Do your 6 yr olds still take a nap?

jpowell3 · December 2010

Ds use to take at least a 1 hr nap every day, but since starting school in Sept he hasn't been taking them. He REALLY needs them, I can notice a definate attitude slump in the middle of the day. The only problem is I can't get him to take a nap now. What do you do?

neverblushed · December 2010

No. My son hasn't taken an afternoon nap since he was about 3 1/2.

However, when he started full-day kindergarten in September, it took him a while to adjust to the busy pace of elementary school. He was really bushed by about 7 pm (bedtime is 8) especially on Thursday and Fridays.

Giving him some down time after school seemed to help. If possible, I would read to him. If I was too busy, I'd just let him pick a video to watch. Alternately, getting outside and playing also seemed to help perk him up. Eating a healthy snack of fruit or cheese and crackers instead of junk also seems to help him stay perky through the evening.

ali-1411 · December 2010

DS took a nap until he was nearly 6. 1st semester of kinder had rest time and he passed out every day. 2nd semester cut out rest time but he would still end up taking a nap most weekends.

Have you tried an earlier bedtime?

jamie.renee · December 2010

My second is 6 1/2 and will occasionally (like once a month or so) go lay down in her bed and take a nap. She doesn't need one daily but she loves her sleep and she knows if she is tired she can go rest for a bit. She also took 2 naps a day until she was 2. My oldest stopped naps pretty early, I think she was done with them at 4. When she fist started Pre K she did nap some afternoons at the beginning.

jlw2505 · December 2010

My kids are not 6 yet but in my DD's PreK class, they slowly wean the kids off naps during the summer program. Right now, the nap/quiet time is 2 hours. By the time the program ends in Mid Aug, they will have no quiet time which gets them ready for Kindergarten. My DD is 4 1/2 and naps maybe 50% of the time if that. The other days, she still has quiet time where she has to lay on her cot at school or in her bed at home and she can read or play with her dolls. If she falls asleep that is great and if not, she doesn't. I can see doing this quiet time on weekends even after she starts Kindergarten if we can tell that she is tired and needs the down time. Heck, there are many days on the weekends that I need that downtime to rest from whatever running around we are doing. I would also consider moving up bed time ever so often if you see that he is really tired - not all the time but if he won't nap, going to bed 30 mins sooner every so often (as you see needed) might help.

hokies94 · December 2010

No, both of my girls stopped napping by 5 (second one around 3). They still had quiet time in their rooms so they could rest, but they didn't really nap. My middle one, now 6, will occasionally take a nap (maybe once a month) but not regularly. Quiet time in the middle of the day seemed to give them the break they needed to keep going w/o getting cranky in the afternoon.

shopgirl78 · December 2010

My 5 year old quite taking naps last year. They did nap in Prek4 however no in KG. I agree with moving bedtime up & keeping afterschool low key with a healthy snack.

scullyhoyy · January 2011

My DD hasn't taken a nap since I brought home my LO. Being in school all day is hard for her, she is not happy when she get's home. I try to do a super early bed time for her.

bell0niner · January 2011

YES!! DS will be six in February and right after starting Kindergarten in August he started having all kinds of behavior issues at school and home. So, we spoke to a counselor to determine what the cause may be. We concluded that he was overstimulated and tired, so we started making him go his room when he gets home from school for some quiet time. He is allowed to read a book, listen to music or whatever, but he MUST "chill out" and be quiet. He usually falls asleep right away and takes any where from a 1.5 to 3 hour nap. This works AWESOME for him and all of his behavior issues almost completely dissapeared. His bus drops him off at 3:30pm (DH meets him at the bus stop, as he works from home) and DS gets up around 5:30pm when I get home from work. His normal bed time is 8pm, however when DH has to go out of town for work, DS goes to after school day care and then I move his bed time to 7pm to make up for the lost naps.

Some kids just need the extra sleep for longer than others. My mom has told me numerous times that when I was little I was the same way and needed my sleep big time. Good luck!

LanaM · January 2011

My almost 6 y.o. has not taken a nap (regular or random) since he was 4 y.o.. Last year he was in 1/2 day pre-K from 12:30-3pm, so no naps. This year he is in full day K from 9-3 and he gets really tired but never goes to bed before 9pm.... he sleeps until 7:30-8am usually.

katieisawesome · March 2011

My daughter hasn't taken a nap (other than when she is sick) since she was 2 or 3. I would be concerned if she got tired in the middle of the day.

jamie.renee · March 2011

jamie.renee:
My second is 6 1/2 and will occasionally (like once a month or so) go lay down in her bed and take a nap. She doesn't need one daily but she loves her sleep and she knows if she is tired she can go rest for a bit. She also took 2 naps a day until she was 2. My oldest stopped naps pretty early, I think she was done with them at 4. When she fist started Pre K she did nap some afternoons at the beginning.

This, except my first was done with naps by about 3 and my second was taking 2 naps a day until she was over 2.

jamie.renee · March 2011

jamie.renee:
My second is 6 1/2 and will occasionally (like once a month or so) go lay down in her bed and take a nap. She doesn't need one daily but she loves her sleep and she knows if she is tired she can go rest for a bit. She also took 2 naps a day until she was 2. My oldest stopped naps pretty early, I think she was done with them at 4. When she fist started Pre K she did nap some afternoons at the beginning.

This, except my first was done with naps by about 3 and my second was taking 2 naps a day until she was over 2.

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