3.5yr old and naps/amount of sleep

[Tizzy]

I'm starting to wonder what a "normal" amount of sleep is for a 3.5yr old?
DS goes to bed around 8:30pm easily and usually sleeps until 7am. Then he's ready for a nap at noon and often sleeps for 3 hours.
He is nowhere near ready to drop the nap and if he gets less than an hour he crashes between 4-5pm and is quite miserable.
It's the main reason he won't be going to JK this year as I know it would not work for him - missing a nap every 2nd day and the days he would be home, he'd be sleeping the day away or not a happy child.

Is this normal for his age? I don't know any other kids his age that still nap at all, never mind 2-3 hours every day plus a good night overnight. He has been a really good sleeper since he was born and has always seemed to require a fair amount of sleep to function. His brother is pretty similar, but can get by with less if necessary whereas it's not so much of an option with DS1.
Any thoughts or experience to share?

[lyterae]

DD turned 4 in February and keeps much the same schedule. We attempted to drop her nap back in January and realized she still needs her naptime. She goes to bed around 8:00 most nights and is up around 6:30 am. Her naps vary in length from about 1.5-3 hrs depending on the day.

She starts preschool this fall and will be doing half-days so that she can still nap. I'm not sure what we will do if she still needs this much sleep once she starts school. I'd be happy to adjust bedtime to compensate but right now we aren't able to do that (we aren't home until 6:30 or 7 and then still need to do dinner, bath,story,etc).

[Alyantavid]

My son will be 4 in June. He sleeps from 8-7ish. He rarely naps, maybe once every few weeks for an hour or so.

I know my older son was still napping past 4.

[staceychev]

DD was napping every weekday at that age--because her preschool enforced naps. She was going to bed between 8 and 8:30, waking around 6:30, and getting a nap that was about 1-1/2 to 2 hours long. She was doing that until about a month ago when she stopped preschool/daycare, at the age of 4-1/2.

[2cutiekitties]

sounds normal in my world!
My son needs that but wont go down for a nap lately. Problem is, I still need the nap, so it is a huge bummer.

[srs]

It sounds like he's between 12-14 hours a day, which is on the high side but not way out there.

(and I know the grass is always greener, but I am so so jealous that he can nap and then have a regular bedtime too).

[lonegirl]

It is something I thought about with my own son....we have elected not to send him to JK (I don't like the new all day JK and SK in Ontario schools)
Tyr generally takes a nap from about about 1/2h-3h every day. Then he goes to bed sometime between 10-12a and is up again about 8-9a. If it is a very busy day he wont nap but when we get in the car he crashes.

[inkslinger]

My 3.5 year old doesn't sleep a ton, but I think she's the exception to the rule. Neither of my kids have been big sleepers so far. dd2 is 3.5 and she doesn't nap at all during the day. At night, she sleeps from 8pm to 6am.

[snoopy5386]

My DD will turn 4 on Saturday and sleeps between 10-11 hours at night and no nap. Enjoy all the sleeping while you can!

[pacificbliss]

DS sleeps from 8:30-7:00. Some days he naps from 1:00-3:00 but even if he does not sleep he lays in bed and plays with his animals and has some down time. He is in preschool/daycare all week and they have naps at that time.

[Redheaded_Momma]

My DS, almost 3.5, doesn't like to take naps for DH or I but will take one religiously for his nanny 3d/week. It sure does make for a long day but the evenings are nice when I can relax for a few hours b4 I get super tired.

He usually sleeps from 9p to 6ish (8h) on days he naps (usually 45min to 1.5h) and when he doesn't nap it's bedtime btwn 7-8:30PM but ends up waking A LOT earlier than we'd like (5:30 sometimes).

I really don't think he sleeps enough but he's happy and pleasant, most of the time

[bdoody11]

Originally Posted by inkslinger

My 3.5 year old doesn't sleep a ton, but I think she's the exception to the rule. Neither of my kids have been big sleepers so far. dd2 is 3.5 and she doesn't nap at all during the day. At night, she sleeps from 8pm to 6am.

Another exception to the rule. I cut my DDs nap out at 2y9m because she was taking a two hour nap, going to bed at 10 or 11pm (and taking an hour to get down) and waking up at 7 am. Now without the nap she sleeps from 8pm to 6-7am. Roughly, whether she naps or not, she gets about 10 to 11 hours.

However, I wanted to say that DDs preschool has nap for the 3 and 4 year olds from 1-3pm so there are definitely kids that are still napping at 4. My BFF has a daughter just like your son, she can nap 2 hours in the afternoon, go to bed at 8:30pm and is up at 6:30am. If she doesn't nap, she is in bed by 6:45pm.

[J's Mama]

My DS will be 4 in June. It's a rare day that he doesn't nap. He's at preschool 5 days a week and naps between 1:30 and 2:45. On the weekends at home, he naps for 2 hours. Regardless of nap length (or the occassional day where he doesn't nap) he's in bed by 8 and usually asleep by 8:30. He wakes between 6:30 and 7am.

[mama2myloves]

My 3.5 yr old sleeps about 10 hrs at night and takes a 2 hr nap. On days he skips a nap he sleeps longer at night.

[emaye_to_2]

My DD just turned four in February. She does not nap anymore (altho when she went to daycare recently she would happily nap) but she sleeps an easy 12 hours at night (8pm - 8am) and I still have to wake her in the morning. She seems to love to sleep! My son, on the other hand, seems to never sleep so...

[ecoteat]

I have another solid napper here. She'll be 4 next month and goes to sleep at night around 9:30, wakes up around 7, and takes a 2-3 hour nap every day. Naptime can start anywhere between 2 and 4, but it is always at least 2 hours long and doesn't impact what time she falls asleep at night. There is no way she's ready to drop that nap. On the rare occasion she misses it it is a bad scene for everyone!

[nina_yyc]

Don't worry - thank your lucky stars! DD dropped her nap because otherwise her bedtime was ridicuolous...but since we have no regular nap I live in fear of car trips after 3 p.m., which guarantee a catnap and a long night for mama. She does truly need a nap occasionally, which she will sometimes opt for instead of quiet time, but if she decides to skip it then we are in for some truly horrific evening behavior.

[Peony]

My 3.5 year old goes to bed at 7:30 and is up at 6am, no nap. I stopped her naps at age 2 because she would take a 30 minute nap and then be up until 9-10pm, she was actually getting less sleep with a nap. I've ever had a child that was a big napper though. DD1 also stopped at barely 2, and the baby will be one this month, only naps for maybe 45 minutes all day as well.

[omelette]

My guy was about the same. He's nap for 2-3 hours and go to bed at 7:30 and be up for 7:00ish.
When I asked the doc he said it is at the high end of normal sleep for that age.

[sunnygir1]

I want my dd to get 11-13 hours. She won't nap at home anymore, but takes nice long naps on the days she's at daycare. At home she is cranky in the afternoon because of the no naps, but she sleeps 11-13 hours at night. I think that's a normal total amount, and our family doc approves.