What Age Did Your Older Toddler/preschooler Stop Taking Daily Naps?

I had my son take afternoon nap up until he started kindergarden. there were times he wouldn't sleep. I did realize when he did take a nap it was harder to put him to bed at night. he would lie there and play in bed. Still does if after school we go for a long drive he falls asleep.

2 is usually the age. I have a 3 year old whom I watch and like his 12 year old brother, still loves his naps!

Hi A.. First of all, you have your hands full! My almost 4 year old stopped taking naps right around his 3rd birthday. They got shorter because he began having "accidents" about 45 minutes into the nap. We let him do "quiet time" after that and now that he is almost 4 we don't force him to even do that unless we've had a busy morning or if he is cranky. We found that if he has naps, he tends to be more cranky in the evening and stays up much later. But...when I need some "mom" time in the afternoon, I take him swimming in the late morning! Followed by lunch and he will ask to take a nap! It's a beautiful thing! Good luck!

My son, 5 1/2 was still taking a nap daily until starting school this year. My 20 month old takes a nap daily as well, but when my son was 20 months he was taking two naps a day. All children are different with these types of things. It may also just be the change of the new babies. Since he is only 3, he probably still needs a nap and is just regressing a little from the challange of new babies. Children regress in a lot of ways when new ones come home. a month or two after we brought our daughter home, our son started wetting the bed at night again..........so good luck to you, and congrats and the new addition

My oldest twins at 6.5 were taking nearly daily naps til they started school 2 weeks ago. 1 of them took a nap every day, her twin sister was sleeping at least 5 of 7 days. Now that they're in full day school I still have a 4.5 yr old that takes naps when we can swing it & of course my baby takes a couple naps.
L.

Both my kids still take afternoon naps. There napping now. My daughters 4 1/2 and son is 2 1/2. I plan to keep the naps going until my daughter starts Kindergarten and even then if she's grumpy or tired I'll have her lay down. She rarely wants to stay up and when she does she's very emotional. They will both sleep 2-3 hours if it's quite. I'm sure your son is still adjusting to having the babys in the house. I'd keep trying the naps. Good luck.

Hello A.,
My daughter turned three in April and in the last month or so she thinks she doesn't need a nap. We don't have any other kids yet. She trys to sneak out of her room into the play room or goes into the living room and plays until she gets cought. I hate nap time because it is a challenge for me to get her to bed. But she really needs it, by 6:00pm she is out like a light and will sleep on the couch as long as you let her but as soon as you try to get her up and get her to bed she is wide awake. It drives me crazy. Like all the other ladies have said, it depends on the child. And if they are zoning out or falling asleep by dinner time then they still need a nap. I wish you luck.

My 4 1/2 year old daughter gave up naps when she was about 2 years old. She rarely takes naps (she has to be really really tired!) and she goes to bed about 8:30pm. She just was never really much of a napper, much to my dismay! Hope this helps and good luck with those twins!

My older daughter who is 3 only has quiet time. This has been the case since right around the time she turned 3. My younger daughter just turned 2 and for the most part she will still nap but not always. Today I have her in her crib but she won't even sit down. I'm hoping that she doesn't wait till the end of her nap time before she falls asleep.
I have found that on the rare days when my 3 year old does fall asleep it actually makes it very difficult to get her to go to sleep at night. So I prefer when she just rests.

My 3 year old still naps, though it seems harder to get him down. I was wondering the same thing. Dr Sears said that most kids stop around age 4.

I would think that if he doesn't nap and he's not cranky in the mid afternoon and 'zoning' out by dinner, he probly doesn't need a nap.

Wow you have your hands full! My son turned 3 in July too! He mainly has quiet time and maybe naps 2 times a week. I don't force it and for him it was an overnight thing not taking naps. I also have a 20 mos old so sometimes if I split them up for naps it helps. He interfere with her naps if he is in the same room and she needs one badly or we all PAy! Well good luck with you and your kids. You are a busy lady! My two are 16 mos apart and things are finally getting esier!

My son turns 5 on the 24th and he stopped napping a few months ago. Hope that helps, S..

I do a daycare and have watched a few children who stop taking naps at age 3. It is nice I'm sure with your hands full to have them take a nap however you are doing the right thing by having them at least have a quit time. 1 1/2 - 2 hours isn't a long time for a nap. So it�s likely he/she just is out growing naps. If they aren�t cranky for you during the day or in the evenings, then I would just keep offering a nap and let them have quit time. Every child is different and requires a different amount of sleep.

WOW i just read your question, you have your hands full for sure. My oldest son was 5 and my middle son was 19 months when my ID twins were born so I will say if not naps quiet time is needed for sure if for no other reason the for MOM!I think nap time/quiet time should be enforced untill 6 months before they start school. My middles son took naps until the week before he went to school and the change was difficult for him. All kids will need different amount of sleep so only you know your kids. But even if they do not sleep make them rest, a 14 hour day is alot for a a kid that young.Also i wanted to say i know you are a SAHM but if you ever decide daycare i worked at one for 2 years and I know most daycares have nap times for all kids 4 and younger if they have it at home it would be much easier if they have to be there. Good luck!

L.

I have a daughter who turned 2 y.o. in June of this year and I have a son who is almost 8 months (they're 19 months apart). After my son was born, my daughter went through a difficult time with taking naps (and she wasn't even 2, so I sure wasn't ready to give them up). I would still put her in her bed and tell her that it was nap time, sometimes she would cry a little and sometimes she would just play. Eventually she went back to sleeping during nap time. I think for her it was difficult knowing that something was going on while she was sleeping; that her brother was getting all may attention, etc. That may be what's going on with your son. Continue with the nap routine to show him that nothing has changed. If he still refuses to nap, maybe he is ready. When did your oldest stop napping? Good luch, it sounds like you need all the quiet time you can get.

My daughter stopped taking naps when she was about three and three months. Occasionally, she'll fall asleep during rest time in the afternoon, but we just send her to bed earlier and she wakes up later in the morning. I have a friend that put aclock into her adughters bedroom and tells her if she wakes up before the little hand is on the eight, she has to stay in her room and play until it is one the eight and that ensures her that her and the baby won't be awoken early in the morning, which sleep is crucial is your little one doesn't nap and keeps you going throughout the day. Just try to have your four year and three year old have quiet time together, myabe he'll end up falling asleep some days.

My daughter is 5 now and still takes naps from time to time. She stopped taking them on a regular basis at about 3 1/2 or so, but she'll go through periods of a couple months at a time where she'll start taking naps and she'll resist them sometimes at first, but if I notice that she starts getting really cranky I make her take them anyway and it does the trick. I would say that if your son doesn't seem to be getting irritable and cranky then he's probably ready to just have quiet time.

She stopped taking naps at around 2 1/2, and I think I read an article on babycenter.com that addresses how many hours a child needs at what age. Might check there. Hard to lose that nap, huh?!?! Especially with your little twins.

K.