Need Advice on NAPS!

I have a son that napped until alittle after 3 1/2 yrs and a daughter that was completly done with naps by age 3, so I think that kinda depends on the child. My question is this, does his dad spend very much quality or one on one time with him? He might be craving attention with his dad so much that it makes him act out when he is around. Also, if he is done with naps, there will be a "transition" period which can be pretty rough where he gets tired and cranky in the evening-aka the horror film, I know what you mean. When my daughter stopped napping so young, I let her watch a movie in the afternoon during her normal nap time for awhile until her body completly adjusted. After a month or so she was fine. If he is napping during the week with you, then I would keep it up and suspect that maybe he just needs alittle more daddy time.

He may want more attention from Dad. He could be acting out because he doesn't like his schedule changed. The difference is too much for him to handle. I'd try talking to him right when he gets up on the weekends and say something, Wow, today daddy is home. Isn't that great. Then plan some special, even if it's at home, activity that your son and his dad can do together. He could be acting out because he thinks that daddy should spend all his time with him when he is home. Any attention, even bad is better than not enough. Be consistant in his routine. Don't change nap times or such.
And he just may be ready for no nap. Have you thought about making it quiet time instead? My youngest didn't want to nap after age three, either. I made it quiet time. He could color, read, play quietly, anything to give him his alone time. Sometimes, he'd fall asleep doing some activity or sometimes he'd just stay quiet. It still works for me. The kids, now 11 1/2 and 8 1/2 still have quiet time for a half an hour before they actually have to get into bed. They can't do any sort of activity that gets them all hyped up. Usually they read or color. My oldest does art projects. My youngest reads. Good luck.

Have you or your husband tried just laying down with him? With my now 4 year old we had to do that occasionally when she didn't want to nap. They're afraid they're going to miss out on something and don't understand that a nap is a good thing! :) It would be a nice rest time for you!

Good luck!

you know at three years they dont always take naps, my son is four and somedays we just have "downtime". he will lay on the lovesack or my bed and watch a cartoon, movie, play quietly for a bout an hour or so. Naps arent always possible but if you put him away from the family for quiet time chances are he will fall asleep. Even if he sits with dad and quietly watches a movie, football, read a book he will probably dose off.

My 4 year old son also "grew out of" the nap stage at 3 y/o. Around 5pm he gets very cranky. He talks back, is combative, etc. I usually will just have him lay on the couch, during the weekends when we are home all day, and watch cartoons. During that time I can study, clean, etc, so it gives us both a break. If I feel that he should take a nap then he lays down in his bed and sometimes he falls asleep and sometimes not. Just this past Thurs he was up most of the night with an ear infection and later that Friday afternoon, after he had his meds and ear numbing drops, I knew that he needed a nap, he said he was not tired, yet he was asleep in minutes. So its just a matter of whether you feel that your little guy needs a nap or not.
Good luck in Nursing school I have a year, hopefully, left in the LPN program and am looking into the RN.
K.

Try having Dad put him down for his nap. He may be wanting more time with him and when he is home all day he is not wanting to miss any of it. Also, my husband, when my daugher is not responding to me, reinforces me, he will say things like, listen to your mom or do what mommy asked you to do...etc. She will look at him then to me and then back and and do or come to me, you can almost see her thinking "O, dad is going to back her up, hum, guess I better behave."

Sounds like he just wants to spend more time with Dad. I suggest having him do something fun with dad about an hour or so before nap time. Say, play a game or two but preface it with "after this game, it's nap time" and have Dad put him down for a nap. If he won't nap, then he should at least have 'quite time' where he can just settle down and look at books or something where he's laying/sitting quietly in his room for a the normal length of his nap. We did this with my son when he was transitioning out of naps - some days he'd fall asleep, other's he wouldn't. And if he doesn't nap and it sounds like he's still needing the sleep, put him to bed earlier on those days.

Good luck!

Have you tried having daddy put him down for the naps so you don't have to be the enforcer?

If nights are horrible without a nap, then I'd keep with the naps! My daughter is four and still naps a couple times a week depending on our activity level and tiredness. On the days she doesn't take a nap, she does still have some quiet time on her bed with books or low key sit down activity. She also goes to bed earlier on those days. I'd also try the one-on-one time with dad like the other ladies suggested. A little extra time, love and security might be all it takes.

my son stopped taking naps at 2 years old and he just went to bed very early and slept 12-13 hours. which was fine with me. but try letting your son and his dad have some "boy time" togehter. whether it's out in the yard or going to the car wash. i think all your son wants is dad's attention. saturday morning my son and his dad go to the car wash together and my son gets to help wipe down the car. my son loves having dad's attention all to himself for a while.

Dear T.,
Oh my goodness, I soo know what you are talking about. Daddy changes everything for some reason! The thing that works for us is "quiet time" what I do, is around the time I want our three-year-old to take a nap, i tell him it is quiet time, and I put on a movie (of his choice) on the tv, or DVD player in his room. The deal is, is he has to lay down to watch the movie. no playing with toys etc. if he doesn't lay down, then I say he has to take a nap instead. this totally works for us! He thinks he out smarts us by not taking a nap, and he gets to watch a movie of his choice. it is a win win. Anyway, lots of times, he actually will fall asleep; sometimes he doesn't though, and that is ok, because he had some down time for a couple of hours.
If he still insists on being with daddy, if daddy isn't too busy, maybe he could take a nap with him, or watch the movie with him.? I don't know, but "quiet time" is a lifesaver for us!
-H.

I agree with Amanda that it sounds less like a nap issue than an attention issue. As you probably know kids will accept negative attention if there isn't enough positive attention going around. Maybe dad will consider some dad-son time that involves some physical activity - playing catch, going for a hike in the woods, a trip to the local playground - that would serve two purposes of giving your son the attention he may be craving while tiring him out at the same time. Good luck!

Our kids are like that too!! First and foremost compliment yourself that you have such a schedule and routine during the week that you son know what to expect. When dad is home it is a kink in the routine. Our kids started out not wanting to take naps in fear they would miss something when dad was home. Our 2 oldest gave up naps around two and a half to three years of age. Our two in half right now will nap about every 5 days.
Hang in there!!

The only reason he is acting out is because there is a change on the weekend he doesnt get during the week--Daddy. The only advice I have is to keep being consistant and get dad in on the act too. Have dad put him down for nap, have dad talk to him about those tantrums and so on. Getting Dad involved will make him realize that things are the same, just a new person around. Good Luck!

i would say that if he naps during the week he isnt out of that phase. i used to work in daycare and they had naptime until they reached kindergarden. i would suggest you try to enforce it on the weekends. put him in bed with a book and some light music and tell him he has to stay quiet for an hour. don't let him come out until that time is up. he will eventually calm down and maybe fall asleep