Transition to no naps

[Anonymous]

Need help and advice! My almost 3 year old has been a great sleeper and napper but about a month ago started not being able to fall asleep for hours at night. Typical schedule was 7:30pm to 7am and then a 90 min nap around 1:30pm. She started not being able to fall asleep until 9 or 9:30pm every single night. She doesn’t even protest going to bed at 7:30, she just talks and plays in her bed until she eventually falls asleep. We tried waking her up from naps after an hour but it hasn’t helped her fall asleep any earlier at night unfortunately.

This past week we decided to cut the cord and not have her nap, and it has been a nightmare. She genuinely wants to nap in the afternoon and asks to go to sleep, and is so cranky now from 2pm until bedtime, which is now 7pm. It’s incredibly unpleasant for everyone.

Could this just be a phase/regression (she turns 3 next month) and we should hold tight with one hour naps even she falls asleep late? Or let it go and just end naps for good, despite the crankiness and desire for a nap?

How long does it typically take for a child to adjust to no naps and be ok in the afternoon without one?

[Anonymous]

My DS dropped the nap around that age. Since it wasn’t in daycare, it was an easy transition. He wasn’t even cranky in the early evening and was happy to go to bed at 7, fall asleep quickly, and sleep until 7.

His nanny started with quiet time for about a half hour. Then just kept him with her. He started a five hour preschool at 3.5 that includes a rest time for 30 minutes and DS says he just lies on his mat and has “a think”. Some kids still sleep.

[Anonymous]

If she wants to nap and is making your afternoons rough, I would let her nap. We dropped naps for my almost 3 1/2 year old in January and she does the same thing…lays in bed singing and talking to herself for an hour. Maybe try cutting her naps down by 10-15 minutes and seeing how long of a nap you can get away with without it really cutting into bedtime.

[Anonymous]

Try gently waking her from her nap after 45 minutes. It sounds like she still needs the nap but it’s too long. Open her door, raise the blinds, and put on music to gently wake her. My DC got in the habit of sitting with me on his chair and cuddling and singing while he woke up.

[Anonymous]

My just turned 3 year old naps for 1-3 hours in afternoon, and sleep for 10-11 hours at night. We are planning to drop her nap 6 months after in the fall. If she misses the nap, she won't be cranky for now, and she will sleep longer at night. I just want her to nap in the afternoon because her daycare has naptime or quiet time for 2 hours.

[Anonymous]

The transition to no nap just suck. Full stop.

But as long as your child is asking for a nap, they clearly need the nap. When they stop falling asleep during nap time, that's about when they are ready to drop the nap. For the first few months, my kids would go maybe 3 days without a nap and then need a nap on the 4th day. On the days when the didn't take a nap, they were ready for bed super early like 5 or 5:30.

And then comes the dreaded months where any late afternoon car ride would lead to a 20 minute cat nap which would lead to them not going to bed until 10:30 or 11pm. Honestly, I think it took until they were 4/4.5 before they could go without naps and without meltdowns.

[Anonymous]

agree that if she is asking for the nap, let her nap. Just wake her up after 1hr and make sure it doesn't go past 3pm.

My DD dropped her naps at 2.75 but clearly was ready. Her bedtime shifted to 930/10! The first few days were rough but she started doing 7-7 almost thereafter.