Sleep Pattern Changing?

You already know the answer. Cause and effect: He naps and then he's up far too late. Either shorten the naps or eliminate them. Many kids start giving up naps altogether between ages two and three -- it's normal.

If, at night, he is overly tired and fussy and hard to get to bed on days he does NOT nap, then he does still need a nap but a shorter one; experiment with holding him to a one-hour nap at most and waking him at the end of that time, whether he likes it or not. (My daughter was ready to stop napping at two, but we did "car naps" of about an hour each day until she was about three, because she still needed that sleep in order not to be overly tired and cranky prior to bedtime.) Try shortening his naps; you will pay for it at first with crankiness when he gets up so have a snack ready to distract him when you wake him after naps.

I'm guessing you're hesitant to drop the nap completely because it gives you down time and time to get things done during the day. I totally understand -- I've been there. But a child his age shouldn't be up until 10 or 11 at night (and when he is, don't let him sleep in until 9 or whenever he gets up--wake him).

He needs a regular schedule, so whether you choose to keep a shorter nap or choose to drop the nap, have a very regular naptime with a definite end, a regular bedtime and consistent wake-up time. Get him into a rhythm and his body eventually will get used to that.

By the way, things may be different in your area, but around here, no public kindergarten has kids taking a nap in school or doing any kind of required lying-down rest time (and that's in full-day K). I don't think you need to force him to keep napping now just so he'll be able to nap in kindergarten in three years' time.

I would give up the naps, unless he is extra cranky that day. My kids were about that age when they stopped napping regularly.

Do not give up naps! Kids have to lay down and take naps even in the first semester of kindergarten. If your little one doesn't take naps that means they have to lay there on their blanket being quiet for a long time.

Kids around this age stop needing so many hours of sleep.

YOU have to start waking him up at a regular time regardless of how late he'd like to sleep. It's part of getting him in the habit that will last him a lifetime.

Getting him up on time, napping, and bedtime should fluctuate as he gets older too. He's old enough to stay up a little bit later now too. IF you get him up at an earlier time and do a 1 1/2 hour nap then down for bed at 8 he can still lay there and entertain himself until he falls asleep.

Updated

Do not give up naps! Kids have to lay down and take naps even in the first semester of kindergarten. If your little one doesn't take naps that means they have to lay there on their blanket being quiet for a long time.

Kids around this age stop needing so many hours of sleep.

YOU have to start waking him up at a regular time regardless of how late he'd like to sleep. It's part of getting him in the habit that will last him a lifetime.

Getting him up on time, napping, and bedtime should fluctuate as he gets older too. He's old enough to stay up a little bit later now too. IF you get him up at an earlier time and do a 1 1/2 hour nap then down for bed at 8 he can still lay there and entertain himself until he falls asleep.

Updated

Do not give up naps! Kids have to lay down and take naps even in the first semester of kindergarten. If your little one doesn't take naps that means they have to lay there on their blanket being quiet for a long time.

Kids around this age stop needing so many hours of sleep.

YOU have to start waking him up at a regular time regardless of how late he'd like to sleep. It's part of getting him in the habit that will last him a lifetime.

Getting him up on time, napping, and bedtime should fluctuate as he gets older too. He's old enough to stay up a little bit later now too. IF you get him up at an earlier time and do a 1 1/2 hour nap then down for bed at 8 he can still lay there and entertain himself until he falls asleep.

Most kids I have known have given up naps by that age, and are sleeping about 10 hours a night. Just make sure you replace naps with some quiet activity so he still gets a bit of a rest. I was very glad when my kids stopped napping because I no longer had to plan my day around naps.

ETA: Kids don't nap in kindergarten or pre-school where I live either. Once kids move to the three year old class there are no more naps. Kids who do still nap go and nap with the two year olds.

..... at 2 years old, it is COMMON that a child get sleep tweaks.
It is not abnormal.
It is normal.
But it will pass.

Nap needs, will also start to vary. BUT the bottom line is, at least for me... is that naps go according to your child's cues. Some days they will not need a nap. Some days they will. As a Mom, you can tell, your child's cues. Everyday is not the same.
Both my kids took naps regularly even into Kindergarten. They needed it. I did not force it. It was never a battle. Even when my daughter was 7 or 8, there were times, sometimes that she'd need a nap. And she would tell me. And my son would tell me too. They knew themselves and I taught them to know their body and energy levels. And to tell me.
Especially at developmental changes or growth spurts, my kids needed more sleep.
BUT no matter if they took a nap or not... bedtime was the same time every night. And they got the sleep they needed. And even if they took a nap that day, they still went to bed at night just fine. At their regular time.

Just looking ahead... at some point your son will go to Preschool or school. And at that juncture, he will HAVE to, wake up earlier in the morning. Hence getting into the habit of letting a kid go to bed... late, will backfire once they start school. He will be used to going to bed late at night... and then going to bed earlier at a normal time, will be harder. And a kid will be tired, in, school.
I know a family that routinely let their kid go to bed late at night... and sleep in the next day. BUT once she started school... she really suffered. And would OFTEN be tardy, to school. And then the parents would wonder WHY she did not get enough sleep and WHY she can't wake up the next morning early on time.

Again, my kids napped regularly even into Kindergarten. They needed it. I knew them and they knew it too. There would be times when my son when 5 years old or 4 years old would even tell me "Mommy I want to nap... I'm tired..." and off he'd go to the bed. It was going according to their cues. Not according to a "schedule" for the sake of it.