Advice on Stopping Naps for Kindergartener

If he's still going to daycare until school starts it may be difficult to wean him from a nap. I would ask the daycare teachers if they can do this or what they can do to help ease the transition. Since he fights a nap on the weekends, it may not be very hard once school starts, but anything to make it easier will be worth it.

Does he sleep for 12 hours at night? Thats actually how long the average 5 year old should sleep untill around 6 0r 7 when he'll only need 10 hours each night. My five year old goes to bed at 7 and gets up at 7a.m. and so does my four old who doesnt take naps.

I would definetly start weaning him...that way he doesn't crash when it is during school. My daughter was in kindergarten last year. The first day of school all of the parents got to stay. One little boy after the schedule was read to them asked when the naps were. The parents and teacher laughed so hard!! I suppose his mom never broke the news to him :-)

Talk to his teachers at the daycare and see if they can stop his naps. Perhaps they have a room or other quiet area for kids that age who have stopped napping? I would definitely start weaning him from them now, or he's going to have a rough start to kindergarten.

Also, what will the school be doing? A lot of full day K programs have a short (maybe 1/2 hr) "quiet/rest time" each day, usually after lunch/recess where the kids can lay quietly on a blanket or something. You may want to call them and see if you can get a hold of someone to find out.

Hi N.,
Wow! I'm impressed that he's still napping. :) My son is starting half day K in a few weeks and he fights a nap like the plague! LOL
Do you think the Kindergarten has a "rest" or "quiet" time built into the all-day schedule? I would imagine that they might. Personally, I would let him nap until school starts. I'm sure he will adjust to the schedule when the time comes. If he seems uninterested in a nap O. day, let him skip it and see how he does in the evening (like a trial run!). Once school starts, maybe he can take a little cat nap after school and/or maybe move his bedtime up a bit in the evening if he seems tired. Good luck!

slowly wean him what time does he get up go to bed?

Hi N.
I have never heard of a full day kindergarten program that does not have lunch, then recess, then a mandatory quiet/rest time inside the classrooom for the students? 2 of my 4 kids went to a full day K that had a full academic program, and even that school gave them a half hour of down time. Most of the kids did not nap during that time I was told, but they were not allowed to talk...they had to bring in a beach towel and each kid would have to lie down. You might call the school now, and ask the secretarty to be sure, or request a call back from the kindergarten teacher. If I were you, I would start right now to get him off of such a long nap, it will help him transition better when school starts for him full time. I had one really great napper, and she was one of the rare few who would nap in school during that half hour time. She would usually fall asleep in the car after school, as soon as we went anywhere. Also, heads up....my good napper also had a very hard time doing any type of evening/after dinner activities such as going to soccer pracitce or ballet/tap. She was just too tired after that long day and no couple hour nap. That was a very long year for us! :) Good luck with kindergarten!

I was in the same boat with my 5 year old. She slept 10-11 hours at night and took a 1-2 hour nap *every* day. In June, we stopped the nap (on her request) and she's done great. She now goes to bed around 8PM and sleeps 12 hours a night. When school starts, she'll need to go to bed around 7:30 to get enough sleep. For us, it was making sure she got enough overall sleep whether or not she took a nap. And actually, her mood is much more even since she stopped napping. She was really sensitive to missing her nap and would be really grumpy. But she's done much better missing a bit of night sleep here and there. Good luck!

I would wait. Or call the school to see if there's a nap or rest period in kindergarten. Our youngest was in the first class in our school system to have all day kindergarten. And every day after lunch, they had a rest time. When the "rest time" was over, if anyone was asleep, the teacher would simply let him or her sleep until s/he woke up. No problem.

While the teachers aren't at school yet, the principal probably is, so you might still be able to find the answers now.

Hi N.,

I actually started weaning my son from naps about 3 months before he was to start kindergarten. It wasn't so hard since it was nice out and we could go outside and ride bikes or play games during what was normally his nap time. He was more tired than normal closer to bed time and actually slept better at night.

His kindergarten did have a "quiet" time and the teacher said there one child in particular that did sleep during it. She didn't neccesarily like this because that child was hard to wake up and missed out on some of the class that she was doing.

I was grateful that I did get my son out of the nap routine before starting school. It would be harder on him, if I hadn't.

L.

I am surprised that his kindergarten does not have any "down time" where the children get to lay down and rest. If this is the case, I would let him skip the nap on the weekends so he gets used to it.

Are you sure there isn't at least a rest time for the kids? My son is also starting kindergarten this year (full-day) but there is a rest time after lunch. I believe it is a state-wide requirement in this age group. Will your son be able to take a 2 hr nap...no. But chances are there will be other kids adjusting to less "quiet time." It may go smoother than you think if all the kids are making a similar adjustment. Your son will likely be very tired after school for the first few weeks...but eventually his body will adjust.

Wish you the best!