No More Naps at 3 Yo???

As someone whose been in a Daycare setting, if we made an accomodation for one family, we would have to make it for everyone. The one thing we used to let kids do were to lay on their cots, and read a couple books if they wanted, as long as they were quiet. Remember, daycare providers use quiet/naptime as time to catch up on lesson plans, re-charge, etc. This is a reason many families opt to switch their kids out of commercial daycares into in-home daycares.

I used to teach preschool, and we had a handful of children who didn't nap at 3 years old. In my classroom, we usually made them lie down and rest for the first half of nap and the second half, we would give them something quiet to do such as look at books or play with a puzzle.

Some children just require less sleep than others. For instance, I have a 17month old who just last month quit taking regular naps. If she had a rough night, she will nap, but on a normal day, she doesn't nap anymore.

Just go with her flow and if it seems to work, keep it up. If not, then talk to your pediatrician and see if there is an underlying cause for her not sleeping as much as she needs to be. Good luck!

Both of my boys stopped napping at two years old. They don't attend daycare. If they did end up falling asleep in the car in the afternoon while running errands, even for a half hour, that would mess everything up. They would be up 10 p.m. at night! I can't speak about daycares, but to me 1 1/2 - 2 hours seems a bit long for a three year old to rest. Are there younger kids also in her daycare room?

I'm so going through this right now with my son. I have asked daycare to cut back his naps. He does not need one. Yes, he is tired by the time naptime gets here because he is up until 10-11pm everynight and gets up about 5:45. That is not enough sleep. ( He is in bed on the weekends by 8pm without a nap) It is a vicious cycle!!
Daycare should have a place where he can play quietly while the other kids sleep.

Good Luck!

My 2 yo only naps occasionally when she's had a really busy morning. I can say that without a nap she goes to bed so early without a fight, like sometimes 7pm. With a nap it is more like 9pm and lots of crying. I would ask daycare to cut back on the naps, either make it shorter or stop altogether. I would think they could accommodate that, every child has different needs and I'm sure they have a separate room she can go in. My daughter did not always nap at daycare (and she was only 1).

At home yeah, In daycare us providers to require nap time, for that is our only break time, and I know for me I have kids between 14 and 16 hours a day. My kids at 3 were no longer napping unless we were out all day and had a very busy tiring day. J.

Make sure your daughter's room is a good sleeping environment. DARK and with some white noise. We use a box fan in the girls room and it helps keep it quiet. Also very dark heavy curtains.

We made our one son stop taking naps at about age 2 for the same reason. My other three kids still needed naps at that same age though. Each child is a bit different and since your daughter goes to daycare it might be hard for you to convince them not to put her down for a nap. I would ask them not to put her down for naps for a week and see how things go. Within a day or two you should be able to realize whether or not she really needs a nap.

Good luck!

My son didn't need a nap anymore once he hit 2 and 1/2. My daughter was 3 and 1/2. You can tell by how long it takes them to fall asleep at night and how well they sleep during the night