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My little girl is only 3 1/2 and I think she's too young to stop napping but we've started having trouble getting her to sleep on time in the evening. On the days she doesn't nap and just ends up taking quiet time in her bed, she then goes to sleep easier, and around her bedtime time (8:30pm), in the evening.
My child naps for about 1 1/2 hrs the two days she goes to daycare and anywhere from 1-2 hours at home most days.
My friend's son stopped napping completely around 3 yrs old but I don't personally think that's the norm... (but I could be wrong).
When did you your children stop napping?
3 was the norm at our house. In fact, when one of mine was 4 and in pre-school they would make the kids lie down after lunch and he HATED it. Enforcing the right bed time seemed to give him the amount of sleep he needed in a day without naps.
My dd 2 and 7 months. I was looking forward to some quiet time during naps because I had a newborn but she had other plans. My ds is 2 and 7 months now and naps some days and some days doesn't. You are lucky to have made it till 3 1/2.
Around 3 years old. I actually would like them to be able to fall asleep easier at night then to have them sleep too much during the day and take forever to fall asleep at night.
Phase out naps?! Are you kidding me.. that is my sanity hour
In all seriousness, it really depends on the child. My son who just turned 3 a couple days ago still takes naps for about 2-3 hours a day. If he doesn't, come 5pm he is a total nightmare. However, my friends son who will be 3 in 2 weeks, he stopped taking naps when he turned 2.
I don't think I am going to try to phase my son out of naps. He will let me know, by either telling me or by other clues, that he no longer needs them. For right now, nap time is a great time of day for both of us
One was 4.5 and one was 2! Once my youngest turned 2 he refused to nap during the day. He's 6 now and still sleeps less than his older brother. My youngest is now a night owl. Some kids need a lot of sleep, others not as much.
Kids generally phase out naps somewhere between 2.5 and 5. However, you can have a *quiet* time for a while in the afternoon even if they don't nap. My kids had an hour to an hour and a half of quiet time where they could look at books in their bed or even play with a quiet toy. Sometimes they did nap and other times they did not. This was standard routine though until they were in school all day in kindergarten or first grade.
you can't force a kid to sleep. Instead of calling it nap time, if the child is resisting, I would change the time to quiet time. Books on the bed, stuffed toys, etc and sometimes they would actually sleep. Depends on the kid and the kind of day they have had.
I told my kids I needed quiet time too and we had to have a quiet house for at least 1.5 hr in the afternoon.
#1 stopped at this past Feb & he turned 4 in Nov. The biggest indicator was bedtime...1-2 hrs to get to sleep & then one day his preschool teacher mentioned that he seemed a little overtired (which for him means hard time listening, sitting still, very off-focus) & I mentioned to her that he was really struggling w/ getting to sleep. She asked about naps & mentioned that maybe he was starting to outgrow naps.
With a 2yr old at home & another on the way, I was NOT ready to give up naps (as my 2yr old is the best napper ever) as that was my only moment of down time but 11pm bedtimes for a 4yr old was more concerning.
He has quiet time in his room. It started off well over 1 to sometimes 1 1/2 hours. And that is exactly what it is..quiet time. He can read his library books, do his "homework" as he calls it (maze books, dot to dot books) but his door is shut & he is to stay in his bed. Some days, he falls asleep.
Now, he has 45 mins of quiet time & then can come out & has tv time for 30 mins as #2 is usually still sleeping.
It's worked out nicely & he falls asleep quite quickly & it's pleasant at night.
I have more than a few friends who children have NEVER napped be it they are just not nappers or many other reasons. Every child is different!
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