Anyone Having a Big Fight to Get Ur 4Yrs Old to Sleep for Naptime!

I agree with the others. Naptime is probably done. It's nice it has lasted this long. It is so not worth the fight though. Quiet time for 30min would be a good habit to try to instill.

My daughter did not have any problem taking a nap at age 4. My son, had nothing to do with it before he was even 3.

It sounds like hes grown out of naps. I know it sucks, but it is what it is. ;)

Stop fighting him and let him stay up.

Naptime is over. Our son was done at four and our daughter was done at two. Your son has outgrown naps.

I know it's hard now, but this will be a good thing because he won't be tired when kindergarten rolls around. The kids who are still napping at that age have a tough time of it.

If you are fighting that much he no longer needs a nap! My oldest would still take naps when he was six but he was the only one of four that did that. The rest had given up naps by two.

Every kid is different, don't judge this one by the older one.

I would say the time has come for him to be done with naps. While YOU may need him to take the nap, HE doesn't. So, what I would suggest is "Quiet time". He needs to be in his room reading books or coloring, watch a movie. But he MUST stay in his room and be quiet.

I did this with both our my kids when they got out of the nap phase. Worked for quite awhile.

My 5 year old stopped nap time at 3. She has to take a 30 minute rest... where she has to stay in her room, read or look at books, or play very quietly on her bed. If takes a nap that is great! But I dont make her, I just moved her bedtime up 30 minutes earlier to make sure she is getting enough sleep.

A lot of 4 year olds are done napping. My DD was 2 1/2 when she quit napping. Now I just make her play quietly in her room while the other kids sleep (I do in-home daycare).
If he's done napping, there isn't much you can do. You can't force someone to sleep. Just give him some relaxing quiet time, perhaps a movie in his room and you'll both save yourselves some sanity.

He's finished with the naps. Very few children still take a regular nap at this age. Stop fighting with him over this and have "quiet time" instead. Allow him to lay down for a half hour and either read stories or watch a t.v. show. If he's really tired, he will fall asleep. If not, he'll have some down time and be better rested for the remainder of your evening.

I think most parents will tell you 4 is too old to nap. My kids went for an hour of Quiet Time every day, whether they needed to sleep or not. I needed the break, and so did they. It was what my mother did with me, too, and I think it was important to learn how to entertain myself. You may consider just allowing him to play quietly, let him know sleep isn't a requirement, and move his bed time up a little until he adjusts.

So you are making him take a nap and punishing him because you need your free time? Lots of kids this age are afraid to be alone at night. My son is 4 and he usually wakes up around 1 or 2 am to get me. It does not mean he needs a nap. I think you need to respect and listen to your son and drop the nap. If you really need "mother time" let him lay on the couch quietly for an hour and watch a very low key video like Little Bear.

I think 4 might be to old for a nap. He is done taking them. Why not just have a rest period or a coloring time. All kids are different, pick your battles. This is an easy one. Stop making him take a nap. do something else relaxing before school.

Each child is different.

At daycare, they do not call it nap, they call it rest time. The children lay in a darkened room on their mats for about an hour and a half. Some sleep and some look at books. The rooms are made darker and some quiet music plays.. this is what you should try.

i used to tell my daughter. "Mom needs a nap" "You can come and look at books if you want, but you have to stay quiet."

Once she learned to read, she would read to me.. Of course i would sleep, sometimes she would sleep and sometimes, she would just look at books.

time for "rest time" only. Forget trying to get him to sleep.

He's thriving on the negative interaction at this point.....

no naps, but down / quiet time. we would read in her bed...

I stopped naps at 24 months because of the fights. :)

No. At 4 when my daughter started resisting a nap, we switched to a quiet time. I bought her her own timer and she was not to leave her room except for bathroom visits. Once a week or so she would fall asleep during quiet time. And she certainly tested me about getting out of her room, but I nipped that in the bud.

Neither of my children still napped at age 4.
Either of them might have fallen asleep/dozed off in the car for 15-20 minutes, if we were in the car for an extended period of time... but they no longer took regular, planned naps at any point after their 4th birthday. If they were at home or anywhere else (not strapped into a car seat motionless for 30 minutes) they did not nap AT ALL.

Mine gave up his nap at 3 -- I think that's pretty typical.

One thing a friend of mine did, though, is give her son a half hour of "quiet time" every day. He didn't take a nap, but he did sit quietly in his room and draw/color. Not only did this give his mom a break, it also really helped him develop his concentration and focus. He's now an excellent student and has exceptionally good handwriting/drawing skills, from all that drawing time. You might give that a try.

Most four year olds do not require naps. If he is fighting naps it is because he doesn't need one.

I think it's good that you're still making him have this rest time. So many times it gets left off when they start acting like they don't need it.

I suggest you try the soft music, soft lighting, all the things that signal the subconscious mind that it is rest/sleep time.

Those are things we try in child care. I had a little 3 yr. old girl come to my center for a while, no other care giver in town had been able to get her to fall asleep in over a year. She went down and out every day for us. We had it nearly dark in the class rooms and the teachers talking in whispers, even if the kids were all awake, they turned on stuff like "Peaceful Ocean Surf" in the cd player. It all sets the mood.

I also suggest you start his nap earlier. It may be he needs more transition time. Like having lunch 15 minutes early. Then as soon as he washes his hand's he goes down. That is sometimes a way to keep them from getting interested and stimulated by toys or TV.

I hope he will continue to take a nap for at least a few more months.