Naps... When Do They Stop?

I didn't read the other responses, but my son just turned 5 years old last week and he still naps pretty regularly. I know a few friends with children who stopped napping when they turned 2. Because he still sleeps most days (4 days a week at least) for 2-3 hours at a time, I feel like he still needs it. He goes to bed around 8:00-8:30 at night and wakes at 7am. If he was having trouble going to sleep at night or waking very early, I might consider having him nap a little less - like every other day instead of every day. Go ahead and do what feels best to you. I have found that the hour that my children go to bed has NO effect on the hour that they wake up. They might go to bed at 10:30 and they still wake at 7am. It amazes me.

With my sons, naps didn't end until kindergarten and after school day care! Our youngest was a "rise with the sun" kid and we thought it was because he slept too much during the day. When we tried him not napping during the day, the monster child we got was unacceptable, so he went back to napping and we got used to waking up at the crack of dawn until he was old enough to entertain himself in his room.

My sons are now 15 and 11 and we still take an afternoon siesta on weekends and during summer vacation. Usually it's just reading time, but we find that the down time is very effective in repairing frayed tempers and regrouping one's thoughts.

Good luck!

My oldest LOVED her nap. She would nap for 3 hours and sometimes longer. When she went to preschool, however, it really messed her up. Since she could not sleep for 3 hours at preschool, she would wake up extremely grumpy and stay that way for the rest of the day. So I tried NOT letting her take a nap. She would fall asleep at 6:30 in the evening and SLEEP all night!!! She was about 3 1/2 when this occurred. She hasn't had a nap since then. Now that she is seven, she goes to bed between 7:30 and 8 and wakes up between 5:30-6:30.

My youngest does not have a problem having a short or long nap or staying awake all day. She is 4, and she stopped having a consistent nap when she was 2 1/2 or 3 years old. She just refused to sleep at nap time, which was fine with me. My nephew gets a 10 minute power nap in the afternoon, which helps him make it through the day. (his mom wakes him up, because she wants to keep his bedtime consistent). Try a few different things, see if he gets really grumpy or if he can get a second wind and make it through the day. You could also move his naptime and bedtime to a later time if you can swing that, then maybe morning won't come so early!

I miss nap-time!!!

We had 2 one-hour-ish naps (morning and afternoon), and a 12 hour night until my son was 2ish. ((Or rather, that was the standard. We all get the no sleep weeks, the what-the-heck-is-going-on-month, the up all night sick, the "oh yeah, the sun is coming up waaaaay earlier now, time for dark curtains and blinds" head slap, etc))

When my son was 2ish I got sick and tired of having to get "everything done" out of the house by 1030, so I nixed that particular nap. When we got rid of that nap we also LOST about an hour of him sleeping at night, until we started putting him to bed and hour and a half earlier and then he slept for 12-13 hours.

When my so was 3-ish my mum decided he didn't need naps anymore (ahem!), and started doing everything she could to get rid of his afternoon nap (showing up, offering to take him during that period, etc.) It was a losing battle. She felt that since none of US napped past the age of 2, that he shouldn't be either. That was a hard year. He SHOULD probably still have been napping (and went down very very easily for an afternoon nap until he was 4). We lost more sleep when we pulled that nap, and it's stayed at 11 hours ever since.

Remember... (I didn't have anyone tell me this until my son was over the age if 1, and I hadn't figured it out on my own) ... sleep beget sleep.

Oddly enough, for the majority of kids, the earlier you put them down, the longer they sleep. The more they nap in the daytime, the longer they sleep at night.

Kids generally need at LEAST 11 hours, and the average is 12-13 hours of sleep. When during the day/night they get it, is fairly inconsequential. I have friends whose children stopped napping at age one, and others who still have an afternoon nap at age 6. They all get about the same amount of sleep.

It's a dead givaway though, that they're ready for more sleep at night when they start getting up earlier. AKA, naptime go bye bye. It's also a common thing to start happening in the summertime, when it gets light out earlier.

Our girl stopped at a little over 4. she still sometimes naps depending on activity level. I hear boys stop earlier. Good luck!

Here's a link for you:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...

My son is 2.75 years old and still naps, once a day or sometimes twice. I don't force him, but we have a REGULAR routine and I KNOW when he gets tired. He will even tell me, he wants to nap.

My daughter, was napping in the afternoon, until about 5 years old, afterschool. She was so tired afterschool and she needed it and would fall asleep on her own by then.

Each child is different....but in preschool and Kindergarten, they still will have a nap time or quiet time.

Go according to your child... if he is tired, then he needs a nap. Or not.
To me, naps get taken away from a child too soon... because it can be "difficult" to get a child to nap. But naps benefit a child so much... and even adults. Numerous studies have shown that.

All the best,
Susan

A.,

Like Rachelle said it is a wide range. Did he just turn 3 or has he been 3 for awhile?

Other thoughts/questions before you give up a nap?
-What is his bedtime?
-What is his nap time?
-How dark is his room? Have you tried a sound spa or white noise maker?
-Does he have a reason when he gets up? Potty- may want to skip a glass of water before bed? Hungry?

C., mother of 3, sleep consultant, sleep blog writer www.lullabyluna.com

It really depends on the child. My 5 year old stopped napping at 2 1/2 and my 3 1/2 year old still naps 2-3 hours and they both sleep 11 hours at night.

Hi A., I think it's different ages for different children, mine were 3 when I stoped inforcing naps, and still somtimes they would fall asleep while they were playing or watching a movie. Mine at 3 got up early, I was a stay at home mom so it was easy for me with them getting up early, cause my husband got up at 5:00/5:30 to get ready for work, so I was already up, but for the most part they would wake up and play in their room. Our first born would sometimes get up and turn early morning carttons on. Sounds like you have a very well behaved little boy, kuddos to you. J.

#1 took 2 naps a day until he was 3.5, then 1 nap until he was about 5.5 years old.

#2 took ONE nap a day from 2 months old and still does - he just turned 3....sometimes no naps, but usually one.

3# took 2 naps each day until recently, when she started only taking 1 nap in the am....she's 14 months.

Both my girls stopped just after they turned 3. They got into the groove pretty quickly, and slept longer at night. Some of my friends' kids went longer, but most kids I know stopped by 3 years or before.

Hi A.,
Take the cues from your son. My son stopped napping at 3 years old because he wouldn't go to sleep at night if he napped. Of course, if he was tired, we'd let him nap but that wasn't too often. If he wanted a nap and it was late in the day we would wake him up after an hour or he'd be up until midnight.

If you son doesn't seem to need it anymore, then let him go without it. Days he needs it, let him nap.

I consulted w/ a sleep expert and she said anywhere between 2.5-5 years! Wide range so you can see all kids are different...
I think you'll know because when you put him down, he just won't go to sleep....if this happens, she said that 'quiet time' is a must..at least one hour of 'down time.' This doesn't mean watching tv, just quiet time in his room...
Also, when they drop that nap, don't be surprised to see him go to bed earlier! They will certainly be tired and ready for bed!! (And I think she recommended that at 3 years a good bedtime is around 7:30)
Go to www.3daysleep.com if you want to get her video on tips for sleeping, schedules and naps.. She is amazing!!
Good luck!

never. even parents nap :)

My now 3 yr old stopped napping a little over the age of 2. She does however, take a short nap or go to bed early if we've had a very long day. I also know children who nap until they are 5 and sometimes even into Kindergarten. Your son will let you know if he's ready, don't take a nap away unless he wants to. If you don't let him sleep when he wants or needs a nap just because he wakes up too early for you, you're setting yourself up for a grouchy 3 yr old at bedtime! Goodluck!

My son just turned 4 and he still has quiet time, but probably only sleeps about 25% of the time. He still is need of some personal down time. He did go through a phase of waking up early and it lasted about a week. In fact, that has happened several times and we could never figure out what it was!

Hi, we have 4 boys ages 7, 4, 2 and 11 months. The two older ones stopped napping at age 2!. It drove me crazy! Nothing I tried helped. Our 2 year old still naps but like you described wakes up in the morning very early (around 5 a.m.). So, if some days he doesn't sleep we hope he'll sleep longer the next morning. But for the most part it doesn't work. He still wakes up early. I guess our kids just don't need that much sleep :) So we take one day at a time sometimes we try to put him (our 2 year old) down for a nap if we feel he could use it and sometimes we just let it go, depending on the program for the day.

Just take it easy and remember that there is no right or wrong way. Every individual is different.

Good luck.

naps, do they ever stop? my 7 yr old still takes naps on occasion. my 4 yr old stopped taking naps when she was barely 2 (girl drives me crazy)
my one year old is a super good sleeper and takes two naps a day and sleeps all through the night.

they sometimes never stop taking naps! my 17 yr old kid brother still takes a nap every day after school. he doesnt do any abnormally hard physical labor, hes just tired a lot.

if your 3yr old is still taking naps, thats awesome! dont do anything to change it. let him do his thing! you will regret it once he stops napping.