm wondering if i should just cut out the nap in hopes of making things easier at bedtime. also she is going to start preschool in september and one we are looking into runs from 8-1pm so by the time we get home i think it will be too late for a nap (but maybe not?).

just curious as to what your kid is doing at this age, and if they are in school do they still nap?

[daphne]

We're having the same problem. I started putting DS down for his nap at 1:30, but he didn't fall asleep until 3:30. ugh. I got him up at 5, then he didn't fall asleep until close to 10pm. I'm thinking this is the beginning of the end of naps. I'm still not sure that I can go w/o a break during the afternoon, but it would be nice to have DS asleep by 7:30pm or so.

I signed up DS for AM preschool, just in case he's still napping in Sept.

So, I guess I have no advice....just commiseration!

[Sevilla]

DS is 25 months and gave up napping a few weeks ago. When he was still napping he would go down at ~2pm, 1pm was too early for him.

[catmom]

Nope- gave it up before she turned 2.

Most of the 3-year olds I know fall into one of two groups: a)no nap, early bedtime (ie, 6:30 or 7:00), or b)afternoon nap and quite late bedtime (ie, 8:00-10:00).

I met a 5-year old at the park the other day who still naps, but she only sleeps from 10pm-6am, so if she didn't nap she'd be exhausted! I sleep more at night than that. Not sure what's going to happen when she starts kindergarten in a few months, since she won't be able to nap anymore.

[spps]

DS is just about 3. He still naps ~2.5-3 hours a day from 2-5 or so. At night he goes from 8-6:30. He is in pre-school 2x a week from 9-:30-12:30. Next year is will be 5x a week from 9-1, so he will be able to nap if he still needs it.

[Chylynn]

DD just turned three a few weeks ago and has recently given up her naps. We still install quiet time for 1-2 hours during the afternoon and she goes to sleep at 8:00. She goes to preschool from 9-12 and when she was napping, she would go down at 1:30. If your DD is having a hard time going to sleep at night, then I would probably give up her naptime to preserve her bedtime.

[gretazmama]

DD will be 4 in June. She still naps 5-6 days/week.

She sleeps from about 8 - 6 each night, then naps from 1-3 or so. Some Saturdays I skip her nap so we can do more together (I WOHM), then put her down a little earlier at night.

She starts morning kindergarten in September, so she'll still be able to nap if she needs it.

[portlandbride]

My DD will be 3 on May 12th and hasn't napped in at least 6 months. Once in a blue moon she will sleep, but not often at all. I do put hr in her room for quiet time while her sister is napping for 1 -2 hours. She just plays in her room and reads books. She does go to bed early though, by most people's standards, usually by 7 pm.

[pontmarie]

My 3-year-old still naps. However, if he wakes up later than his usual time, he will skip his nap, but he still needs his naps, if he goes 2 or 3 days without a nap he will start waking up in the middle of the night.

[lady1297]

My 3 year old naps some days, but not all. My general rule is that if he gets up before 7 a.m. then he has to nap and he'll go to bed around 9. If he gets up after 7, then he doesn't have to nap, but he goes to bed between 7 and 8 (depending on if it's a bath night). He seems to switch pretty well. Some days he's just so cranky that I make him nap regardless, but I'm sure by summer napping will be a thing of the past and he'll be in bed around 7:30 each night. Which is a good thing because he starts preschool in the fall and it's all day - from 9:20 to 2:40. So he'll need to not be used to naps by then.

[gf&js]

Wow - my 3 1/2 yr old is still a daily napper (1-2 hours) and sleeps at night from 8pm-7am (give or take an hour on either side). We haven't started preschool but will this fall. I will only put her in morning program so that we can still have a nap time in the afternoon - I'm hanging on to it as long as I can!

[littlebear]

My 3.5 year old naps about 3-4 days per week. He is in all day preschool for 3 days so they have 2 hours of 'rest time'. The kids don't have to sleep, but they do have to rest quietly on a cot with a book. So he usually sleeps at least an hour on those days. At home, I usually send him to his room for at least an hour of quiet time every afternoon. If he isn't asleep within that hour, then I get him up. I don't let him sleep more than 2 hours in the afternoon except in the unusual circumstance that he's ill or had a bad night sleep or particularly early wake-up. He's started a nap as late as 2:30 pm, but then I make sure to wake him up within an hour. He goes to bed between 7-8 pm every night and gets up between 6-7 am.

[dal]

My 3.5 year old goes into her bed for nap time everyday. Some weeks she naps everyday. Other weeks, she naps maybe 3-4 times and rests the other days. She goes to preschool 8:30-1 three days a week. My other DD goes to school at 12:30 so no matter what, my 3.5 year old doesn't get down for a nap much before 1. If she does nap, I have to wake her at 2:45 to pick my other DD up from school.

Even when she naps, she goes to bed between 6:30 and 7. Some days she falls asleep right away and other days I hear her talking to herself until after 8, but she's always in bed by 7.

[Brady]

No nap here.. it's been sporadic since he turned about 2.5. Before my 2nd son was born, he actually was napping again.. but like others have said, it led to a much later bedtime. For the past few weeks he has refused to lay down at naptime, and I can tell he doesn't need it as much as he once did (he's not having the meltdowns come 5pm he once had without a nap). I usually let him lay on the couch and watch a movie around 2:00 instead now, so I can still get the break! :) He's in his bed by 7pm. 7:30 at the latest.

[twinnyme]

My DD is 3 years 3 months and still naps every day. At home with us four days she naps from 2pm to 4pm and at daycare three days a week she naps from 12:30pm to 2pm. She goes to bed at 8pm (bedtime routine starts at 7:30) and sleeps until 6am. I call her a "recovering catnapper" because she barely slept - night or day - for more than the first year of her life. After that she began to take better naps and for about a year was actually taking a 3-hour nap at home. She has been very very slightly starting to fight naps but I'm hoping to still get a few more months of naps out of her, especially since I have a newborn now, too! (ETA: For me, I feel like since she began napping better later in life, she's napping later in general in life.)

[JackieO]

DD turnde 3 in March and still naps. I go pretty much day by day, if we have plans I can stretch her, if she's really crabby we cut things short to be home by naptime. She usually falls asleep between 8:30-9:00, which is later than I'd like but DH is upstairs with her, getting her settled so I don't tend to intrude (unless they're getting really silly;))

[jrdhbunny]

DS still naps 2-3 hours every day. I try to get him in bed by 3 pm (but often he doesn't fall asleep until almost 4 pm). His bedtime is 10 pm and he's up for the day by 9 am, although lately he's been getting up by 8.

[BooeyJ2]

DD is 3 yrs (+ a month and a half) and still takes 2-3 hour naps. BUT she rarely falls asleep at night before 8 or 9pm. Sometimes even later depending on what time she wakes up from her marathon naps.

[Tray85]

[Kmack - Glad to see your post! Hope the move went well!]

DD is almost three and naps every day. A handful of her friends have stopped napping or started skipping days. She couldn't do it just yet. She'd fall asleep standing up.

We are dealing with a late bedtime. But the schedule works for us. (Neither of us are morning people AT ALL). I'm dreading the day she gives it up.

[Renrel]

DS is 4.5, the youngest in his full day preschool. They have nap time from 1pm to 2:30 every day and most of the kids still nap for at least part of the time. DS has a long day though. He get ups around 7:30, he is in school from 9:00 to 5:15,with two 45 minute gross motor periods along with lots of other playtime. Just negoating play with all his friends for that many hours every day has to be tiring. He is also rarely asleep before 10pm. He could probable fall asleep around 7:30 if we could get through dinner before then, but we can seem to and then he gets a second wind. On weekends he does not aways nap. I try to have him do a quiet time for at least an hour but he usually plays for an hour or longer before falling asleep. But if he does not nap and we go out in the car after 2pm he almost always will fall asleep.

[Ferris]

DS is almost 3 and usually will take a nap 5 days a week. The other 2 days he just lays in his room.

He goes into his bedroom at 1, usually doesn't fall asleep between 1:30 and 2:30, and then sleeps until 3:30 or 4:30. We always put him to bed at the same time even if he sleeps late, so he's in bed between 8:30 and 9.

[Pookie]

DS is 3. If he gets up late (after 8:30) he usually just does quiet time in his room for about a hour. If he gets up early (around 8) he does take a nap, but then goes down pretty late (between 10-12.) We're night owls, so I like this schedule.

[Peever]

DS is 4 and takes naps about half the time. On the days that he naps, I usually put him to bed at 8, but he often doesn't fall asleep until 8:30 or 9. On the days he doesn't nap, I put him to bed at 7 and he usually falls asleep right away. If he misses a nap he doesn't usually make up enough sleep at night though because he's always up by about 6. So he can't go more than a few days without napping before the lack of sleep catches up with him.

[BeachBum]

This has been a hot topic among my group of IRL friends. Nearly everyone's child is skipping a nap a couple times a week. Everyone is dealing with grumpy kids come dinner time and really late bedtimes.
It is a tough transition period that can last quite a long time. I personally don't feel like there is a "fix", it just is this way.
In your situation I would just let the naps go, but have "quiet time" if your DD will go for it.

[Elmophant]

My DD turned 3 in January and we don't really nap on a consistent basis. She will lay down sometimes if I lay down with her and ask her to sleep, but unless I'm wanting a nap I usually just make her lay down for an hour or two and rest quietly...this is usually when she gets to watch a movie on Mommy's bed or something.

[kimthebride]

Yes, from 1pm-4pm every day.

[cynder]

I am sitting here mentally willing my 3 yr old to take a nap. He is starting to skip naps. Normally I would not mind since he stays quiet but he is mega cranky in the evening. We are consistent with his bedtime (8 pm) and he has no problem falling asleep or waking at 6am. I just am at my wit's end with the evening crankies.

[Megande]

My son is almost three and probably skips his nap 1 to 2 times a week. When he first turned two, he was skipping his nap all the time and we found that he had to be up for the day by 7:15 if we wanted any hope of a nap. I also can't let him sleep past 3:30 or he won't go to bed at night. We are lucky, though, in that if he skips his nap, he isn't grumpy at all during the afternoon or evening.

[LeslieR]

DS will be 3 in August and he still naps for about 2-3 hours a day. Some days he's ready at 12-12:30; other days he doesn't fall asleep until 2 or 3. I always wake him up by 4 and he always goes to bed at 8-8:30.

Our playgroup consists of six 2-3 year olds. I'd say half the group still naps consistently while the other half has started to fight theirs. Believe me, I count my lucky stars every day that DS still naps for me!

[EJH]

DD will be 3 in August and still naps most days at daycare from 1 to 3. There are days here and there where she decides to skip, which I'm sure they love, hah.

She naps on weekends most of the time, anywhere from 2-3 hours. Today has been a battle of wills to get her to nap but she still needs them.

[bamboo]

DD turned three a couple of days ago, and she naps for about 45 minutes each day, usually from 1-1:45. Once or twice a month she'll skip her nap, and once or twice a week she'll sleep for an hour and a half (two sleep cycles vs. one). She sleeps overnight from about 8pm-6 or 6:30 am.

[kmack]

thanks for all the replies - i am jealous of all the nappers! however, i am not a night owl so i would prefer to have her to bed earlier so maybe i will just give up on the thought of her ever napping again :( of course she slept in her stroller today for about 2 hours while we were out shopping, it was a first i think! but it was b/c she has been waking really early lately (she was up at 6am). i have to mention that she functions extremely well when she doesnt nap i.e. not a lot of meltdowns and if she does have them i attribute it to her age b/c she has them even on days when she does nap! i just really enjoyed the break i got when she napped.

i try to put her in her room for quiet time but this rarely works - she doesnt always stay in her room, she makes up excuses (i have to go potty, i want some water, etc), or she constantly talks to me and gets mad if i ignore her - so it is not very relaxing for me. hopefully when we get our gate (our things havent arrived yet) i can at least keep her in her room and let her be.

also i meant to ask how much total sleep should a 3 y.o. be getting, i keep meaning to look it up on the internet but always forget...thanks!

[AlisonCO]

My DS is a horrendous sleeper and napped until about 3.5. Now at 4.5 he naps about 2 times per month and has 90 minutes of quiet time everyday.

DD is only 2.5 but naps from 1-3 or 1:30-3:15. Unless she is sick I never let her go past 3:30 to preserve a 8pm bedtime. Some weeks she needs the full 2 hours and other weeks 90 minutes is enough.

[njnewyearsbride]

no -- DD will be 3 at the end of the month and pretty much gave up her nap around 2.5 - shes always been a good nighttime sleeper but a terrible napper! i try to put her in her crib for quiet time for at least an hour but she usually only lasts about 30min before i have to go get her in fear of her waking her younger brother up.

[jmvan74]

DS still naps 1-3 hours a day (1:00-3:00) He goes to bed at 7:30pm and is up around 7am.

[Ohana]

DD1 is 4.5 and still naps every day. On weekdays (when she's at daycare), they have nap/quiet time between 1 and 3. As far as I know, she sleeps every day at daycare. On weekends, she generally naps for an hour or so. She goes to sleep around 8 every night and wakes up by 6 every day (weekends too).

I will be one sad puppy when she gives up her nap!

[mmm0708]

DS stopped napping shortly after his second birthday.

[marchfamily]

DD1 (3Y, 4M) and DD2 (2Y today) still nap every afternoon. In fact, DD2 sleeps less at night and at naps. DD1 goes to bed around 7:30pm until 6:30-7am. She naps for 1.5-2 hours every afternoon.