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almost 4 year old not wanting to nap

gotchagomogotchagomo
in Pre-School and Daycare
My almost 4-year old is on the verge of refusing to nap. Let me back up...for awhile now she hasn't been wanting/needing a nap in the afternoon. I'll be honest--I needed the break--so I started calling it "quiet time" and telling her that she at least needed to go to her room and play quietly, which usually resulted in her napping about 20 minutes into quiet time. I wasn't insisting on a nap, just quiet time. When school was in session, she would take a nap every afternoon for a couple of hours most days. Well, for the past couple of days, she won't stay in her room for quiet time. Should I just "give up" and allow her to decide when she needs "quiet time"? She sleeps well at night, but only gets about 8 hours--I thought 4 year-olds need more than that in a day?
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Re: almost 4 year old not wanting to nap

  • Addicted2thenotAddicted2thenot member
    DS stopped naps just before he was 3 years old so I think you had a good run. When I was in your situation I just gave up, it became more frustrating to spend that time trying to get hi down than it was worth. It is also nice not to have that break in the day where you have to be home. 

    What is her bedtime? Do you have a daily schedule?
    DS is in bed no later than 7:00 & wakes at 7;30-8:00 
    He usually gets about 12 hours sleep
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    Summer 2011
    Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers Lilypie Second Birthday tickers ~early M/C 4/09 ~ Ectopic 6/09~ BFP 11/09~
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  • gotchagomogotchagomo
    Just saw some other posts further down the board talking about the same thing. did some research also--DD needs 10 - 13 hours of sleep per day, so her 8 hours at night won't cut it--actually re-calculated and she's getting closer to 9.5 hours now in the summer, so that's not too bad.
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  • brightningbrightning member

    I've given up on rest time for my 3 yr old DD. She was fine with rest time for several months but started fighting it, which I take as a sign that she no longer needs a midafternoon rest. My DD has always been on the lower end of the "average sleep" - even as a newborn she slept less than average - so I'm fine with the 10 or so hours of sleep she's getting a day.

    So if it's any consolation, you're not alone! I certainly miss nap/rest time, even if my DD doesn't!

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  • howleyshellhowleyshell member

    My almost 4 yr old has been hit or miss for about 4 months now.

    I think it's normal to start to drop around this age.

    We do "quiet time" but if he's really super fidgety I'll let him come out and we'll do a quiet table top activity instead (memory games, writing letters and numbers, workbooks, etc)

    But... he also gets about 11 hours at night.

    If she's dropping that nap have you considered trying to get her to bed earlier?

    8 doesn't seem like enough to me but I'm basing that on MY kids who would both be nightmarish monsters on only 8 hours of sleep. 

    Our IF journey: 1 m/c, 1 IVF with only 3 eggs retrieved yielding Dylan and a lost twin, 1 shocker unmedicated BFP resulting in Jace, 3 more unmedicated pregnancies ending in more losses.
    Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.
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  • MrsCorbinMrsCorbin member
    DD1 and DS stopped napping around 2 years old.  DS sleeps around 12 hours at night and DD1 sleeps about 9.  DD1 has never slept a lot.  The won't do quiet time in their rooms but I do have them lay on my bed and watch a movie in the afternoon so that I can clean and get a break.
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  • blueshirt2003blueshirt2003

    My oldest gave up naps roughly 1 month before his 4th birthday. 

    I think that it's normal around ages 3+ to give up those nap times. 

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  • Angela814Angela814 member
    Annalise naps at daycare but hasn't napped at home in months. I usually put on one of her shows for her (Mickey Mouse or Dora or something like that), and she'll lay down and rest while she watches that.
    Annalise Marie 05.29.06
    Charlotte Ella 07.16.10
    Emmeline Grace 03.27.13
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  • jlw2505jlw2505 member
    Do you have a consistant routine at home?  If not, I would get one and still try for a quiet time even if its playing games in her room herself for 30 to 60 mins.  Worst case, put on a show for a short time.  I think even if she is not sleeping, getting some type of quiet/down time is good and very needed at this age.  My DD is 4 adn while she doesn't nap most days, she always has a quiet time of at least an hour.  She does it both at preschool and at home.  Even in her Pre-K class which starts in the fall they have a 2 hour block of quiet time every day.  For the kdis that don't sleep, they have them rest on their cots for an hour and then they have quiet activities set up - things like coloring or reading to themselves.
    Jenni Mom to DD#1 - 6-16-06 DD#2 - 3-13-08 
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