nap Q - do you ever wake them up?

Mrs.JRF

Usually DD naps for about 1.5 - 2 hours. but lately she has had a few that are 2.5 - 3 hours long. I sometimes worry that the longer afternoon nap might interfere with bedtime (which is 8pm but it takes her 30min or more to fall asleep). But if I wake her up (by opening the window shade or light in hall), then she could be cranky.

 

Do you even feel the need to wake your toddler up or just let them sleep figuring, they need it? TIA

katie277s

I will only wake DS if he has been down for over 3 hours and went down late.  I don't want him waking up from his nap at 5PM and going back to bed at 8PM. 

brightning

If her nap starts really late, like 4 p.m, then I'll wake her up around 5:30 and try to get her in bed by 7:30 (we usually shoot for 7). But other than that, I never wake her up. The poor thing has never been a good sleeper, so I take whatever naps she gives me. A few times, she has slept for 3.5 hours and I didn't know how to contain myself!

monkey_love

I will only wake my son up if he's been napping for more than 2.5 hours and it gets back 3.30pm (he goes to bed around 7.30-8.00pm). If he's sick or hasn't slept well for several days, I will let him sleep though. He normally only naps for 1.5-2 hrs, so if he sleeps much longer than that, I figure he must be tired.

CubbyMama

DD takes her nap at around 2, so if it gets to be 4:30-4:45 and she's still asleep, I'll wake her up (regardless of what time she actually fell asleep) so that she's not up too late that night.

hikerbeth

I always get DD up at 4 pm if she's still sleeping. . . doesn't matter how long she's been sleeping or when she went down.  If we are planning on a late night, sometimes I let it go 'til 4:30.

If she's sick, the rules no longer apply.