My DS just turned 4. He has always needed a nap. These days he naps for about 2 hours (we almost always have to wake him at 3:30pm, otherwise who knows how late he'd sleep). Then we have him in bed for the night at 7:45pm, but he has started taking a really long time to fall asleep at night. I'm wondering if his relatively long nap is interfering with his ability to fall asleep at night. But I'm afraid to shorten or cut out his naps, because he really is a monster if he doesn't nap. His typical schedule is awake about 6:30am (no matter what time he goes to bed), nap approx 1:30-3:30pm, and in bed with lights out at 7:45pm, although he doesn't fall asleep most nights until almost 9pm (he usually stays quiet, but we have a video monitor and can see that he's not asleep until this time).
So how long do you think a 4-year-old should nap for, and is his nap interfering with his night time sleep? Yes, he seems sleepy during the day, and we've been having problems with his behavior.
None of my kids took naps past 2.5 year of age otherwise they were up till 11 or later! It takes a few weeks to adjust but they do adjust to nap free days!
I suggest no nap and an earlier bed time with down time in the afternoon to allow him to "re charge" with out actually sleeping.
My 4 year old doesn't nap every day but does most days. Her schedule is wake at around 7am, sometimes 8am. Nap from 1-3 and in bed at 9pm.
my son parker (almost 4) was strange with naps lol by one he totally stopped taking them no matter how hard i tried to get him to nap hes been on the same schedule since then he goes to bed at 7 and sleeps untill 7:30 sometimes 8:00 in the morning.... if i were you id wake your son up from his nap at 2:45 and put him to bed about 8:00 and every 3 months pull 15 minutes off his naps so its a gradual change and not a sudden shock... eventually he wont take naps but when hes down to a half hour nap start putting him to bed again at about 7:30 i bet you he will start sleeping just about 12 hours a night for you after all is said and done... good luck hope this helps....
kimmie
I recently started cutting my 3 1/2 year old's nap for this exact reason and her schedule is almost identical to your son's. There are days when it backfires and she is so cranky by the afternoon or falls asleep mid task in the early evening but I also can't wake her up from a nap or she is NOT in a good mood. If you can wake him up and he is not a cranky pants I would say try to wake him after an hour. If mine happens to fall asleep in the car etc for just about an hour and wakes up on her own she can still sleep at night but is just refreshed enough not to be a beast.
He sounds like my friend's son, who was still needing a nap at 4. But as other posts note, it is really pretty rare to have a child this age who still naps at all. Clearly he needs it, but two hours is long.
I think you know what you need to try here but are understandably reluctant to try it. You need to try cutting back his two-hour naps if you want him to sleep earlier at night. Start with just a 30 minute shortening of the nap but see if you can get it down to one hour eventually. Because yes, a nap that long is interfering with his ability to fall asleep at night. Reduce the nap gradually but do reduce it.
The behavior problems may or may not be related to tiredness. You imply that you think it's because he's sleepy -- but 4 is an age where typically there are some behavior issues as kids assert their independence, are less eager to please parents sometimes, are less likely to listen and follow directions, etc. Don't put it down to needing a nap when it may be due to typical 4-year-old behavioral changes.
Wow! A four year old taking a 2 hour nap is wonderful! By the time by GD was 4, we were lucky of she slept an hour!
Maybe try waking him up at 3:00 and putting him to bed at 8:30.
All three of my kids gave up their naps when they were 3.
:(
My almost 4 year old still naps too! He is generally awake around 6:30 am and is in preschool by 7:30 am and naps from 1:00-3:00 and gets home by 5:00 most of the time but sometimes later if he has his OT or speech therapy. So I feel since he has such long days -- napping is good for him. He also naps in a nap room so he is sleeping with all the other kids that still nap. He generally goes to bed around 7:30-8:00 and falls asleep between 8:30-9:00. I would love it if we could cut down the nap so he could fall asleep a little earlier so we could have more "parent alone time" but I don't want to touch his schedule now as I want to make sure he is getting enough sleep since he has a busy schedule during the week!
My 4 almost 5 year old was a great napper but we stopped around 3.5 because she would lay awake in bed at night till 10. She now sleeps 8-8 and does get a bit crabby in the evenings.
My 2 almost 3 year old is starting the same trend. I have been giving him a nap every other day cuz he's up till 10 or 11 (in his bed) if he has a 2 hour nap.
My son dropped his nap at 2 1/2. If you really want to do such an early bedtime, there is no way he can take a nap like that. Try dropping it and seeing what happens.
My almost 4 year old daughter will normally nap for 1-1.5 hours and she still sleeps well at night. You might try waking him after an hour of nap and see if that helps at night?
My 4yr old son still naps as well and I have been debating whether to eliminate them. He wakes at 6-6:15, naps from 1-3 and we start bedtime around 8:30 but falls asleep around 9-9:30. He has gone days without naps and is a bear by the time he goes to bed so I usually try to get him to bed earlier to compensate for the lack of nap. He goes to a daycare center though and all the kids there still nap. I need to talk to the teachers again and see what the plan is and when they will eliminate naptime so I can coordinate. I like the idea someone suggested of slowly shortening the naps and extending bedtime. It does sound like he is getting enough total sleep and you could either eliminate the nap or put him down later.
My daughter gave up napping at four and never went back. Sure, some days are more harried than others and around 4pm she'll start to toss attitude my way so I'll give her something quiet to do until dinner, then bed at 8:30. She's had an 8:30 bed time since she was three and it works out pretty well.
On days when she just doesn't stop moving and gets a lot of sun, we'll try for a nap but she usually just talks to her stuffed animals or sings for an hour before asking if she can come out of her room so I gave up on naps.
Wow, the fact that you have a 4 yr old napping is a luxury. My 4 year old last napped around 18 months old. 2 hours is really long for that age.
If he doesn't nap, he would likely go to bed at 7:45 and fall asleep rather than spend that extended hour of restlessness until 9.
Both of my boys still nap if they are given the opportunity. My youngest turned 5 earlier this month and my other son will be 7 in April. They LOVE their sleep! I can't blame them :).
They will nap for up to two hours on the weekends. During the week they are in school, so no option to nap. But my almost 7 year old did nap last year in kindergarten. It wasn't planned, but if he fell asleep they gave him some time before they woke him up.
Nothing wrong with naps :).
My son, since he was a baby... was a napper. He has always napped. And even if he napped, still went to bed at night just fine. His naps never interrupted his ability to sleep at night.
He is now 5, and is in bed by 8-8:30pm and out like a light.
At 4 years old, he napped for 2 hours, in the afternoon, after Preschool. His norm.
He is now 5 and in Kindergarten. He could still use a nap, but by the time we get home from school, and he has to do homework, there is no time to nap. So he does not nap on weekdays. But will on weekends. And again, he naps for 2 hours. His norm. And still goes to bed at night just fine.
My son also wakes up in the morning at 6:30am or so.
And yes, kids... no matter what time they go to bed at night, they will wake at the same times, in the morning.
And yes, when kids are tired or over-tired... it DOES make them, more fussy/irritable/cranky/grump/and not so well behaved. And it impacts their behavior.
My daughter at four didn't nap because she slept from 8pm-8am. We did have quiet relaxing time after lunch.
Not at all!!!
And not for a long time now, she can use some quite down time but we don't always get it with other little kids around :)
My daughter gave up her naps at 18 months. Occasionally she will nap for about 3 hours but not often. When my older kids were little, they napped for about an hour, sometimes 2 hours and gave them up around 5 1/2 yrs old.
I have noticed that my 4 yr old has issues later in the evening but even if we lay with her she will not take a nap. She wants to be up and about with her older siblings (and sometimes I think they could use a nap too).
My 4 year hasn't had a nap in ages. At age 3 she was only sproadic with it. Occasionally she'll take a short one (45 min to hour) and it won't seem to affect her bedtime at all. But a nap as long as 2 hours... I'm not surprised he can't getto sleep til 9pm. Sometimes my daughter (who is really almost 5) doesn't get to sleep til 9pm, and that's with NO nap and roughly same wake-up time as your son.
I actually find at this age, the nap may make her MORE cranky...
If he seems to need the nap, maybe keep it going but don't expect such an early bedtime?
My kids gave up naps at three. My 11 month old naps about 3 hours a day. I always knew when nap time needed to go when they couldn't fall asleep at night. I would eliminate the nap and put him to bed at 7. It also takes a little while for them to ajust to no naps.
Wow! My 4 yr old naps 0hrs and 0min per day! But my second is a big time sleeper so I won't be surprised if he continues to nap when he is four. How about an 8:30 bedtime. I am probably repeating, sorry! I would just get him comfy in jammies around 8 and then let him read or play quietly or watch a relaxing show and then brush teeth and bed at 8:30. Or something like that. I think pushing bedtime back might work best if not having a daytime nap makes him cranky. Good luck!!
My 5yr old just started not napping because it takes her to long to fall asleep at night so my 4yr old doesnt want to also. Some days they nap and some days they dont. Non nap days bedtime is no later than 730 and nap days I allow them to be up till 830. My 4yr old will sleep 2hrs and my 5yr old 1 1/2 hrs. I would probably start nap time earlier so he wakes up alittle earlier and then will still go to bed at 745. maybe 1-3 or even 12:30-2:30. I love nap and dont really like giving it up. I need my quiet time too!
