Toddler Nap Time - Palatine,IL

My son is 4... he has been napping, everyday... since he was a baby.
If not, he turns into a Troll.
He does not last all day, pleasantly, without a nap.
PER his age currently, he naps in the afternoons. Anywhere from 1:00-3:00. He naps 2-3 hours, and STILL goes to bed at night, just fine at a normal hour of 8:30pm.

For naps, since has has done this daily, since a baby, it is just auto-pilot. No battle about it. It just is 'routine' everyday. He knows it.

ALWAYS verbally 'cue' your child, it is nap time "after lunch." Give your child a head's-up about what is coming up. PRIOR to nap time, have a WIND-down time.... (it being ab out 1/2 hour for my son), making EVERYTHING calm/quiet/turned off/boring/darken the room(s). This is part of our 'routine' before nap, with my son.
You NEED to 'cue' the child. They will not just do it on their own and march right into the room, by themselves. They are 3 years old... you assist them and cue them.
I always tell my son "After you play, then nap time... we get ready...." and he knows that. I give him 10-15 minutes to play and go full circle with it, then we put away and get into the nap routine. No battles. Because I CUE him. You need to do that with young children or any child.

All the best,
Susan

He might just be phasing out his naps. My three year old stopped taking naps about a year ago. She goes to bed a little earlier and more consistently now. I would either shorten his nap, or keep him up and then put him to bed earlier. He'll be grouchy during the transition because his body hasn't settled into a pattern yet.

Mine were no longer taking naps at this age, un less we were out and had a very tireing day, J.

Dear L. B,
I only have a 2 yo, but from what I read in the book "No Cry Sleep Solution for TOddlers" by Elizabeth Pantley, it sounds like your toddler is ready to shorten his sleep time a bit. Maybe shorten his nap to one hour and one half and see if he goes to bed by 8. Or even try an hour nap or an hour and fifteen minutes.
HTH. GL. Jilly

chances are he's fighting sleep because he is overtired. He should be getting 12 hours of sleep at night, then another 2 hours of nap a day. Move bedtime earlier by at least an hour, and nap should start no later then 12 if he is waking that early.

When a child gets overtired, they get hyper. He is hitting the hyper stage.

If that doesn't work, then make his room ONLY for sleeping. Take everything but the bed out and remove the lightbulbs. He will sleep and nap if you do these.

And no, it's not mean to make him sleep that much - it's developmentally appropriate and what he needs. IMO it's mean to NOT make him sleep that much. I have seen all sorts of behavior problems tied to being over tired. I do daycare and have NEVER had a kid stop napping before they were in kindergarten or 5 yrs old if they missed the cut off.
My own daughters are 11 and 8. They still need 11 1/2 to 12 hours of sleep a night. I was having a horrid time with my 8 yr old a little bit ago and got strict on her sleep time. That is ALL I changed and her behavior improved completely. It really does matter that much.

The proper amount of sleep also makes kids healthier and smarter. It's like a wonder drug, honestly!

It sounds like he needs a schedule change. My 3 1/2 y/o went through the same thing, and stopped napping at 2 1/2. She gets up around 8am, has 'rest' time on the couch from 2-3pm. with show, and goes to be successfully every night at 8pm. I've heard 12 total hours of sleep is what they should be getting at this age. It took her body a little bit to get used to this, but she does really well now. Good luck, just sounds like a transition period to me.

I think it is phase and excitement from the holidays. My daughter is doing it too (she is about 3.5 yo). We remind her that she needs her naps to keep her energy up so she doesn't get sick and also that Santa is watching and she doesn't want to end up on the naughty list. She naps about 1.5-3 hours starting at 12:30pm daily. She has the same nighttime schedule as your son. 8pm-630 or 7am. Sometimes as late as 745am if she sleeps in but then we get her up and don't let her sleep later than that. Babycenter's chart is pretty much right on with what the kids are doing. http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...

My nieces gave up naps by 3.5 yo and my pediatrician warned me that 2nd and 3rd kids can give them up sooner than first borns (my DD is 1st, have 25 mo old son and baby on the way - ugh). Not sure if your son is first born or not.

Also as FYI - I would advise against gates and door handle covers for toddlers in the event of a fire. It is unsafe. Maybe OK to use at nap but I would never use them at night.

Best wishes.