Naps for Almost 4 Year Old

I remember the nap heading South at about 3ish. That's when we switched to quiet time. He used to have approx 60 minutes in his room playing quietly, reading, puzzles or watching a DVD. Even though he NEVER slept, it did seem to "recharge" him to get through dinnertime. Also, play it by ear, if he's really tired and miserable, let him eat earlier if you can & put him to bed earlier. He can go to bed at 7:30. He MIGHT end up sleeping in longer in the morning, as a bonus.

My son is almost 4 and still takes a 2-3-hour nap in the afternoon. Sometimes he resists, but when he does we tell him he at least has to go lay in bed and read a book and inevitably he always falls asleep so it accomplishes the same thing. I've always heard that by now most kids stop napping, but my son seems to really still need the nap. We tried a few times phasing it out to see if maybe he would sleep longer at night, but it actually has the opposite affect, so for now we're keeping the naps and enjoying the break in the day. I really think it depends on your son, at the very least you should have him do quiet time b/c I think kids really do need to recharge. If there ever is a time my son doesn't nap, by dinner time you can absolutely tell the difference. Sometimes when he's grumpy, he even says..."I'm so tired", so you know that plays a part. You could also maybe start to make his bedtime earlier if the nap or rest time isn't working. On days when our family schedule just doesn't work for naps, I always aim for bedtime around 7 or 7:30 instead of 8pm.

After Or before kindergarten kids adjust. my rule is quiet time laying on their bed everyday until they are in full day school. Even if they say they are not tired they always fall asleep and still go to bed on time at night.

My little boy was done taking naps at about 3 1/2. He is 4 now and still has a rest time. When his little sister takes a nap around 1 or 2 pm I have him go into his room for a rest time he can quietly play in there or look at books for about 40 minutes. He is not sleeping but still having some down time that helps him make it to bedtime. If he is waking up that early I would consider having dinner earlier and putting him to bed a little earlier. A pediatrician told me when changing a child's sleep schedule do it in 15 minute increments every couple days until it is were you want it. So if you want to you could even start tonight start the bedtime routine a little earlier so that he is sleeping by 8:15 or around there do that for two nights then back to 8 then 7:45 and so on until it is were you want it and the morning will most likely not change much if it does at all. My 4 year old goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:30 and gets up at about 7. Hope this helps.

My kids were different ages when they stopped napping: 41/2, 3, 21/2! Sounds like he is done with them. Feed him earlier, and put him to bed at least an hour earlier. It took my kiddos a couple of weeks before we had a good routine down that they could handle.

LOL, he's still napping? Boy are you lucky! My daughter started refusing naps at age 2.5. If he's done with naps, change his bedtime to 7:30, lights out. That way he's still getting the 11 hours of sleep that he needs each night. Good luck!

Maybe instead of calling it a nap, institute a "rest time". He is old enough to know his numbers so maybe put a clock in his room and tell him that he can read or play quietly in his room until the clock says "2".

My kids took a rest in the afternoon for about 30 minutes each afternoon and played quietly,,, it was most effecitve.

I had one that was done with naps at 4 (but still had quiet time in the afternoon), and the other could have still used a daily nap until 6. I tried to wean her off naps the whole summer before school started and she still fell asleep everyday on the school bus! The point is, every kid is different. Your sounds like he thinks he is done with naps, but his body is not so sure. Try working on a 'rest' time that doesn't require him to sleep, just rest in his room for 1 hour each day. He may fall asleep, or may not, but he has to play quietly. In addition to that, I'd feed him dinner a little earlier and move his bed time to 7:30 head on pillow.

maybe just changing the name of nap time to "quiet time" would be enough, he could nap or just rest for a while, and this could be what you need for a transition into no naps...

Our son will also be 4 in June. We really don't have a choice because they have mandatory "rest" time at Day Care. He always sleeps during that time.

On the weekends, we ask him to rest. he can go upstairs and read books, sometimes watch shows or a movie. But, he's like your son and will be an absolute grump by dinner time if he doesn't.

Yesterday, he went into his room and rested naturally for about 45 minutes. When I went up to get him, he was already awake. If I stayed home with him, I'd probably try a weaning schedule until he no longer needed one. Since we don't have a choice during the week, we do the best we can on the weekends.

Good luck!

My twin daughters just turned four. We stopped regular naps when they turned three. Now, they may take an afternoon nap once every 7 to 10 days. They wake up about 6:45/7:00 am and I put them to bed about 7:00. Because of their need for sleep, the family eats dinner about 5:30. Every so often, one girl will fall asleep and miss dinner. Missing an occasional meal wont hurt kids. Good luck.

Hello L., I have to say as the mother of 5 none of mine took regular naps after they were 2, no matter what I tried. So be grateful your little one lasted so long. I think they just get to a point where they rather go to sleep early and wake up early rather than nap.
I would suggest that your child needs to eat earlier and then go to bed. It might mean alot of adjustments to your planned events but if that is what his body needs then adjust until his body changes again to adjust to your needs.
I make sure that our 4 year old eats by 4 pm as its when she is very hungry and then she can snack on our food again with us at the dinner table if still awake. Believe me you will have a much happier life.

make him still lay down for quiet time watch a movie and I bet he will still fall asleep

Have you tried simply not referring to it as a 'nap' or 'sleep'? Try just telling him he doesn't need to sleep but his body needs a one hour rest time where he is lying down quietly. Be sure there are no distractions to keep his mind going during this time. If possible put him in a quiet dimly lit area of the house. I recommend not using the child's room for naps, but having an area somewhere else in the house that is the designated napping area. You can put on relaxing music if that helps him. You might also try having a mat or something you can lie on near him and tell him that he needs to rest quietly because you need to rest too. Even if he doesn't actually sleep, this should help him to make it through better until bedtime, and will give you a much needed respite time as well. It may take a week or so for this idea to work, so be patient with it. The main thing I have found with our daycare kids is to do whatever will get them to lie quietly. Most kids need a little bit of "jiggle" time after lying down, but after five minutes of that, we tell them to lie quietly. If necessary, we sit next to them with our hand on their legs to help them keep the legs still (since that is usually the most active part of their bodies at naptime). Once they are lying still, sleep usually comes within five to ten minutes. It can seem like an eternity, but it is worth the effort. One thing that is important is to not engage in conversation with the child. They will try to get you talking to them because it helps them to keep from falling asleep. I usually sit with my body facing slightly away and look in another direction, or even pretend that I'm falling asleep sitting there. Even the appearance of me sleeping helps them settle down most of the time.
To answer how old a child is before they don't need a nap.... I think many children continue to need at least the one hour rest time at least until they are in first or second grade in school... some may need it even later, but unfortunately can't get it while attending school. That's why schools tend to put the less tedious classes in the afternoon.