My 4 yr old quit taking naps once he started morning preschool in Feb. With the naps, he was staying up until 10pm most nights and waking up at 6 am. Plus, he didn't seem like he needed them anymore, so we stopped making him take them. Over the last week or so, he's been getting very tired at around 2pm and super crabby on and off for the rest of the day, until he goes to bed at 7pm. I've tried having him lay down in his room for an hour or so after lunch, in the hopes that now that school is out, he'll go back to taking a little nap so that he's not so tired and miserable the rest of the day. But he will not sleep at all, and the rest doesn't really help much. I don't know if it's the heat or what, but he's just so moody now. Should I try to keep him up a little later for a few nights in the hopes that he'll be so tired the next day that he'll crash after lunch? He gets an average of 10-11 hours of sleep a night, so I know it's not lack of rest. Any advice is appreciated.
Try laying down with him and read a book together or watch a veggie tales (etc.) movie for some quiet time after lunch. Even if he does not take a nap he will at least regenerated by just relaxing. Tell him mommy needs to rest for an hour.
S.
Can you take some "quiet time" with him by reading a book or playing a board game? Maybe if he does something that's a little less physical with you there, he may get some "down time" he needs to not be so cranky. Another thing is maybe he needs an additional snack. Our 4yo dd gets cranky if she doesn't get a morning and afternoon snack.
Another option might be putting him to bed earlier, so he gets more consolidated sleep, this way maybe he can last through the day better? Just a thought. I personally would rather deal with a few rough hours during the day in exchange for an early bed time (as opposed to the nap but then they are up until 10).
Good luck! My almost-3 year old will only sleep now if I drive him in the car after lunch - and it's been that way for 6 months. oh do I understand lamenting the loss of nap time!
Honestly, I would have him "rest" after lunch because it could be more of a battle trying to get him to actually fall asleep. I have a 5 year old with sensory processing disorder and during the summer and on the weekends I have him lay down in bed and "rest". He gets to pick his favorite show or a movie and he has to stay in bed for at least a hour just to give his body time to calm down and renew itself, so to speak. I will say, that by the end of the day, it is a hit and miss on how he is going to be acting even with a rest time in the day. Depends on how busy we were, or how busy he was (he also has ADHD). It can also depend on if he was overstimmed that day. If he was overstimmed that day I know to expect a rough mood from him. However, I could also expect a rough mood from him if things dont go the way he has in his mind set to go as he doesn't transition well. So I do what I can to help but just sometimes there are days were he is going to be in a rough mood.
Good luck!
Have you tried giving him more physical activity in the mornings? I find that if my kids get out and are active, they are more willing to rest or go down for a nap after lunch. All that "fresh air" really seems to tire them out. It's worked well for me, it allows me to get stuff done...so now we are active all morning, eat lunch and then stay home for the afternoons. It might help if you bought him a new toy for outside, like a soccer ball, that could help him to run around (and hey, you could get some exercise too!).
Also, my kids LOVE the "new" movies from the library. So once a week we go to the local library to pick out some "new" movies. This also gives them a reason to relax in the afternoons...sometimes they ASK to go to bed and finish the movie later!
