Naps...just Curious...

2ish.

When she started just playing with her feet for 30-40 minutes, I stopped mandating quiet time. She knows she can lay down to rest any afternoon she needs to and sometimes she does, but most days she does not. If she naps, it is harder to get her to bed on time, so I prefer when she does not.

Both my boys stopped shortly after they turned two. Naps did get progressively shorter up until that point. When they stopped napping we did quiet time in the late afternoon while I made supper. Quiet time usually consisted of a movie. After they stopped napping there were still times when they would crash during quiet time or in the car, but for the most part there were no naps. I was glad when the napping stopped because we had more freedom to go out and do stuff.

Our son stopped at just after 2 (he wouldn't sleep at nap time at daycare, so he just had quiet time), and our dayghter stopped around 2 1/2. With both, they were getting harder and harder to put to bed at night on the days that they napped. Once we cut them out, bedtime became much easier. They never really got cranky during the day, it more came at night, so we made the bedtime routine start a bit earlier.

We did have quiet time for awhile, and they both still do (age 3 1/2 and almost 5) during nap time at school/daycare, but more often than not they do not sleep. On the weekend, we will have quiet time if it fits in with what we are doing.

For us, nap time didn't get shorter...but bed time got later and later. She used to take 1.5 hour naps and then would usually go down no problems at 7:30-8 pm. Over the course of a few weeks I noticed that she wouldn't fall asleep until 9-9:30 (just layed in bed and talked to self, etc.).
So one day I decided to forgo the nap and was surprised that she wasn't super crabby like she was in the past.

It is a transition tho...somedays she is crabby and needs that nap...then I just bump bed back a half hour or read a few extra books, etc. I've tried letting her nap for only 30 mins or so...but that seemed to result in a cranky pants who had a hard time waking up from nap. Once in a while she's a little crabby at night...but then we just bump bedtime up a half hour...but it's not as bad as you might think it will be.

For quiet time, I put on a tv show of her choice and have her lay down with blanket and pillow (either on couch or in her room). If she gets up, I just put her back until the show is over.

Since no naps...I've noticed she doesn't rely on me as much to tell her when she's tired. She's seems to have learned that it's OK to sleep when tired...even if mom didn't go thru the whole bedtime routine first. If she needs to rest, she'll go sit down (and this active little girl rarely rests long lol). And in the morning, she used to jump up when her brother was awake...now if she's still tired, she'll pull the covers over her head and go back to bed lol.

For my daycare kids...until age 3 they have to lie in bed for at least 45 min...if they don't fall asleep that's fine...but they have to lay there (can have radio if they want)...unless parents wish otherwise...most of the time they fall asleep within 15 min. However, alot of the 'working' parents like to have their kids up later with them since they don't see them during the day.

Wow...that was a longer response than I thought it would be...I'll stop there lol

Our first napped until she was 5yo. Our second stopped when she was 2.5yo or so. No quiet time. She's quite the go-getter.

I truly believe that all kids need down time during the day until they are out of kindergarten. Even my school kids got quiet time during the day when school was out. I might have 20 school age kids sitting and reading for 15 minutes but they acted better after sitting down and quieting their bodies.

Kids under school age need naps. They need their sleep broken up. I think they just need to go to bed a little later because they just stop functioning well in the evenings if they don't nap. That's not fun for anyone.

If your kids go to pre-school they will be required to lay down for nap time. They'll have to lay on their cot and rest. Even if they don't sleep there will be ones that crash as soon as they lay down so they deserve to get that nap.

Let the little one keep the nap for as long as possible. Just adjust their bedtime a little later. Even if the go to bed at 10pm and get up at 8 that is 10 hours of sleep. So putting them down too early because they don't take a nap anymore is a fight not worth fighting.

Both of my kids were 4 when they stopped napping, but I know mine are an exception. Most of my friends' kids were done by the time they were 3. The easiest time, in my opinion, to let go of naps is the summer, when you can go outside and play in the water (sprinkler, pool, etc) for a half hour or so to distract them - a lesson I learned from my mom long ago; put a cranky child in water and watch the crank disappear! Quiet time is important for everyone, so grab a book and read to him/her. Then, let them play or read quietly in their room for a half hour to an hour. Have a snack and do an activity or go outside.

I have a 4.5 year old. 5-6 days a week he naps. But he has to be active in order to need one. We actually had a nanny from Oct to Dec, and he did not nap. He started with a new home daycare and he is back to naping. And he is much better to be around in the evening.

He has to lay still for 1 hr, if he sleeps great, if not we have to deal with the consequences. We just put him to bed earlier in the evening. I would not say his naps are shorter, 1.5-2 hrs most days.

Abrupt stopping. Each had a week of me TRYING (hoping, begging the powers that be, refusing to admit the truth, etc.) to keep the nap running... And failing.

Nope. No quiet time. My son was a high energy particle. At MOST I got an hour a day, and that was via something electronic. (Movie, www.starfall.com, etc.). He was / is also an extrovert. Which means that being alone is as physically painful to him as shoving an introvert into a 50+ kid screaming party. Aka, pure torture. It took YEARS (read 8ish) to get him to the point where he could do 15 minutes or so without needing to touch base. As a toddler? Lol. Oy. No. The same tears an introvert would break down in shoved into a group.

Super active + Extrovert = we added another 3miles on our loop (i walked, he ran, no strollers or carrying), and pee wee soccer and gymnastics.
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My oldest stopped napping about two months before she turned 4. They got shorter and shorter and eventually just stopped. But she needed some quiet time so she would play quietly in her room for about an hour. She had to stay in her room. She usually "read" books or did puzzles. When she started to get too loud in her room because baby brother was sleeping next door, I moved her downstairs with me into her playroom. She watches a movie or colors. It's been a bit of a difficult transition more for me than for her but we have worked it out together.

My son stopped fairly early.....right after his second birthday. I think we've had less than 10 naps since then and he just turned 5.

We did not have quiet time and he had late afternoon attitude because he was tired....right after he stopped napping we did start bedtime routine an hour earlier where he was always asleep by 7.

We are not a great example though..my son has never slept as much as his peers.

Both my kids were nappers.
They are now 6 and 10, and don't nap.

Both my kids, even when in Kindergarten would still nap.
Then that is when it gradually stopped. Simply because, with school routines/homework/activities after school, there was no time to nap.
BUT, on weekends at that age, they would still nap.
And needed, to.

And once in a great while... when my kids are especially tired, even at their ages now... they will nap. Even if for just 1/2 hour.
And yes, afternoons on weekdays are quiet time. There are no rules... except for "it is quiet time." Simple.
And I TELL my kids, it is quiet time for Mommy too.
Simple.

Even if my kids napped, they STILL went to bed fine. At their normal hours. It never interfered with bedtime.

Per naps, I always just went according to my child's cues.
And it was never a battle.
At times, my kids would even tell me "Mommy I'm tired, I want to nap..."