How Bad Is it to Stop Napping?

[WyattsMom2008]

I can still get my 24 month old ds to nap most days - but usually only after he has been up for 7 hours. And then I often have to dance around to lullaby music with a 28 pound kid for 20 -30 minutes. Then he usually sleeps 3-4 hours. He wakes around 4 or 5 PM. Then when I put him to bed I can't sneak away until 10:30 or 11:00 PM. And then he only sleeps about 7 hours before waking very early in the morning again, around 5:30 most mornings.

On the days when I can't get him to nap, he does very well until he has been up for about 10 or 11 hours or so. Then he gets exhausted and needs to go to bed prompto. I actually like it because he falls asleep so fast, and I have so much time in the evening without being exhausted. Plus I get more sleep at night because I get to bed earlier and he sleeps in a little later.

Another factor is that he is getting a carnitine supplement because he has low tone. He does great on it. It gives him more energy, makes his attention span better, and makes him more social and more responsive. He seems happier. But it also makes it harder to get him to nap. And I only give him a little bit in the morning. I haven't even started giving it to him in doses spread throughout the day as is recommended.

I read in No Cry Sleep Solution that toddlers need to have sleep in the middle of the day. If they get more sleep at night it's not the same. It doesn't really compensate for it.

Does anybody know if that is true? If I keep him up all day, put him to bed early, and have him sleep 12 hours at night is that going to be bad for him at his age? Am I going to be lowering his IQ or harming his neurological development? Is he going to have less human growth hormone in his body?

[Drummer's Wife]

All four of my kids stopped napping (on a regular basis) right around 24 mos. - and they did start to sleep 11-12 hours at night, so I honestly didn't worry about them getting enough sleep. The transition period may be a little rough, though (fussy late afternoon periods), but in my situation, I just followed their lead - and if nap time every became a challenge, I let them skip it.

[jenfl]

Mine dropped her nap around 20 months. There was about a week of transition time, with occasional grumps popping up, but we were all happier when she made the transition.

For us, there was no way to MAKE her keep the nap. She just must not have needed it anymore.

[Yuba_River]

Would you be able to get him to have "quiet" time for a bit every afternoon, if he stops napping? We are still napping around here, but I know from others that having quiet time (in bed with books, a stuffed animal, etc, and resting) has helped a lot to recharge a bit in the middle of the day once the nap is gone.

[tankgirl73]

I don't know anything about that supplement or the effect it might have on sleep... But my daughter dropped her nap quite early (dropped from 2 to 1 early, and dropped the 1 altogether early)... there were several MONTHS of rough transition, where if she didn't get the nap she was really cranky and would get overtired, or if she did get a nap she'd then be up until 1am... It seemed her natural sleep cycle would be to nap at 4 or 5pm for a couple hours, be awake until 1am, sleep until 10am, then be ready for a nap at 7pm... shift the whole thing forward a few hours heh...

Anyway, by 24mo she was pretty much through with the nap. Now, at 3, she'll still occasionally drift off to sleep in the middle of the day if she's been REALLY busy, or had a rough night... but for the most part she's up by 9am, asleep by 9pm, thereabouts, and wide awake and happy otherwise.

I don't think she has any negative developmental effects... she's actually fairly gifted, intellectually... and she's social and friendly and happy, and empathetic and kind-hearted, and sweet, and stubborn, and imaginative and creative and fun and clever... etc etc

[WyattsMom2008]

Thanks for sharing your own experiences! I don't know what to do with this boy. Every time I think I have it figured out, he changes, and the only constant is that I have to keep it flexible. Yesterday I had to put him to bed at 4:00 PM because he was exhausted and crying easily if I so much as walked away from him. Then this morning he woke up at 3:30 AM. Then he was exhausted by 10:00 AM. Now he is napping, and I bet he'll nap five or six hours today, because that's his pattern when he wakes up that early in the morning, which doesn't happen often thank goodness.

I think I'm going to try "resetting" him by letting him stay up really late tonight. Then he'll wake up around 7:00 AM. When he sleeps that late, he is usually happy if he is up all day and to bed at 7:00 PM. I'll give him the chance to nap if he wants after he's been up for 5 1/2 hours, but if he doesn't take that chance, then he's got to stay up the rest of the day. At least, that's my plan. Ha! We'll see how long it lasts.

What did the cavewomen do with their toddlers? Geez...

[marispel]

What about just allowing him to have a catnap? If he does need a nap at 4:00 - let him sleep for 30 minutes and then slowly wake him up. He'll be grumpy & want to sleep more, but it sounds like it is messing with his nighttime sleep.

Can you get into more of a routine? Maybe try quiet/nap time around 2pm everyday and see if he falls asleep. Maybe 3pm is the magic time???

We have days when DS doesn't fall asleep until 2pm for his nap...but I never let him sleep past 3:30 unless he is sick.

[llwr]

I'd see what happens if you keep the nap, but only let him sleep for an hour or so. Maybe he could still get a rest, but be tired again by bedtime.

My DD started skipping naps for a week or two at a time at 18 mos before dropping completely just after 2 1/2. I really miss naptime!

[Mrs-Mama]

I thought DS was ready to drop his nap last summer when he just over 3. Same situation...he would get up at 7ish in the morning and be fine with no nap until about 3:30 or so. But, if he napped at 3:30, he would sleep until 6:30 (late day catnap never worked for DS...he is impossible to wake once asleep) and then not go to bed until way late...which was not good for DH and I. DS used to reliably fall asleep in the car if it were anywhere near naptime, so I started trying to schedule outings in the morning but then be home in time for an early (noon-ish) nap because then he'd only sleep 1.5-2 hours and be ready for a decent bedtime.

I read NCSS for Toddlers as well as Sleepless in America. I think the key to DS's nap was having a routine where he fell asleep by himself. Now, his nap routine is: lunch, short (20-30 minute) video , read 1-2 books, and then he falls asleep in his bed by himself. He usually sleeps from about 1:45-3:30ish, with actual rest time starting about 1pm. DS turns 4 next week and he rarely gets no nap, but then there's usually an extended rest time and he's at grandma's where he just can't settle down enough to sleep.

All of that said, last summer, I was really wishing for him to drop his nap to make bedtime easier, but after a miserable few days, we went back to the nap. However, I do know plenty of people whose children gave up naps "early", so good luck doing whatever works best for your family

[MeAndVee]

DS is 30 months and just dropped the nap about 2 weeks ago. he dropped the other naps early too. I heard that too about the they need sleep so their brains can make connections between what they have just learned and that they also grow during that time. For me...having him up till 11 was just not working! So nix the nap and we all have a better night. He does have quiet time where he stays in bed and reads or draws on his Doodle Pro toy. He sleeps 12-15 hours a night and I read that a child this age needs 11.5-15 hours of total sleep in 24 hours....he is getting that, so what if it is all in one shot!

[prancie]

2.5 year old ds doesn't nap and he's a lot happier. He sleeps longer at night and I get wonderful long evenings!!! He can get cranky in the late afternoon but we are adjusting to the schedule change around here, so we have something for him to do in that time. He dropped his own nap, it wasn't me! He WONT sleep if we are at home. Sometimes he falls asleep in the car, so i plan errands as early in the day as possible so that he "naps" around 11 or 12 as opposed to 2 or 3. Lately though he doesn't even fall asleep in the car much.

[Megan73]

Could it be that his naps are too long and it's throwing everything off?
I'd encourage him to nap but wake him after two hours so he's still ready for a reasonable bed time. That could "reset" him.
I ask because I always cringe at my DCP waking my son after two hours - thinking if he's sleeping longer he must be really tired. But she's right - if he sleeps longer it messes up his nighttime sleep.

[lisavark]

DD started dropping her nap at 18 months. I started making sure she was awake from her nap by 3 pm as soon as she was on one nap, but it never did any good...from the day she was born, that child has gone to bed at 11 pm. She has never gone to bed earlier, until she quit napping. Now she goes to bed at 7:30 or 8 and sleeps for 12 or 13 hours. I love love love love love it. I just don't see any point in fighting to get a child to nap when they just aren't tired. I still usually lie in bed with DD and nurse for two hours, from 1 to 3, but there's no way in the world that she'll actually fall asleep. She wants to nap at 4 pm a lot, but I don't let her. I can't handle staying up with a crazy energetic toddler until 2 am.

[Catherine12]

My ds stopped napping at 18 months. He slept much better at night after dropping the nap, and we were happier overall not having to go to extreme measures to "get" him to nap.

I don't know if there has been any actual research done on this issue, but my gut feeling is that you won't go wrong listening to your child's cues. I don't think you can say what age a child "should" stop napping, because kids have different sleep patterns. There's no one-size-fits-all here. And if your child seems to be sleep-deprived or fussier after the change, you can always change back.

[WyattsMom2008]

I asked somebody who has a degree in early child development and taught preschool for twenty years. She said that the total amount of sleep in 24 hours is what matters, in terms of how much human growth hormone children have in their body.

That said, Wyatt changed again. Yesterday, I kept him up from 7 AM to 7 PM. I thought he would sleep 12 hours last night. He didn't. He woke up at 5 AM this morning. Then he was giving me strong signals that he was ready to nap shortly after 10 AM. He went right to sleep, and he's snoozing away! It's the first time in a long time he's napped after being up for only 5 to 5 1/2 hours. It's also the first time in a long time he's given me strong signals that he wants to nap.