I know this has undoubtedly been asked a million times. Sorry. It is my turn now. When did you do it and why did you pick that time?
I think the boys still need naps, but now that they are in school I feel like I never see them. They go to school all morning then come home and nap and I just see them in the evening. I kind of miss them. They do take some time to go to sleep but once they are asleep they will sleep anywhere from 2-3 hours. They do OK when we miss a nap here and there, but have never gone without for more than a couple days in a row.
Re: When did you drop the last nap?
DS started dropping his nap at 3 and was totally done before preschool started at 3.5. On the rare days he would still nap, it would take him forever to get to bed at night, which wasn't good.
DD was just over 2 when she dropped her nap (when she switched to the big bed from the crib). It sucks.
DS~4 years old~born November 6, 2010 (1st year of preschool)
My Easy Cooking Blog
DS and DD both dropped their naps around age 3.
DS just stopped falling asleep at nap time most days. DD was still napping so I would put DS in his room and let him read or play quietly for about an hour while she napped. He fell asleep probably once a week for a few months then stopped falling asleep at all.
I forced DD to give up her nap because she started staying awake until 11ish at night. If we skipped a nap, she would go to sleep by 8. She is 4y4m and would still take a nap if I put her down for a nap but then she is awake way too late so we just skip it. I can't even do quiet time for her in her room because she falls asleep and then is up til 11. I would rather she be up all day and go to bed at 7:30/8.
On weekends she stopped napping completely around 3.5 to 4 years.
Charlotte Ella 07.16.10
Emmeline Grace 03.27.13
I didn't plan when my kids dropped the last nap, it just happened. My kids have always been in FT daycare/preschool/PreK and now the older is in kindy. Older DD was 4 when she started to not nap. She was in the PreK Program and they have a 2 hour rest time. In the beginning of the year, she would sleep for a short time each time and then be able to read books or do other quiet games on her cot. By the end of the year, she was never sleeping but never had an issue resting. Younger DD will be 5 in Mid March and most days now, does not nap. She started the PreK program in Sept and they now do a 1.5 hour rest time. In the beginning she was sleeping for 30-45 mins a few times a week and now it is maybe 1-2 times a month.
I do still have a quiet time at home on weekends but the girls never sleep but they still do benefit from the down time in their rooms. They play quietly with their books and toys that they have in their rooms. It does us all good. I don't sweat over it though, if we are out and about and not home, we just skip it and its not a big deal.
So I would say at around 4 1/2 on average the girls gave up their naps but still have a quiet time. My older DD's kindy class still has a 20-30 min quiet time in the afternoon and my DD has told me that some kids do fall asleep.
If they are still napping and you don't have an overnight sleep issues (refusing to go to bed at reasonable time or getting up before the sun) then I say stick with it. I don't see an issue with 3 year olds still napping if they need it. Mine gave up the nap at 2 1/2 when we put them in toddler beds. Since they were free in their room they just started trashing the room and running around screaming instead of napping. So we just ended naps.
My BFF's son will be 4 next month and he still takes a 2 hour nap every day and goes to bed by 9pm. But she also as a kid took naps until she started the first grade. She did morning kindergarten and then came home and took a nap every day. Some kids transition early and others don't. But if it were me, I would probably start to transition to a shorter nap or start dropping about 6 months before they start kindergarten so they will not have such a hard transition (if they do all day kindergarten). They give them a one hour rest time after lunch in all day kindergarten, but that is by no means like having a 2 hour nap.
DS is almost 5 and I think he is just starting to drop the nap. He still has to rest for an hour in the afternoon though (some alone, quiet time).
I would let them nap if they need it. Your evenings might be bad without it. I was thinking if DS was still napping at 5 I would begin to have him stop because of kindergarten
I officially dropped it for DS when he turned 5. He dropped it himself around age 4 :-)
I still take a nap and I make him do quiet time in his room with quiet toys.