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is 3 yr old too young to NOT nap?

mrs.rnmrs.rn
in Parenting

our son naps for maybe 45 minutes - 1 hour.  he sleeps 10 hours at night. 

last sunday he skipped his nap due to company being at our house and he seemed fine later in the day (not cranky).  is it ok to just skip the nap on the weekends - since he will take a nap at daycare during the week - or are there some health benefits to napping at this age?  when he didn't nap on sunday he still went to bed and woke up at the same time - so he still only got 10 hours of sleep.

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Re: is 3 yr old too young to NOT nap?

  • joriejorie
    From what my friends with older kids say, they pretty much stop napping whenever they are ready.  Maybe your DS is ready for no nap.  I think if my 3 yo stopped napping, I'd still give her some quiet time during the day.  Like she has to lay in her bed and read books or whatever.  My 3.5 yr old is still a really good napper...she desperately needs it.  I'll be so sad when the naps are gone!
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  • ZenyaZenya member
    I agree when they're done.. they're done.  DS was 2 in June and rarely naps anymore.  And when he does it doesn't add any hours sleep to his day - just detracts from his night sleep.
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  • katesmom73katesmom73
    My dd (4 1/2) sleeps only about 10 hours a night and really doesn't nap anymore.  Sometimes at daycare but nothing consistent.  Consistent naps stopped around 3 1/2 or so.  It sounds normal to me but maybe our routine is abnormal as well?  When she does nap it's usually around 4pm which is bad - she wakes up really cranky and very close to bedtime.  If she does get cranky at the end of the day without a nap, I'll just put her down early.
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  • cropsoncropson member
    That's the way it is for us.  DS naps at school all week, or has rest time.  But when he's home, he's rarely tired.  He may fall asleep in the car for a bit, but that's about it.
    SS 6-13-99 DS 2-10-05 DS 4-28-08
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  • JOEBunnyJOEBunny member
    Dropping the nap is ok, but I would talk to your ped about the amount of sleep a 3 year old needs.  I think a 3 year old needs more like 12 hours, not 10.  It can have long term health implications not to get enough sleep in early childhood and is coming out in more and more studies as a risk factor for lots of health problems. 
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