Does your kid still nap?

bosha711 · October 2013

I'm beating my head against the wall trying to get him to nap lately. Should I just give up?

He's a beast by dinner time without one & he always sleeps like crap at night. These are my reasons for being so persistent.

He also allegedly naps 90 min at DC 3 days a week.

So I'm just curious what the norm is.

jnicolen1 · October 2013

yes. oliver still naps. anywhere from 2-3.5 hours each day. and if he skips a nap (rare, and usually my fault if i keep him awake too long) hes in total meltdown mode by dinner time.

he has gone through phases where he fights it, but i stick with it and he comes around in a few days. i give him a book and tell him its fine if he doesn't want to sleep, but he needs to be quiet and let the rest of the family nap. he reads the book and falls asleep.

AFanch1127 · October 2013

L naps about 3-4 days a week. Usually when she does nap it's from about 4-6:30. The other days, she typically goes in her room and trashes the room until we give in lol
Sometimes I go ahead and schedule things in the afternoons and deliberately skip naps at this point since her track record is spotty at best. She gets a little cranky but sleeps exceptionally well at night so I don't worry too much about a nap missed here and there.

GrayGhost13 · October 2013

Very sporadic at this point. He's been doing late afternoon naps lately (like from 4 to 6 or 5 to 7), but sometimes he just pushes through and goes down a little early. I am not sure how I feel about that. I love the quiet time in the evening, but sometimes it causes him to wake up early or get restless in the middle of the night.

I am not sure at what age it is normal to drop naps? I don't feel like DS would be getting enough hours of sleep if he skipped them every day, but I could be wrong.

TMNTgirl · October 2013

I would say that he naps 80% of the time. Usually for a good 2-3 hours.

He's usually fine without a nap, a little more cranky, but not total meltdown mode. He goes to bed an hour early if he doesn't nap.

He's not napping now for some reason, but is playing with his trains quietly in his room. So we'll see how today goes.

missmuffin87 · October 2013

it's been getting harder to convince her to actually go to sleep at nap time, but once she does, she'll nap for about 2 hours.

EMOmamma · October 2013

Yes. My mom said I napped until kindergarten. Even if DS starts trying to drop them I think I will still try to have him do quiet time in his room for 30-60min per day.

enjoylife · October 2013

Yep. About 2.5-3 hours a day if we are at home. He has skipped a nap here and there when out of the house or broken naps if we are out and about and he does fine. Not total meltdown but definitely more spazzy until bedtime. He knows he doesn't have to go to sleep, he has his books and a few stuffed animals. Some days he passes out within 15 min other days he's up for nearly an hour and then falls asleep.

JoJoMama730 · October 2013

Typically, yes, for anywhere from 1-2 hours. She goes through phases where she fights it, but I persist and she comes back around. I can't recall-have you switched to a bed? A mom friend was telling me her 3 year old was fighting naps something terrible, and she wondered if it was time to transition. They converted the crib, and he went back to napping. Who can figure these kids out!!

bosha711 · October 2013

You all are making me want to cry. He can't even stay in his room by himself without freaking out. I don't know why, but this past year has been terrible for him with sleep. He's never been a long napper, but he used to fall asleep easily after I'd read him one story, at least. Combine this with his multiple night wakings, we are just exhausted from him. Not to mention the concern that he isn't getting enough sleep total for his age.

(

watermellens · October 2013

Sorry Bosha

Brody's naps were sporadic from about February - September. He would nap one day and then not again for a few days. Or nap for 3 days in a row and then skip a couple days. It was all over the place. He seemed to nap more often when DH was home which killed me. He'd get pretty beastly in the afternoon and have an early bedtime the days he didn't nap, but he wasn't a terror.

The days he did nap, we'd put him in his room at 730, but he often didn't fall asleep until 9 or 930. Even if he didn't nap, I still put him in his room and forced some "quiet time" on us both.

Since he started school in September, he doesn't nap during the week (school until 115, off the bus at daycare at 215 and it's too late for a nap then). He goes to bed at 645 or 700 every night (up at 615 am) and naps like a champ on the weekends (usually 3-4 hours).

dee12807 · October 2013

T still naps. At DC they say he's generally first asleep and last to wake (and he's one of the oldest in his class). At home and my MIL house he naps anywhere from 1-3 hours. I think he's not napped only a handful of times his whole life and it's always been a disaster.

enjoylife · October 2013

What time is bedtime? My friends son stopped napping around 2 and she said there were definitely days he was more of a bear but his bedtime moved up to 630 and he was awake by 6am....and with multiple night waking a He's older now (4-5) and he does quiet time in his room now but I believe she had to start with smaller time increments before he accepted it. Good luck! You aren't alone!!

bosha711 · October 2013

enjoylife said:
What time is bedtime? My friends son stopped napping around 2 and she said there were definitely days he was more of a bear but his bedtime moved up to 630 and he was awake by 6am....and with multiple night waking a He's older now (4-5) and he does quiet time in his room now but I believe she had to start with smaller time increments before he accepted it. Good luck! You aren't alone!!

Thanks. MH brings him up to his room at 7:45 but it takes nearly an hour to get him to sleep. Then he wakes up like twice overnight - sometimes in a night terror - where he won't let you touch him. Then he wakes up at like 5 & MH ends up either sleeping on his floor or bringing him downstairs to sleep on the couch. Then he's up for the day as early as 6. Yawn.

Tonight he was asleep by 8:15 & woke once so far talking/crying in jibberish & MH was able to lay him right back down, luckily.

He began to sleep regress after he turned two & it just got worse from there. I feel like he lost his ability to self soothe bc we couldn't let him CIO or else he'd wake up DD.

Naps were never an issue till very recently though.

FML

enjoylife · October 2013

Hugs and wine, Lots and lots of wine! Hopefully lil sis won't inherit the sleep issues.

AllieMag24 · October 2013

DD abandoned her weekend naps months ago. Perhaps more accurately, I became exhausted by the incredible struggle and stopped pushing the issue. While I miss the downtime during the day, she falls asleep more easily at night. She reports she has been sleeping with her "eyes open" at preschool and today her teacher confirmed she didn't nap which is definitely a change.

EMOmamma · October 2013

Oh, J gets up at night. He was STTN by 5 months but now has nightmares and is up prob 5 nights per week. For a while we gave up and just brought him into our bed but recently we decided not to at all. The other night I accidentally forgot to switch the monitor from DD's room to scan (she goes to bed first) and we slept through whatever happened that night (and I know he got up at some point b/c his lamp was on in the am). The next 2 nights he didn't get up. Not sure if we "ferbered him" or he was just so tired from the 1st night. Last night he was in our room again b/c he was sick but hopefully he's fine tonight.
All the while, DD STTN in her crib pretty much every night. (Sometimes she gets up at 5am & wants milk - then I bring her to our bed and she crashes back out)

Anyway, we're so tired of DS getting up at night too. But with the nightmares I don't know what to do. Plus, he's on a floor above us so we don't let him just come into our room b/c I worry about him on the stairs alone in the middle of the night. Ugh, just sleep and be easy!!!

babycakes · October 2013

For months now Griff seems to be weaning his last nap

(. Some days he'll take it, other days he doesn't and I don't force him. I still tell him its nap time for Bishop and if he wants to nap he can.

Thing is, if he naps, he falls asleep much later that evening for bedtime cuz hes not as tired. If he does not nap, then hes much more tired and falls asleep closer to 9pm. So it evens out.

Five Months to Plan · October 2013

We still nap. Usually from 2-4 or 3-5. She can skip a nap though now and function. Sometimes she does read and play in bed and we leave her there. She has started fighting nap sometimes, but she is a mess in the evening if she does not nap. She goes to bed between 8-9 usually. She has the toughest time napping if she is not busy in the morning. ( she spends her days between DH, my mom and MIL. ) my parents keep her really busy, go places, and heave lots of outside space so she sleeps great there.

Coltsdad · October 2013

J naps... most of the time. There are days he'll skip, usually his one day care day, and when we go out to the zoo or museum, he'll fall asleep on the way home and once you get him out of the car, he's up and will not go back to sleep, so if he does that, he gets maybe a 20-30 minute nap. When he does nap, he's typically down for 3 hours.

theuntaggablek · October 2013

Yes ... thank goodness. It's a fight on weekends...he often spends an hour fighting it before sleeping for 45-90 minutes. I live in fear of the end of nap time.

Strunella · October 2013

DS still naps, usually from about 2:30 - 5:00. There are definitely days that he doesn't want to nap, or misses a nap, and those days stand out because he becomes impossible in the early evening. He is definitely a kid who still needs a nap!

tiffanyp · October 2013

Nope. I finally gave up the fight after C was born. It was just no longer possible to walk her in her stroller or do whatever other 45 minute trick I needed to do. She will still fall asleep in the car or stroller in the late afternoon sometimes, but in the last year she has only napped in her bed once, and she had a fever.

EVM1216 · October 2013

DD still naps. 1.5 hours a day typically. When I'm home with her I make her lay down for quiet time after lunch for "10 minutes." Typically she is out within 15. Unfortunately I usually fall asleep with her, so I don't always get done with my chores I was going to do while she naps.

ThePolishHammer · October 2013

DD still naps most of the time. Thank goodness!

lulu8109 · October 2013

DS takes 2 hour long naps at daycare M-F. However, when he's home with us on the weekends, I'd say he skips his nap half the time. We've gotten to the point where we'll try to get him to nap for at least stay in his room for an hour. Also, we don't schedule around nap time any more. If we're out and about, he'll sometimes fall asleep in the car.

I figure at daycare, all the kids are taking a nap at the same time, so it's like peer pressure to take a nap, haha. Plus nobody's awake for him to play with. When he's home on the weekends, it's a different ballgame.

bosha711 · October 2013

EMOmamma said:

Oh, J gets up at night. He was STTN by 5 months but now has nightmares and is up prob 5 nights per week. For a while we gave up and just brought him into our bed but recently we decided not to at all. The other night I accidentally forgot to switch the monitor from DD's room to scan (she goes to bed first) and we slept through whatever happened that night (and I know he got up at some point b/c his lamp was on in the am). The next 2 nights he didn't get up. Not sure if we "ferbered him" or he was just so tired from the 1st night. Last night he was in our room again b/c he was sick but hopefully he's fine tonight. All the while, DD STTN in her crib pretty much every night. (Sometimes she gets up at 5am & wants milk - then I bring her to our bed and she crashes back out) Anyway, we're so tired of DS getting up at night too. But with the nightmares I don't know what to do. Plus, he's on a floor above us so we don't let him just come into our room b/c I worry about him on the stairs alone in the middle of the night. Ugh, just sleep and be easy!!!

Wow, all of this is us exactly. Thank goodness DD is a good sleeper or else I'd be off the deep end by now! Here's to hoping both our DS's get some good sleep soon.

bosha711 · October 2013

lulu8109 said:

DS takes 2 hour long naps at daycare M-F. However, when he's home with us on the weekends, I'd say he skips his nap half the time. We've gotten to the point where we'll try to get him to nap for at least stay in his room for an hour. Also, we don't schedule around nap time any more. If we're out and about, he'll sometimes fall asleep in the car.

I figure at daycare, all the kids are taking a nap at the same time, so it's like peer pressure to take a nap, haha. Plus nobody's awake for him to play with. When he's home on the weekends, it's a different ballgame.

I wish DS went to DC 5 days/week, lol! We have a sitter for Fridays so he is her problem then (ha!), but Wednesdays are my problem day when I have both kids home with me (WFH is futile for me those days).

We are the same on the weekends now - we try to get him to nap at home first if the timing works out, but there are a lot of times now that are ok with him just napping for however long we're in the car.

kat81again2 · October 2013

if I were you I'd keep trying because of his mood in the evening and overnight sleep.

That being said, DS usually does not nap. For a while it was a rare nap on the weekends but still napping at school as the norm. However, now I think he usually does not nap at school, either (and practically never at home.) If we're driving somewhere during what's supposed to be his nap time he almost never naps, even! It's really only if he's had a ridiculously exhausting morning and/or he woke up insanely early...basically the same circumstances under which any adult or older child would nap!

We keep trying (just in case) but we don't try that hard, given that we think he's weaning off of the naps. We have him do quiet time so that there is a break and for him to get a bit of rest.

kat81again2 · October 2013

lulu8109 said:

I figure at daycare, all the kids are taking a nap at the same time, so it's like peer pressure to take a nap, haha. Plus nobody's awake for him to play with. When he's home on the weekends, it's a different ballgame.

If DH or I (whoever picks up DS) forgets to ask the teachers whether he napped, I ask DS himself. He says, "I got off my cot and tried to wake up my friends." Yeah. So...he's REALLY not into napping and even the peer pressure doesn't work on him!

kat81again2 · October 2013

JoJoMama730 said:

Typically, yes, for anywhere from 1-2 hours. She goes through phases where she fights it, but I persist and she comes back around. I can't recall-have you switched to a bed? A mom friend was telling me her 3 year old was fighting naps something terrible, and she wondered if it was time to transition. They converted the crib, and he went back to napping. Who can figure these kids out!!

ha we were the opposite. DS would nap in his crib but ever since the bed (June) he has practically never napped, even though he has used cots at school for over a year. In the crib he had no option but to sleep but in a bed he might get up and find something to do in his room.

AndreaG2010 · October 2013

DS still naps every day between 2-3 hours. If he doesn't get one he is very cranky by 5:00.

bosha711 · October 2013

JoJoMama730 said:

Typically, yes, for anywhere from 1-2 hours. She goes through phases where she fights it, but I persist and she comes back around. I can't recall-have you switched to a bed? A mom friend was telling me her 3 year old was fighting naps something terrible, and she wondered if it was time to transition. They converted the crib, and he went back to napping. Who can figure these kids out!!

He's been in his toddler bed since he turned 2. That's kinda went things went downhill with his sleep overall. We've actually been wondering if we should get him a twin sized bed to see if that would make a difference. His toddler bed converts to a full sized bed, but we don't want to do that till way later.

pitterpatter129 · October 2013

Oh no. Nate stopped napping loooong ago. He was "No Nap Nate" at 6mo old. By 2 he really wasn't taking a nap at all. We don't even try at this point. He goes to bed at 6:30pm and gets up around 8:00am, so he's getting plenty of sleep.

Want a personalized experience?

Does your kid still nap?

Re: Does your kid still nap?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards