No Nap for Almost 3 Yr. Old

My son, 2 yr 9 mo, just did the same thing. For us, he had no problems going down for a nap (5 min after I put him in bed), but come bed time (9pm), he couldn't wind down and it took until 11-12 most nights. We were busy for 4 days in a row and he refused to sleep unless we were home and he was asleep by 8 each night without a fight. We experimented and he has days where he is cranky and falls asleep even if we are out, but the naps are shorter than they used to be and he is still asleep by 9 at the latest. I asked for advice from a child development specialist and she said if there is a fight at either of the bedtimes (nap and night), then the child is probably ready to drop that nap. She also suggested putting them to be earlier for better night sleep and avoid that crankiness. Finally, she said a great majority of kids drop their naps right around 3. Hope it helps, we are not alone!!!

I feel your pain. All 3 of mine, including my now 3 yo son, let go of taking naps at home once they hit about 2 yo. They would/do take them at daycare, but the only time they slept at home is if they fell asleep in the car running errands with me. And yes, if they took a nap, they wouldn't go easily down for bed. In fact my toddler is usually still up at 10 or 11 because he refuses to stay in bed and gets so wound up. My advice is to ride it out, as difficult as it may be. My older ones are in school now and go to bed pretty easily and don't take naps at all anymore. If you try to force naps, you may end up wasting time and still getting frustrated. Good luck and hang in there!

I'm going through the exact same thing with my daughter the exact same age. I'm just alternating at random for the days where she naps and stays up way too late, or doesn't nap and acts like a mess and goes to bed earlier. I hope you get some good advice I can borrow-I've just been hoping it will pass.

Been there, done that, still doing it, lol. My kids gave up naps around that age, too. My 5 yr old daughter is now finally in a good habit since starting kindergarten. Before, she would sleep till 11 some days and get up at 830 for preschool others, and still be hanging sometimes at 11 pm. Once in a while she would crash after preschool or later in the evening, and be up past midnight after that. Vicious cycle. My 13 yr old boy, still gets like that, he will stay up too late one night, go to school, do that for a day or two, then bam, come home after school, crash at 5, and be up thru the night again. Ugh. He gets straight A's, so I'm not worried bout that, but I try to tell him about a good sleeping habit and to stop confusing his body and brain, hahaha.

Ya gotta try to find what works for ya, maybe get her into a dance class or something, that will keep her going till after 6, so she'll sleep all night, or just let the naps go.

Good Luck.

Another vote for quiet time. Mine all started giving up naps between 2 and 2 1/2, but I insisted they still do quiet time in their room. After initially complaining, they got used to it and would read or play quietly, and fall asleep maybe half the time after the initial transition was over. We've always put a baby gate on the kids' rooms once they move out of the crib to keep them safe from the stairs, etc., but it also works to keep them contained while still keeping an ear on them. Maybe allow certain toys only at quiet time too. You both still need some kind of break at this point.

Anytime kids go through a sleep transition (going from 2 naps to 1 or 1 to none), you're bound to have some additional crankiness, but that's just part of their bodies adjusting and it will pass with time. We still usually do bedtime around the same time (and err on the side of earlier because if they get overtired it's harder for them to fall asleep - weird, but true). Some nights it takes a little longer for my 2 1/2 year old to fall asleep, but she will read or play with a doll in bed quietly. My oldest did the same, but my middle one always fought it a little harder. I still just stuck with it, though, and for the most part it's worked out.

Edited to add: Also, as much as possible, it's best to be consistent with bedtime and nap/quiet time. Even if they don't fall asleep right away, being in the place where they sleep will help cue their bodies that it's sleep time, and that consistency should help the transition happen faster. If they're really done with napping, it may also be best to move the bedtime a half hour earlier or so (generally around 7 or 7:30, and no later than 8) is recommended for children this age.

My 8 yo stopped napping at 2, my 3 (almost 4yo) still falls asleep once or twice a week, usually in the car. When she first stopped napping she had quiet time in her room, she could play and read books, sometimes she would sleep. At this age they still need down time. Sometimes she falls asleep on the sofa at 5:30, other times in the car at 2:00. This is a time to roll with it and pay attention to her mood.

I am just going to second the previous posters. My daughter is 3 1/2 and stopped napping a year ago. We had the 4pm miserable time for a very long time. It gradually moved later and later. We insist on quiet time (at least an hour) and a very early bedtime. She still naps once in a while and knows she can stay up late and watch a movie with Daddy on those days. Unfortunately, those days are few and far between. I would definitely be very strong about the early bedtime. Don't let her fall asleep at 6. Do a bath or something at that time and start the process. Put her down at 7 and you should see a big difference after a few days of the early bedtime.
Good Luck.
S.

It is, indeed, a sad day when the naps go south! ;-)
What I did with my son (at about that same age) was put him in his room for a quiet time of about an hour. He was allowed to play quietly, read books or watch a movie but he HAD to stay in there and have a little "down time" It does help.
There will be days when exhaustion strikes early. Nothing wrong with putting her to bed early (7 p.m.) on those days. She may even sleep better and longer the earlier you put her to bed.
Now is the time period where you just kind of have to roll with the alert/sleepy schedule. You will see that it will kind of work itself into a routine, but still be flexible for those days when they just need to GO TO BED! Good luck.

It's a tough stage. I would still lay her down. She doesn't have to sleep but she has to have quiet time. Stay in bed and no playing. If she needs a nap, she'll take it. If she doesn't, she won't. You may have to try a nap every other day.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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I have a 3 year old myself whom I struggle with to take
a nap. She is only napping once or twice a week if I am lucky and is very cranky come 4pm if she hasn't napped.
Sometimes laying down with her until she falls asleep works for me and then I get up to get a few things done.
Have you tried a reward chart. She might respond to this.
good luck.

I had the same problem, only my twins were not quite two and a half. It was very frustrating! I ended up just having them skip their nap because the one hour they napped was not worth the time it took them to get to sleep and when they woke up they were grumpy for an hour. Then like you said, they would be up to 10 or 11pm.

I put them to sleep between 7 and seven thirty. They were cranky at night but it was still less demanding on my time and then I had the whole night to be with my husband. (After a few days of skipping naps they would take a catch up nap.) For, me personally, I have less patience at night so skipping the nap most days worked best for me. I also have an older daughter who didn't nap so it wasn't like I was getting a break during their nap time anyway. Good luck! The transitions to a new routine are tough!

Hi B. -

I did what Denise did, 'Quiet Time' for my son when he turned 3. Gradually he got better, no longer waking up in the middle of the night. And although sometimes he has some afternoon crankiness, it is getting rare.

I think this is something we all have to deal with as our children emerge from toddlerhood.

Good Luck!

W.

I have 3 kids ages 5, 3 and 2 and each one gave up their nap at an earlier age. Once it started taking me an hour or two to get them down for a nap, with me getting more and more frustrated, I realized it wasn't worth the frustration for me. I prefer that they are in bed early rather than nap and up late, so my husband and I can have some time together. I usually try to give my 2-year-old a nap, but if he climbs out of bed more than 3 times, I don't push it and look forward to an easy bedtime :-). Do what keeps you sane!

ahhhh, I feel your pain! my daughter, now 3.5 did the same thing at the same age. as a matter of fact, she always dropped one of her naps before any of the books said she should or would! in any case, we got tired of fighting her, so we let her have "quiet time" in her room and told her she didn't have to go to sleep if she didn't want to. was she cranky by 6pm - yes, but we learned that quickly and now try to keep her busy during that time. it turns out that she now needs a nap about once every three or four days. it does "build up", and quite frankly she looks forward to it and doesn't put up a fight! Good luck!!

This is how I handle it! I too have a new 3 yr old, and she has given up naps(although somedays, she will crash on her own). Up at 7 am/8am.....story time during quiet time, bed at 7:30pm. This has been the best thing! If she naps, she will go to bed around 9 or so. My daughter goes through a rough spot around 4/4:30pm where she is cranky....i just sit down with her, and read or play a game.....it only lasts a little while, but it is what gets us both through it! Like I am saying........my daughter going to bed at 7:30 is working out very well