Planning a 13 Hr Day Day with a 3 Year Old Giving up a Nap

WHen my kids start outgrowing their naps (around 2 1/2-3 1/2) I change my schedule so we are home after lunch for the most part. If we do go anywhere, it's somewhere quick as I don't want them falling asleep in the car so then I'm up with a spunky, wide-eyed child till at least 11pm (grrr). Their little bodies know they don't want a nap but at the same time they need an adjustment period to get used to staying up longer hours. Also, with them losing their naps, they tend to go to bed earlier (mine are usually around 7-7:30) so after they are down, I leave to go complete any unfinished errands.

Activity & errands in the morning.
Lunch.
wind-down.
Nap.
Evening
Dinner
bath & bedtime routine.
Bed & go to sleep.

Lunch... is NOT at 1:00, for example. It is at a time that toddlers need to eat. Before 12:00noon. They do this in Preschool too. Then nap.

Quiet time and wind-down after lunch. Always.

Why do errands in the late afternoon, when child is tired? That is sabotaging to both him and you. Not a good time to do errands when a Toddler is tired.

When a child is tired... they are over-tired. And being over-tired, actually makes it HARDER for a child to sleep/fall asleep and age a good sleep. AND many kids this age, when over-tired, they get more "hyper." But it is because they are TIRED. By then.

That is what I did with both my kids, since they were born.

You do not, have to do full on activities with a child all day. They need downtime too. Get the physically active stuff, done in the mornings. Before noon for example. Then that gets a boy's yah-yah's out... and they get tired by afternoon. Then nap.
Quiet time before bed at night.
Having lots of horse-play and active activities at night, before bed, just makes it harder for them to fall asleep. They are too keyed up.

My son and daughter always still napped at that age.
And even now, when they are tired. Even if they are 5 and 8 years old.
The afternoons/late afternoons are down-time.
And certainly before bed at night.

Again, this is what I have done with my kids since they were born. And even now. And they KNOW what the daily 'routine' is.
Thus there is no battling.
I plan my day, by their naps and energy levels. I KNOW that mornings are the best times, to get everything done. And because, I KNOW my kids, cues and moods.
By late afternoon a kid is tired and fussy.
And certainly, if my kids horse-play before bed or bath, they are too keyed up to sleep at night.

What TIME is your son's bedtime?

I think S. H.'s plan is very functional. I ask you why you've changed your schedule? Were you running errands after his nap? You can still plan around an afternoon nap. He doesn't have to sleep but he still needs the down time to relax in the afternoon. Perhaps running errands could happen in the morning as a part of the active stuff, as S.H. suggests.

I still have my daughter have "rest" time in her room. She just recently gave up her nap as well but she's really good about playing quietly in her room for 45-60 minutes. I make sure to do quiet activities while she's up there so it doesn't sound too fun and my son is napping then too, so it's great! She has books and a set of mega blocks in her room plus of course her animals and dolls. She entertains herself very well! I also try to get her to actually lay in her bed for a little bit too just so she'll stop moving and lay down but that doesn't always work. I don't really monitor that part, I just encourage her to do it, sometimes she does...and sometimes not!

In your case, I'd do an activity then errands before lunch if you can. If you pack a snack with you, he can probably make it until at least 12:30 before he needs to eat. Then by the time you have lunch and get up to his room it'll be around 1-1:30 and he can rest for an hour and then you can do afternoon stuff. I sometimes run errands in the afternoon, but mostly it's TV time or we play in our yard, go on walks, go to the park, whatever. Actually, a lot of times after nap, we go to the gym. I work out and they play in the day care with other kids. That takes 1-2 hours including drive time, etc. and it's a really nice break for that "cranky" time of day. When we get home I make dinner and my daughter helps set the table, etc.

Hope that helps! Transitioning out of nap is tough. Some days are better than others!

I insisted that my daughter took a nap until she was five. It sometimes took a while to get her to sleep, but in the end it was worth it. It made the rest of the day better.

if you aren't letting him take an afternoon nap anymore, but he is so tired you can't get anything done, sounds to me like he needs his nap. i don't get why you would insist he stop taking one. i would suggest letting him take his nap right after lunch (or "quiet time" if he won't sleep now that you haven't let him for awhile- he'll be out of the routine), and i bet his behavior will improve later in the day....mine is 5 and we still do naps many days.

Still have afternoon "quiet time". Even if he won't nap he can play quietly in his room for a certain period of time. Make this part of your daily schedule. He still needs down time even if not he's not sleeping.