My son is probably ready to give up the nap. He isn't getting to sleep until too late (about 9 or 10) and then is up at 6 or 7. He usually sleeps from 12-1:30 during the day. If I try to omit the nap he usually takes at noon, he falls asleep at around 3 and the results are disastrous: he wakes up around 5 or 6 and is in a horrible mood, then does not get to bed until 10 at the earliest, sometimes 11. I have no idea how to keep him awake through the afternoon. I found him on the rug asleep today.
It seems like he needs the nap, but it's obviously interfering with his night sleep (he used to be asleep by 8 and up around 7). If you could follow all that, any ideas?
TIA!
ETA: he's 2 years, 7 months. :)
The fact that he's falling asleep (I think) shoes that he still needs a nap. Not at 3....more like 1:00.
Sleep begets sleep.
He might actually sleep longer if you let him.
9:00 bedtime after bath, books, light snack, brushing teeth--all started at 8 would be good.
Let him follow his own rhythm. If he sleeps from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am with a nap and isn't overtired, let it be. Some kids dimply don't need as much sleep.
Now, if he shows signs of being overtired then you probably should do something. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
At that age my son would get by on 7 hours sleep at night but then take a 3 hour nap. He never really I'd sleep more than 8 or 9 hours at night until he gave up his nap. Now he's 8 and needs about 10 hours of sleep at night. Finally my husband and I can have alone time in the evening!
How old is he? Kind of important to know before giving advice...
You should try shortening the nap, rather than giving it up completely. Put him down at noon as usual, but wake him around 12:45. This should give him the energy to keep going through the afternoon but shouldn't keep him up so late at night. You M. also need to move his bedtime a little earlier.
Another thing to try is napping 2-4 times per week, instead of daily. We do this with my daughter now (she is four) and it works well. When she does nap, I wake her after awhile so she isn't up too late at night.
When mine were getting ready to give up a nap, I'd have the nap around 1:30-2:30. That time frame seemed to work well for us. If mine had napped at noon at that age, they would be overtired by bed time (and then they become wired).
Since he's falling asleep on his own at 3 pm if you don't nap him, to me that sounds as if he could handle having his nap pushed back an hour and a half - somewhere in between when you're putting him down, and when he naturally is tired.
Hope that helps!
i agree with you, it really sounds as if he needs his nap, and he's still such a little fellow. just try to back it up an hour or two, and don't let him sleep for too long.
if he won't sleep, just give him quiet time. but it sounds like he'll sleep.
good luck!
khairete
S.
He still needs the nap, it sounds like. You could also implement quiet time and see if he naps (usually he will). My stepdaughter had 2 plush chairs for her kids - they looked like mini-versions of living room easy chairs, but they also unfolded into a sort of chaise lounge type of thing. The kids could sit in them with a book and a blanket even if they were fighting the idea of a "real nap" in their beds, and 90% of the time they'd fall asleep.
I'd keep the nap earlier in the day. If 12:30 isn't working, then maybe push it to 1;30, but 3:00 is too late to start, as you've seen. They wake up and it's dark and time for dinner, and they get cranky. Preschools and day care centers give kids lunch and then put them down for a nap or quiet time, dim lights, no talking. They don't "make" them sleep of course, but most of them do nod off.
But you can also keep a bedtime routine that involves quiet time at night. I'd still stick to 8 or 8:30, and that means in bed and not getting up. If you want to leave a light on or soft music, fine. But keep the idea that it's bedtime, and don't just let him do activities until he falls asleep without realizing it. That messes up your nighttime routine and he'll never learn to really put himself to sleep.
My son took a regular 3 hour nap well past the age of 4. He was a very active child so he really went full tilt in the morning, and again after he woke up. I think the extra activity in the afternoon tired him out so he was ready to sleep again at 8 or so. That said, the 6 months after they really give up the nap (but still kind of need it) are just hell, whether it occurs at 2.7 or 4.5 years of age!
Keep the nap and let him stay up later.
I posted the following comment yesterday, and it seems to apply here. BLUF: He likely still needs the nap, but is in the "break" of a growth cycle and needing less sleep. I wouldn't omit it yet. Here's my previous comment:
When I was doing the SAHM gig, I took them to the park or anywhere they could really run. We also played fetch. Yep, fetch. And raced. It was good for everyone.
It's important to remember that kids go through growth cycles. Sometimes they'll really need that nap, because their little bodies are using a lot of energy growing, and sometimes they won't nap because their bodies are at that short timeframe between growth cycles. You'll know when a growth cycle is about to ramp up because they'll start eating everything in the house and asking for more. They'll put on some weight....and then they'll start sleeping more and the next thing you know they've grown out of all their shoes and clothes overnight.
Once you get the hang of where they are in the eat-sleep-grow-break cycle, you'll have a better idea of whether they'll be willing to nap, or how hard it will be to force them to do so.
