If you have a 3+ yr old that naps...

sooosie

...do you find that it's hard for them to fall asleep at night?

Anytime Ian naps it takes him forever to fall asleep at night.  Like tonight, he's been up there 90+ minutes already and still awake.  He's not fussing so I'm not worried, I just know I'm annoyed anytime I can't fall asleep quickly.

He's not sick but slept over 2 hrs today according to DH (I was at work).  Would you have woken him up?  Or not let him nap?  I'm not sure which is better, especially for days he has to get up early for daycare.

Mominator

Honestly? Not at all. DD is 4 y/o and while she can go without a nap, she really still needs one. And no matter if she takes a nap or not, she is usually asking to go to bed by 8 and most of the time falls asleep while I'm reading their bedtime story.

JenniC1135

On the days when my 4.5 yr olds nap at all, they are impossible to get to bed.  But some days, I have to let them or they are animals. 

There was an awkward in-between stage a year ago when they'd nap only every other or few days, and for a long time I had to limit them to an hour.

luckyluvr

Most days my 3.5 yo. takes a 2-3 hr. nap. If he doesn't, he's unbearable. He goes to bed every night at 8, and some nights he's in there for up to an hour just playing with a toy in his bed or doing whatever. He never gets up, but I don't fret over it. It's pretty much the only quiet time he has to himself in my circus of a household.

Littlejen22

IMO if they are struggling to fall asleep at night it is b/c they need to drop the nap.  My DS started dropping his nap at barely over 2 b/c he was having issues falling asleep so I let him drop it.  He occasionally takes a nap now and it usually really screws with him.  To me if it 90 minutes is happening somewhat regularly that is just not fair the the kid, if 90 minutes was a one time then then it would be fine.

jlw2505

My older DD is 4 1/2 and still takes naps sometimes.  She always has quiet time.  On school nights, we never let her nap longer than an hour as she then has a hard time falling asleep.  At this point, she only naps maybe 50% of the time but she still needs that down time mid day or she is a crab by the end of the day.  If this pattern keeps up, I would shorten naps to an hour and see if they helps.

One other thing that we do with my older DD on most nights to help her wind down is after we do our whole bedtime routine and read her books, we leave her alone in her room with the lights on and let her read to herself quietly in bed.  I love reading before bed and find it really relaxes me.  We let her read for 10-15 min max but she often reads for less time and calls us that she is ready to go to bed.  9 out of 10 times that we do this, she falls asleep pretty fast.